Virginia Tech track & field and cross country announced a $1.2 million donation on Thursday morning. The largest gift in program history came from Lynchburg natives Martha and Paul Seufer.
They're the parents of Peter Seufer, one of the Hokies' best distance runners in the last decade. From 2016-20, he was a seven-time All-American and a two-time First Team All-ACC selection.
He won seven gold medals, three of which came during the indoor track & field season â two in the 3,000-meter race (2019 and 2020) and one in the 5,000-meter race (2020). He also took home gold in the 10,000-meter race at the conference's 2018 outdoor championships. In cross country, he won back-to-back individual ACC titles in 2018 and 2019.
At E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Seufer was a six-time state champion and the VHSL Class 4A Athlete of the Year as a senior. He was recruited and coached by Ben Thomas, then an assistant coach under Dave Cianelli and now the program's director (and a fellow E.C. Glass alum).
"We are humbled by the generosity of the Seufer family and their belief in our program," Thomas said in Tech's release. "This gift adds to the already significant impact their son Peter had on our program here at Virginia Tech. Our staff, alumni and current student-athletes continue to strive for excellence and follow the standard set by him and the many other All-Americans and national champions we have developed."
Martha and Paul, respective graduates of Virginia and VMI, have been generous supporters of the track & field and cross country programs since Peter enrolled in Blacksburg. In April, the Board of Visitors passed a resolution naming the Rector Field House lobby as the Champions For Life Area and created a standalone Seufer Family Pavilion outside the current outdoor track â which this donation will go towards.
"We are so appreciative of the positive experiences that Peter enjoyed while at Virginia Tech," Martha and Paul Seufer said. "It is our hope that this gift will provide the same for the future student-athletes who follow."
This follows a $1 million gift to the Virginia Tech wrestling program from Dave and Heidi Jester, an anonymous $20 million contribution in December and an anonymous, transformational $75 million donation in June, with the majority going to athletics and a sizable portion to the school's honor college.