The women's track team kicked off the new year in fine fashion, with three runners breaking school records last weekend at the squad's first meet of 1997, the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.
Junior Kim Voyticky smashed Jeanne McFeely's three-year-old Duke record in the 800 meters, finishing second overall at the meet with a time of 2:13.76. Voyticky actually placed first among collegiate athletes; the only woman to beat her was Julie Henner, a 1996 U.S. Olympian whom Reebok sponsors.
In other individual events, sophomore Stephanie Thomas and senior Kirsten Johnson broke their own school records. Thomas finished ninth overall in the 400 meters, running the race in 58.10 seconds. She easily topped her previous record of 58.22 seconds, which she set last March at East Tennessee State's Last Chance Invitational. The performance came at the perfect time for Thomas, whose parents had driven several hours from Ohio to watch her.
"We got to the track about 40 minutes before the race, and we usually have about an hour to warm up, so that was less than usual," Thomas said. "That might have helped because I didn't have to think about my race too much.
"I don't think I expected myself to do that well, but last week the entire team ran way above what we did last year at the same time, so we were probably well-prepared going in."
Johnson, a senior and the team's captain, twice shattered her previous high mark in the 60-meter hurdles. Johnson's 9.36-second time in the trials, which outdid her time of 9.40 seconds at the 1996 USAir Invitational, preceded her 9.32-second mark in the semifinals at Virginia Tech.
In addition to making their presence known in individual events, the Blue Devils also stomped the competition in a team event. Duke's distance medley relay team of Voyticky, Thomas and juniors Kim Hay and Collette Gurtler won its event in 12:15.87, beating its closest competitor by nearly nine seconds.
"They won pretty easily-they were ahead from the beginning, and they were never challenged," assistant coach Scott Yakola said. "It was a good performance to open the season with a win."
All four runners ran different legs of the race than they have in the past, with Voyticky handling the 1200 meters, Hay the quarter-mile, Thomas the half-mile and Gurtler the mile. Voyticky dashed to an easy lead, giving the other Blue Devils a tougher race to run, with no one against whom to compare themselves. Still, the second-seeded team cruised by its 17 opponents, and Hay recorded a personal best with her 58.30-second time in the quarter-mile leg.
"It's a lot harder to run on your own, with no competition, because you really don't know how fast you're running," Hay said. "I'm sure we'll do better next time with better competition."
Senior Megan James continued Duke's success in distance events, finishing fifth in the mile with a mark of 5:13.22. The race represented James' first competitive mile at Duke, so her strong showing gave the team reason for optimism.
"She was in a good field," Yakola said. "It was pretty impressive for her first time out, so we're definitely pleased with that."
The Blue Devils took 10 runners to the Virginia Tech Invitational, where they faced athletes from more than 20 different colleges, including ACC rivals Maryland and Virginia. Several other Duke athletes stayed closer to home, competing Friday and Saturday at the Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill.
Freshman Yvonne Ayew ran the 60 meters in 8.40 seconds, establishing the third-best 60-meter time in Duke history. Sophomore Teabra Dixon finished close behind Ayew with a 60-meter time of 8.53 seconds, and three Blue Devils finished in the top four of their 400-meter heat. Junior Amy Scarton, a transfer student from Hanover College in Indiana, won the heat with a 64.56-second time, while sophomores Christine Kenna and Christina Hulet finished in 65.15 and 65.47 seconds, respectively.
Although the Tar Heel Invitational constituted a smaller meet than the Virginia Tech Invitational, it gave several young Blue Devils a chance to gain experience in a competitive setting.
"We wanted a place where we could get a meet in early in the season," head coach Mike Forbes said. "Yvonne ran the week before, but this was the first meet for the others. Most of the other meets are big invitationals, so we wanted to get something in here."
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