With dazzling performances last weekend at the IC4A/ECAC Invitationals in Princeton, New Jersey, two Duke track stars vaulted themselves into the record books. Or more specifically, they pole vaulted themselves into the record books.
Blue Devil seniors Jillian Schwartz and Seth Benson both claimed the pole vaulting titles at the prestigious event and as a result, both were named All-East for a staggering fifth time during their careers. And in the process, the two pole vaulting champions have initiated what men's track coach Norm Ogilvie hopes will be a longstanding pole vaulting tradition at Duke.
"We're trying to start [a tradition]," Ogilivie said. "We feel that it's an event that we can attract good students to. For some reason, pole vaulters seem to be bright people--maybe a little crazy, but definitely bright--and they're attracted to Duke. And the other thing is, we've made a commitment to doing that here at Duke."
Schwartz, who vaulted 13.725, not only broke her career best, but also set the ECAC meet record, the William Weaver Stadium record, and the all-time Duke women's outdoor vaulting record in the 18th annual ECAC event. And if these accomplishments weren't enough, the Illinois native also qualified for the NCAA Championships, which take place next week in Eugene, Ore.
"It's gotten to be a routine thing for her to win the ECAC championship," women's coach Jan Ogilvie said. "She just made it look easy this weekend.... She is clearly the best vaulter on the East coast right now."
Meanwhile, Benson also propelled himself into the Duke track and field history with a vault of 16-8 3/4, which was good enough to win the 125th IC4A competition and tie the Duke school record that he owns. In fact, Benson even eclipsed this mark by vaulting over 17 feet in a practice attempt, but it did not count for the final standings.
"We're very happy that Seth concluded his career by winning the biggest meet on the schedule," Norm Ogilvie said.
Benson's record-breaking performance was indicative of the solid outing of the men's team throughout the weekend, as the squad finished in 23rd place out of 100 teams, registering 12 points over the weekend. Like his fellow senior Benson, 4x800-meter participant Mike McKeever ended his career on a high note, as his Blue Devil relay team, which also includes Casey Reardon, Brendan Wells, and Bill Spierdowis, placed sixth with a time of 7:31.65 on their final heat.
Each member of the four-man squad ran faster in the final round than they did in the trials, allowing the team to record the third-fastest 4x800 time in Blue Devil history.
"Mike graduates having run on all three of the top 4x800's of all-time--that's certainly a nice little stat to go out with it," Norm Ogilvie said. "By earning the All-East honors there, that's his fifth career All-East honor."
The women's team was also happy with its overall performance, as it placed 12th in the ECAC with 24, its highest finish in school history. Buoyed by Schwartz's performance, the Blue Devils excelled in a number of events, including the hepthalon, in which sophomore Jenna Turner broke a school record with a total of 4,827 points, and the triple jump, where sophomore Jodi Schlesinger placed eighth with a top leap of 40-9 1/2. Most notable, however, was the run of junior Katie Atlas, who placed second in the 1,500-meter race with a time of 4:24.42.
"Katie's performance was outstanding," Jan Ogilvie said. "Although she wanted to run a little bit faster, it's probably the best racing we've seen her do since she came to Duke."
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