Thompson leads Duke track and field squads out to California
By Ali Wells | April 13, 2016Shaun Thompson has a plan for his Olympic Trials berth in the 10,000 meters.
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.
Senior Megan Clark won the women’s pole vault at the Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York with a new school and conference record of 15 feet, 1 inch—good for the top mark in the nation so far this season.
With the ACC indoor championships looming just three weeks away, the Blue Devils will look to kick it into high gear this weekend at their first of two elite meets in New York.
This weekend’s meet got most of the Duke squad back on the track after a one-weekend hiatus. But for one Blue Devil, the competition marked a comeback nearly two years in the making.
With winter storm Jonas cancelling their second meet of the indoor season and preventing them from practicing over the weekend, the Blue Devils are anxious to get going again.
Winter storm Jonas may have cancelled the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va., but it could not keep Karli Johonnot from a record-breaking performance at the Tobacco Road Cup.