Men take 7th, women tie for 6th in ACC Indoors

The Blue Devil men’s and women’s teams experienced their best combined finish in history in an ACC meet this past weekend, with the men taking seventh place while the women finished tied for sixth at the ACC Indoor Championships.

Sophomore Curtis Beach was among the first to represent Duke in the multi-event competitions on Thursday. Beach won second place in the heptathlon, scoring a 5816 to put him only behind Clemson’s Miller Moss in the country. The score earned him automatic qualification for the NCAA meet.

“I never really focused on my overall score,” Beach said. “I just focused on taking one event at a time. I think that’s why I set personal records in the first three events.”

In the men’s 5k Friday, senior Bo Waggoner ran a 14:12.62 to come in fourth, while in the women’s race sophomore Juliet Bottorff ran a 16:10.38 to earn a silver medal. The women’s distance medley team of senior Katie Apibunyopas, juniors Brittany Whitehead and Esther Vermeer and freshman Gabby Levac, finished with a time of 11:25.05 to put Duke in fourth.

The Blue Devils also placed well in the field. On the women’s side, senior Amy Fryt earned a silver medal in the pole vault. For the men, freshmen Tanner Anderson and Michael Krone earned spots for Duke in the high jump, taking fifth and sixth, respectively. Beach also competed Friday in the long jump for Duke, and came in eighth with a jump of 23-feet-5.5 inches. At the end of the day, the men were in fourth place overall while the women held sixth.

On the final day, senior Kate Van Buskirk’s took a second place finish in the one mile race, which qualified her for the NCAA Championships. Senior Devotia Moore also earned all-ACC honors in her 800 meter race, in which she took third. Freshman Michelle Anumba earned a seventh place finish in the shot put, and the Duke women also managed to take seventh overall for the 4x400 meter relay. The team, which included Moore, Whitehead, sophomore Cydney Ross and freshman LaCresha Styles finished with a time of 3:43.88.

The men also wrapped up the meet with solid performances. In the mile, senior Ryan McDermott came in just behind Virginia junior Michael Hammond with his time of 4:07.56. Senior Mike Schallmo and junior Michael Barbas took second and fourth, respectively, in the shot put. Together, they scored 13 points for Duke, making the shot put the Blue Devils’ highest scoring event.

“We scored more points that we’ve ever scored before,” director of track and field Norm Ogilvie said. “It was a really good weekend, we finished with six silver medals and seven all-ACC performances. It was our best combined finish ever.”