Young blood set the pace for Duke Saturday when the track team competed at the Tar Heel Opener in Chapel Hill.
Two school records were broken--both by freshman. Beth Maher turned in a memorable performance in the javelin with a distance of 132-9, placing fourth in the competition. Maher also tied the school record for the shot-put with a mark of 42-8.25, which was good enough for third.
"I was really excited because it was the first time I had ever [thrown a javelin in competition]," Maher said. "I began practicing in September when I came to school."
Maher will need a mark of 139-10 in the javelin throw to earn a trip to the NCAAs.
In the hammer throw Kelly Reynolds set a Blue Devil record of her own with a toss of 166-4, which placed her second overall. Both Maher and Reynolds qualified for the ECAC Championships and are focused on improving their distances in order to qualify for the NCAA Championships in June.
"It was a pretty decent throw for me," Reynolds said. "But hopefully I will throw much farther. I'm aiming for 190, which I need to qualify for the NCAAs."
The Duke women also had two other top-three finishes. Sophomore Tiara Monroe finished third in the triple jump with a distance of 35-8.5, and senior Ifey Anoliefo claimed third in the long jump, notching a mark of 17-9.
The highlight on the men's side was the 4x100 team of Brett Morrell, Ben Kittleson, Dan King and Marc Winniford. The quartet finished with an IC4A qualifying time of 41:95, which was also the fourth best time Duke has ever registered in the event.
"I think we were all a little bit surprised by how well we did," Morrell said. "We thought we could definitely qualify [for the IC4As], but I don't think any of us expected us to run as fast as we did."
Morrell also placed second in the long jump with a distance of 21-4.75.
The Blue Devils also performed well in the steeplechase. Erik Amdisen placed first with a time of 9:36.34, and Pat Parish finished with a time of 10:04.26.
Despite the fact that a lot of the members of Duke's Track and Field team didn't perform in Chapel Hill, it was a time for the freshman to show off.
"We definitely have a real talented freshman class this year," Morrell said. "We're looking good because there are a lot of young people that are only going to get better."
Most of the track and field team will be competing in the Raleigh Relays next week. For Duke's best runners this is a time to warm up, according to head coach Norm Ogilvie.
"Basically it all comes down to who is ready the last weekend in May," Ogilvie said. "We don't want everybody to be sharp and ready to go in March. We want them ready in May. A lot of our athletes are training through in the early part of the season. Well be seeing some more of them in action next weekend."
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