Closer than ever to completing a season with a seemingly endless distance run, thrown and vaulted, the men's and women's track teams don't have too much farther to go.
Freshman distance standout Clara Horowitz will represent the Blue Devils in the 5-kilometer race at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Sacramento State College from June 11-14. Junior pole vaulter Brent Warner will be representing the men.
This was the first season where qualifications to the national championship meet were determined by performances in NCAA Regional meets.
Warner received an automatic bid, given to the top five finishers in each event. His vault of 16 feet, 7.25 inches meritedthe Blue Devils' first automatic bid under the new regional system. The height cleared by Warner also earned the junior a personal outdoor best and a spot at second place in Duke's record books.
"Brent has had great performances this year in the big meets," men's head coach Norm Ogilvie said. "So I liked his chances of beating vaulters who may have jumped higher than him cominginto the meet because of Brent's ability to perform when it counts."
Warner tallied second-place finishes in the indoor and outdoor Atlantic Coast Conference championships, as well as in the Penn Relays this spring. He also earned first-place result at the indoor IC4A Championships. Warner's ability to peak at these important meets augurs well for nationals.
"Credit Brent for being Mr. Clutch," Ogilvie said.
Warner himself is more modest when citing the causes for his success, focusing upon luck and regularity.
"While I'm not really one of the top guys in [the NCAA East Regional], I'm usually very consistent and I knew that if a few people had a bad day, I could get in," Warner said. "I jumped well and had a little luck on my side; it happened to work out."
According to Ogilvie, Warner's personal record-setting performance at the East Regionals is just the tip of the iceberg: the Biomedical Engineering major is a threat to clear 17 feet at nationals.
But Warner isn't worrying about eclipsing any milestones.
"I've really got nothing to lose," he said. "I'm just going to go out there, do my best and hopefully surprise some people."
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