Virginia Tech’s track and field and cross-country program just landed a major boost, and the number attached to it says plenty: $1.2 million.
The university announced Thursday that the gift is the largest in the program’s history. It comes from Martha and Paul Seufer of Lynchburg, and both are former Tech track and cross-country standouts.
A portion of the donation will go toward creating a “Champions for Life” area in the lobby of Rector Field House. The display is set to honor the accomplishments of former Tech track and field athletes.
Another piece of the money will help build the Seufer Family Pavilion, a covered space at the outdoor track facility. The pavilion is planned to give the program a dedicated area for training, recovery and team activities.
The rest of the gift will support the program in other ways.
Peter Seufer had a decorated career at Virginia Tech, winning seven individual ACC titles in cross country and track. He was named the ACC men’s indoor track most valuable performer in 2020 and was twice named the ACC men’s cross-country runner of the year.
The school also noted other coaching moves around its athletic department. Radford announced the hiring of former Ferrum head coach Larry Mangino as an assistant coach.
Mangino spent 17 seasons at Air Force before becoming an assistant at Virginia for seven seasons. He was a player development coach for the Denver Nuggets from 2006-10 and was an SMU assistant from 2010-12.
He spent eight seasons at Virginia, including five as director of scouting and recruiting and three as director of player development. He was an assistant coach at Liberty University in the 2024-25 season.
Radford also hired former High Point graduate assistant py Joynack as an assistant coach. Caldwell was hired as assistant coach and general manager, and has worked for Chattanooga as a graduate assistant and as a member of the athletic fundraising staff.
In swimming, three UVA swimmers won gold Wednesday night at the U.S. national championships in Irvine, Calif. Anna Moesch won the 200 freestyle in a school-record time of 1:55.03 for her second gold of the meet.
Sophia Umstead won the 200 breaststroke, while David King won the 200 backstroke. Virginia Tech’s Eli Martin took sixth in the 200 breaststroke.
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