The same flu epidemic that spread around campus over the past few weeks made its way to the track teams this weekend, limiting Duke's performance at the 1999 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships in Blacksburg, Va.
Kyle Leonard turned in the strongest performance for either squad, taking second place in the 800-meter finals. The junior was the fastest man in the qualifying heats Friday and returned for the finals with a time of 1:52.88. Freshman Bill Spierwodis followed Leonard in fifth place at 1:53.99.
"Kyle did a great job," Benson said. "This is the best race he's run this year so far. I think he was pretty satisfied with it."
The men recorded a pair of third-place performances as well. The distance medley relay finished third in 10:02.10, while sophomore Seth Benson cleared 16-0 3/4 in the pole vault.
"My height wasn't that great," Benson said. "I wasn't pleased overall with it but I was happy with the third place."
Jillian Schwartz placed for the women. The sophomore set a Duke record in the pole vault with a leap of 11-1 1/2, a height good enough for third place.
It was seven inches more than her personal record and four more than the Blue Devils' previous standard.
"I was definitely pleased with it," Schwartz said. "It was great to place at ACCs. To me overall it went pretty well."
Otherwise, sickness greatly limited Duke's ability to earn points. Without many of their best runners, both teams struggled in the standings.
The men tied with Georgia Tech for seventh place, earning 30 points. Clemson won its third-straight championship after scoring 162 points and outdistancing UNC by more than 50.
The women had 11 points and finished last. North Carolina won its seventh-straight title.
"We had a lot of guys that were either injured or sick," Benson said. "We could have made a much stronger showing if we were all healthy."
Now, both teams turn their attention to the IC4As, which takes place in less than two weeks. After competing inside for the past few months, Duke must adapt to competing outside.
Considering the team practices outside every day, the adjustment shouldn't be too difficult.
"I don't think it's too bad," Schwartz said. "Last year I liked Outdoors better, but this year I kind of like Indoors better because you don't have to worry about the cold or the wind. Still, we're used to being outside."
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