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While the inclement weather made for a rough weekend in the field events, the women’s sprint squad stepped up to give the Blue Devils a few highlights at the final meet of the regular season.
This time last year, a female pole vaulter clearing 15 feet was breaking news.
Senior Megan Clark claimed the Duke Invitational title, school and conference record and top mark in the NCAA so far this season with a clearance of 15 feet, 2 1/4 inches Saturday—one of two wins and two program records set by Blue Devil seniors in the two-day meet at Morris Williams Track and Field Stadium.
The Blue Devils will host the two-day Duke Invitational Friday and Saturday at Morris Williams Track and Field Stadium, welcoming representatives from more than 20 schools—nearly a threefold increase from the 2015 event by the same name.
Clark rewrote her own record set at the Battle of the Blues two weeks ago with a new outdoor best of 14 feet, 11 inches, and Thompson shattered Robbie Perkins’ 40-year-old record in the 10,000 meters by nearly 10 seconds with a new NCAA top time of 28:47.48.
Shaun Thompson has a plan for his Olympic Trials berth in the 10,000 meters.
With windy conditions wreaking havoc in the field events, the Blue Devils stepped up on the track to provide the weekend’s highlight performances.
Duke will compete at the Spec Towns Invitational in Athens, Ga., Friday and Saturday, taking on some of the top teams in the ACC, SEC and Big 12.
The Blue Devils finished second in the women’s competition and third in the men’s against North Carolina and Michigan Saturday afternoon in the second and final day of the Battle of the Blues at Morris Williams Track and Field Stadium.
Duke will not just be facing its rivals in powder blue uniforms this weekend when three teams square off for the Battle of the Blues title with a squad in navy mixing up the usual Tobacco Road matchup.
Duke will head to the Raleigh Relays meet starting Friday with most of the squad competing in its first meet since the indoor ACC championships. But for two Blue Devils, Friday and Saturday’s competition will mark their 2016 debut.
It was almost déjà vu.
Senior Megan Clark posted a new personal, program and conference best in the pole vault in early February, clearing 15 feet, 1 inch to win the Armory Collegiate Invitational—a mark that would have matched the winning vault from the past two national championships.
Individual athletes Anima Banks, Megan Clark and Karli Johonnot and the distance medley relay of Kim Hallowes, Maddy Price, Madeline Kopp and Banks will represent the No. 16 Duke squad at the 2016 NCAA indoor championships March 11-12, seeking the first top-15 team finish in program history.
Four years after capturing gold in the pentathlon of the ACC championships in Boston as a freshman, redshirt senior Karli Johonnot climbed up to the top of the podium at the Reggie Lewis Center again—but this time, not on crutches.
After wrapping up the regular season with their highest ranking in program history, the Blue Devil women will face three more squads in the national standings as they aim to add their highest-ever finish at the conference championships to a season already full of highlights.
Duke’s women's distance medley relay recorded the 10th-fastest time in the nation at the UCS Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C., at the JDL Fast Track while the rest of the team made its first and only trip of the season to Blacksburg, Va., for the Virginia Tech Challenge Friday and Saturday.
With one weekend left before the conference championships, the Blue Devils have split up in search of the nation’s best competition to prepare them for the postseason.
Senior Anima Banks fell short of qualifying for the NCAA indoor championships last year, but when her final time lit up on the scoreboard Friday afternoon, any doubt that she would compete on the national stage in 2016 disappeared.
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, but a small contingent of Blue Devils are aiming to score a date to the national championships in Hoover, Ala., March11-12.