This is becoming an epic season for the women of Duke track and field.
The Duke women placed third out of 100 teams last weekend in the ECAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship, racking up 54 points. It was the highest finish ever for the Blue Devils at this competition.
"The team seems to be coming together at the right time," head coach Norm Ogilvie said. "The coaching staff came to the decision this year that we wanted to be at our best in late May. We trained hard through the indoor season, and maybe sacrificed some success indoors, so we could be good at the end of the outdoor season."
In some events, Duke athletes were better than good. In the 4x800-meter women's relay, Duke won the event for the first time ever in the ECACs. The quartet of Shannon Rowbury, Allison Hofman, Meaghan Leon, and Lauren Matic beat rival Georgetown by a tenth of a second, finishing the race in a blazing time of 8:42.01.
Rowbury, who ran anchor for the Blue Devils in the relay, also placed third overall in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:10.25, a time that got her All-East honors. Sally Meyerhoff also stood out for Duke, winning the 5,000-meter run on the first day of competition with a time of 16:22.94. Sophomore Clara Horowitz turned in another impressive performance on the women's side, placing third in the 3,000-meter run and finishing the race in 9:31.59, also good for All-East distinction. Additionally, Matic turned in a sixth-place finish in the 1,500-meter race with a time of 4:27.51, qualifying her for the NCAA Regionals and giving the women's team another All-East representative.
Meanwhile, the men garnered 13 points in the IC4As, good for a 24th-place finish, and had a few solid performances.
Senior Jon Amt raced to continue his career and succeeded. Starting the race, Amt knew he had to run a regional qualifying time in the 800-meter run. He did precisely that, notching a time of 1:50.20 and postponing the end of his career at least another two weeks. The time was also the fifth fastest ever posted by a Duke athlete.
In the 10,000-meter event, freshman Keith Krieger and junior Michael Hatch excelled, placing second and eighth, respectively. Both earned All-East accolades. Krieger's time of 30:13.93 was his best this season. Junior Nick Schneider also had a solid weekend, finishing eighth in the 1,500-meter race with a time of 3:51.73.
After the weekend was over, Ogilvie was very proud.
"We showed that we are one of the best track programs on the East coast."
The NCAA East Regional is next on the radar screen for Ogilvie's program. The event is from May 28-29 in Gainesville, Fla.
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