As sophomore pole vaulter Seth Benson prepared to sprint down the runway Saturday at the Duke Invitational, the crowd at Wallace Wade Stadium clapped rhythmically to urge him on. Benson had already cleared 15 feet, 6 inches to win the event and was going for a personal best 16-8. On his second attempt, he easily cleared the bar and set a new school record.
It was a big sense of accomplishment,<= Benson said. ItPis something that IPive been waiting to do and it sets my sights on higher goals. Just the whole thing was perfect. IPive never had a crowd that into vaulting. It was definitely a special event.<=
BensonPis higher goal is, specifically, 17 feet, which he hopes to vault this year. He attempted it Saturday but was unable to clear the bar.
The menPis 4x400 relay team also set a new school record, breaking the 3:13.10 mark that had stood since 1970. Josh Kommer, Jesse Allen, Matt Diglio and James Vasak combined to run 3:12.89, with Vasak turning in a 47.1 second split.
But the Blue Devils were not the only ones breaking records. Overall, the athletes in the field set 14 meet records. Associate menPis track coach Norm Ogilvie attributed the record-breaking pace to the combination of the athletes and the 80-degree
There was also one new Wallace Wade record set at the meetaMarion JonesPi 22-5, 3/4 in the long jump. The long jump, her first since September, was well off her 23-11 world-record mark, but still over three feet longer than her nearest competitor at the Duke Invitational.
Jones, who was an All-American basketball player for North Carolina before deciding to run track full time, also competed in the 100 meter dash, but was disqualified from competition after she false started. She was accustomed to international rules, which permit two false starts, and was permitted to run the race as an exhibition in a later heat, finishing well ahead of the pack in 11.07 seconds.
Jones expects to compete for an unprecedented five gold medals in the 2000 Olympics and is using meets like the Duke Invitational to prepare.
I think IPim ready to break the world record,<= she said. I jumped 22-whatever from almost a foot-and-a-half behind the board. You do the math.<=
Another world champion, Allen Johnson, hit a hurdle and finished third in the 110-meter hurdles. Johnson, the defending Olympic champion, also graduated from North Carolina.
Although they may not be Olympic-bound, many other Blue Devils
The Duke vaulters have done a double-double,<= Ogilvie said. Since womenPis vaulting is new, we know it has never happened before.<=
Ellie Culp and Terry Brennan qualified for the ECACs and IC4As, respectively, in the 5000.
She came back in incredible shape,<= womenPis coach Jan Samuelson-Ogilvie said of Culp, who sat out her freshman year with a knee injury. She surprised us in cross country and continues to amaze us with her range.<=
Another IC4A-qualifying time came from senior Jesse Allen, who competed in the 400 hurdles for the first time since his sophomore year. His time of 52.12 was well under the qualifying time of 53.90. Ian Weekly, an unattached runner, won the event, beating Olympian Calvin Davis and setting a new meet record at 48.84.
DukePis menPis distance medley relay team finished fourth overall and second among college teams. It was one of four teams to break the old meet record, finishing the race in 9:46.12.
The Blue Devils will next compete at the ACC Championships in Clemson, S.C., April 16-17.
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