After performing strongly in the field events at the North Carolina Collegiate Big 12 competition last week, the Blue Devils distinguished themselves on the track Friday and Saturday at the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.
The middle and long distance runners ruled the day for Duke, with a host of Blue Devils qualifying for the ECAC/IC4A Championships at Boston University in early March. The two organizations are both umbrella leagues that include a multitude of colleges on the East Coast; the ECAC holds the women's championships, and the IC4A holds the men's title competition.
Friday, the first day of the competition, the Blue Devils qualified three women in the 1,000-meter run. Junior Lauren Matic, freshman Sally Meyerhoff, and sophomore Meghan Leon logged times of 2:51.37, 2:53.40, and 2:57.07, respectively.
The men's middle-distance runners turned in a strong performance, as the Duke distance medley relay team earned a spot at the IC4A championships.
Freshman Allison Nesbitt proved that distance was not Duke's sole strong suit, improving her ECACs qualifying time in the 60-meter hurdles to 8.73, the second fastest time in Duke history.
The meet's second day featured similar results to the first, and many of the same Blue Devils turned in noteworthy efforts. Matic qualified in a second event with her blistering 2:14.39 800-meter run; Meyerhoff did the same with a speedy 9:45.17 in the women's 3,000-meter run.
Senior distance runner Donny Fowler was the only Duke man to qualify Saturday, with his 1:53.95 time in the 800-meter run earning him a place at the IC4A championships. The cut-off time for qualifying was 1:54.4.
"I wasn't expecting to qualify this early," Fowler said. "With about a lap to go, I just took off. I'm very happy, of course."
Both the men's and women's teams head to Chapel Hill next weekend to compete in the Tar Heel Invitational. The men will compete Friday and the women Saturday.
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