Duke track and field heads to Virginia Tech to finalize postseason roster

Megan Clark will look to reach new heights on the pole vault this weekend in Blacksburg, Va., as she readies for the ACC Championships.
Megan Clark will look to reach new heights on the pole vault this weekend in Blacksburg, Va., as she readies for the ACC Championships.

The end of the short indoor season is approaching quickly, and the Blue Devils have one meet left to refine their postseason roster.

Heading to Virginia Tech’s Rector Field House a week before the Hokies host the ACC Championships, Duke will use Friday and Saturday’s Virginia Tech Challenge to fine-tune technique and make final decisions about events.

The Blue Devils have visited Blacksburg, Va., twice already this season, facing many of the same conference competitors and representatives from other Southeast squads. The Virginia Tech Invitational Jan. 23 and 24 and the Virginia Tech Elite Meet Feb. 6 and 7 both served as previews for the conference championships, and with only two months of regular season, the ACC Championships have constantly been in the athletes’ minds.

“That’s our focus all season long,” director of track and field Norm Ogilvie said. “We are working towards building our best team for the end of February.”

A number of Blue Devils will enter this weekend’s competition feeling confident and ready for the postseason.

The women’s sprint relay of seniors Elizabeth Kerpon and Lauren Hansson, sophomore Madeline Kopp and freshman Maddy Price hold the 12th-fastest time in the nation this indoor season in the 4-x-400 meter relay, posting a time of 3:36.78 at the Armory Collegiate Invitational Jan. 30. Senior Shaun Thompson cracked the nation’s top 15 in the 5,000 meters last Friday at the Iowa State Classic, finishing in 13:47.22.

Junior Anima Banks and sophomore Haley Meier are both ranked in the top 30 in the 800 meters and mile, respectively.

But for junior pole-vaulter Megan Clark—ranked third nationally after her clearance of 14 feet, 4 inches at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet—this meet is an opportunity to rebound before the pressure of the postseason. After a disappointing performance in the pole vault at the Millrose Games in New York Feb. 14 in which Clark failed to clear her opening height of 13 feet, 5 1/2 inches, the Fort Benning, Ga., native needs to get back on track.

“[She and Coach Wilbourn] wanted to start at a high height to get her used to coming in at a high bar, but that can backfire, and it did on Saturday,” Ogilvie said. “She’s very close to jumping at another level, and she had gone three meets in a row going higher and higher. And I’m sure she’ll bounce back very nicely.”

Clark finished 14th at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships, clearing 13 feet, 9 1/4 inches, and has shown the potential to reach the podium in 2015. Until last weekend’s setback, the junior had been vaulting steadily higher each week.

The two-time women’s ACC Field Performer of the Week was the top collegiate performer in all four meets in which she competed before the Millrose Games, winning the pole vault at the Carolina Cup and the Hokie Invitational, then taking second overall at the Armory Collegiate Invitational with a then second-best clearance of 13 feet, 11 1/4 inches. She recorded her current season best at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet.

Clark hopes to break her own program record of 14 feet, 5 1/4 inches en route to her best postseason performance yet. And a win this weekend could go a long way in calming nerves before her biggest meet of the season so far.

Friday’s events will begin at 5 p.m., and the women’s pole vault will open Saturday’s competition at 11 a.m.

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