Most of the attention at this weekend's Duke Invitational was focused on the national caliber runners who had come to perform at Wallace Wade Stadium, but a few members of the Duke men's track team were also able to provide some highlights on their home track.
The Blue Devils' best race of the weekend came in the second-fastest heat of the meet's final event, the 4x400 meter relay. Duke won its section of the race with its 3:18.62 showing. The time was .08 seconds faster than the qualifying mark for the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) meet.
Freshman Jesse Allen led off the race for Duke with a 49.0 second split, and sophomore Jeremy Walker and senior Doug Kling followed with legs of 49.5 and 51.1, respectively. Then sophomore Mark Simmons took the baton, trailing the leader by about 15 meters. Simmons was able take the lead in the final five meters of the race.
"Mark ran a phenomenal leg," said assistant coach Norm Ogilvie, who also served as the meet's announcer.
The 4x400 relay was Kling's second race of the day on Saturday. Earlier, he ran a personal best time of 1:50.73 in the 800 meters. Kling was entered in the fastest heat of the event, and his race featured one of the strongest fields and tightest finishes of any event at the Duke Invitational. Reebok Enclave's Rich Kenah edged out Terrance Herrington of Team New Balance, Steve Holman of Reebok Enclave and Kevin Murphy of Boston University to win the race in 1:47.07. The top four finishers all completed the race within half a second of one another.
"This was one of the deepest 800s we've ever had," Ogilvie said.
Despite the strong competition, Kling was able to stick with the lead pack through 650 meters of the race. He shattered his previous personal-best time by nearly a second and easily qualified for the IC4As. Kling was the second collegiate finisher in the race, behind Murphy, who is one of the nation's fastest in the 800.
In an earlier heat of the 800 meters, Walker ran a collegiate best time of 1:54.92, as he remained competitive throughout much of the race. Junior Jason Manse won one of the morning developmental heats with his 1:56.23 performance.
Allen put forth a strong performance in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing seventh on Saturday afternoon with his 52.87 showing. The top two finishers in the race, Nike International's Ryan Hayden and Torrance Zellner of Asics, are strong candidates for the United States Olympic team.
"This is the first time he's been in a race with the best in the world," Ogilvie said. "It was a very good race for him. Jesse continues to improve every week."
On Friday, juniors Darin Mellinger (14:57.99), Brett Marcus (15:06.68) and Chris Malfant (15:36.36) all ran personal best times in the 5,000 meters. The distance medley relay team, usually one of Duke's strengths, ran a young team of junior Matt Haywood, Simmons, Walker and freshman Tom Becker. The Blue Devils finished the race in 10:14.89.
Senior Miles Hall, who has missed practice time with a leg injury the past few weeks, ran 3:56.11 in the 1,500 meters on Saturday afternoon. In one of the morning heats of the event, freshman Scott Antoun notched his personal record in 4:03.81.
Overall, the Blue Devils were pleased with their performances in their only home meet of the season.
"Just about every athlete on our team performed close to their personal best," Ogilvie said. "That's all we can really ask for."
The Duke Invitational marked the end of the collegiate track careers for four Blue Devil seniors. Doug Morrin ran his final race in the 800 meters, and Jason Blank and Pat Neville finished their Duke running careers in the 1,500 meters on Saturday morning. Shawn Hynes, who was sick, was scheduled to join Blank and Neville in the 1,500.
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