The women's indoor track and field team spent the weekend at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. There the Blue Devils took part in the George Mason Last Chance Invitational.
For Duke, the "Last Chance" turned into possibly the team's most impressive performance of the indoor track season. The Blue Devils registered one school-record performance, had seven top-five finishes and scored nine personal records in the meet which included teams from Virginia, George Mason, James Madison and West Virginia.
"We ran so well at [the Atlantic Coast Conference indoor meet Feb. 18-19], and this weekend we just continued from there," assistant coach Scott Yakola said. "[The athletes] have taken themselves to another level in terms of the team and the individual competitors."
The highlight of the weekend was a school record performance by sophomore Betsy Keever in the 1,000-meters. Keever came in second overall in the race with a time of 2:52.12, breaking senior Jeanne McFeely's previous school record in the event.
"She broke her previous best by 12 seconds," Yakola said. "She was just running well. She was outstanding."
McFeely came in third in the event, finishing right behind Keever with a time of 2:52.31. This was also a personal record for McFeely by over six seconds, and was especially impressive considering McFeely was not running at 100 percent.
"Jeanne ran a gutsy race," Yakola said. "She's had a little bronchitis, and bronchitis is not a friend to a middle-distance runner. I'm very pleased with the way [Keever and McFeely] ran together."
Senior Beth Berghausen continued the run of personal bests with the third-fastest time in the 800-meters in Duke history, finishing the race in 2:18.36. In the 3,000-meters, two Blue Devil runners scored their fastest times yet, as junior Robin Schretter placed fifth with a time of 10:07.77 and freshman Raquel Salume finished in 10:39.44.
In the shorter distances, senior Christine Gregorski ran the 200-meters in 27.31, the fifth fastest time in school history. In the 500-meters, sophomore Nicola Crabtree beat her personal record by almost five seconds. Freshman Kirsten Johnson placed fourth in the hurdles with her personal-best time of 8.64.
Duke also competed well in the field events. Sophomore Megan Mitchell placed sixth in the shot put with a throw of 37-3.75, while Gregorski came in fifth in the long jump by leaping 16-3.25.
Freshman Breanna Pearson set her personal best in the long jump by registering a distance of 16-0.5, while she also reached a mark of 35-4.5 in the triple jump.
According to Yakola, this rush of personal bests for the Blue Devils was partly a result of competing in a good facility at George Mason. The track there is longer than most indoor loops, which typically makes for fast times.
But he also had another explanation for the weekend's success.
"They've worked so hard, and it's paying off," Yakola said. "There's no other reason for it. They're reaping the benefits of it now. They're a great group of athletes."
The Blue Devils will end their indoor season this Thursday when several competitors travel to the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., for the Fast Times Meet.
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