GREENSBORO - Before this year, the women's track and field team had only managed to total 12.5 points in any Atlantic Coast Conference indoor meet. This year, however, the Blue Devils nearly equaled this mark in a single event on their way to scoring 23 points to finish eighth at the meet this past weekend.
"Everyone went out and gave all they had for the team and it showed in the fact that we almost doubled our point total from last year," senior captain Kirsten Johnson said.
The Blue Devils managed to score 11 points alone in the 800 meters, where junior Kim Voyticky placed third to score six points, and sophomore Stephanie Thomas followed her in fourth place to add five points. Both runners qualified for the finals of the event by running 2:17 in the preliminaries on Friday afternoon. In the finals, Voyticky was in second throughout most of the race, falling to third in the final meters to finish in a time of 2:12.96. Thomas was able to pass another runner in the last lap for her fourth place finish in 2:14.15. Voyticky's third-place finish is the highest finish ever for a Blue Devil in a running event.
"It was great for Kim and Stephanie that they had each other to work with," Duke assistant coach Scott Yakola said. "At the beginning of the race, it helps to keep you calm."
Johnson also played a key part in the Blue Devils' success. After years of just missing the qualifying mark for the finals of the 55-meter hurdles, Johnson ran an 8.34 in the preliminaries and then an 8.41 in the semifinals to take the eighth and final spot in the hurdle finals. In the finals on Saturday afternoon, Johnson ran a personal best 8.27 to finish seventh and secure two points for the Blue Devils.
"I was so happy to have reached my goal of making the finals in the hurdles," Johnson said. "We've been making some changes in my start in the past week and it obviously helped."
Her quick start out of the blocks was a key reason that Johnson was able to make it to the finals.
"It's absolutely fantastic for her," Yakola said of Johnson's performance. "She's worked hard and [had a personal best] by .27 seconds, which is a lot in the 55 meters. We're so happy that the finals finally came for her."
Johnson combined with Voyticky, Thomas and junior Kim Hay to run the 4x400-meter relay. The Blue Devils won their heat in 3:56.58, and despite the fact that the team ran in the slower of two heats in the event, the time placed the group in fourth overall, scoring five points.
In the mile, junior Colette Gurtler qualified for the finals by running 5:15.08 to run the eighth-fastest time and take the last spot for the final of the race the next day. On Saturday, Gurtler ran a 5:08.62 to place seventh in the event.
"It was the first time Colette had run the mile indoors and she knows she can run better, but to finish seventh is great," Yakola said.
In the longer distances, the Blue Devils managed to secure two points when junior Erin Fleming took seventh place in the 5,000 meters with her time of 18:17.42. Sophomore Kim Folk just missed scoring with her ninth place finish in 18:30.14.
In addition to those who scored, several other athletes acheived personal bests at the meet. Sophomore Jeanie Minton had her best mark in the long jump, jumping 18-2.25 to set a new school record. Minton also had a personal best in the 55-meter hurdles to make the semifinals in 8.64, and she just missed placing in the high jump, finishing ninth with her jump of 5-3.75.
"We were so well prepared and everyone has been training at a much higher level than before," Johnson said.
But this weekend, successful as it was for the Blue Devils, is only a jumping-off point for the team as it prepares for the upcoming outdoor season.
"It is great to see the hard work pay off, but this isn't where we want to be," Yakola said. "This weekend was just a taste, and now we want to keep getting better and better and better."
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