At the Terrier Classic, known for attracting some of the best collegiate runners and hosting an especially competitive field in distance events, the men's and women's track teams showcased their talent Saturday and Sunday.
Just three weeks into the indoor season, both sets of Blue Devils rose to the occasion at Boston University as several runners placed in their respective events and set new school records.
In what men's coach Norm Ogilvie characterized as one of the better performances of the weekend, grad student Joe Wirgau and Terry Brennan placed 11th and 13th, respectively, in the men's championship 5000 meter run. Both men shattered All-American Robbie Perkins' school record of 14:28.60, dating back to 1976, as Wirgau clocked in at 14:22.54 and Brennan followed closely behind at 14:25.91.
Running in the 1000 championship, Brendan Fitzgibbon placed fifth with a time of 2:26.17 to become the No. 2 all-time performer at Duke in that event.
The women's team kept up the pace as Ellie Culp set a new school record and qualified for the ECAC's, held the last weekend in February, when she crossed the line at 17:12.90 in the unseeded 5000 run.
"Just a week ago Ellie ran 18:01 in our meet against Army," women's coach Jan Ogilvie said. "[Ellie] comes from a part of the country, Utah, that doesn't run much indoor track. And after she was out last year because of a knee injury, she's been able to constantly surprise us and we just have no idea how good she can be."
The Blue Devils' success was truly a collective effort, with both the men and women's relay teams making for a strong showing. In Sunday's featured event, Mike McKeever, Lamar Grant, Kyle Leonard and Brennan teamed up for the distance medley. They combined their talents in the 1200, 400, 800 and 1600, respectively, for a time of 9:48.36.
This time was good enough for a third-place finish in the event, as well as the fastest time in the ACC for the year, and was less than eight seconds behind first place Central Massachusetts, whose team was comprised of professional runners training for the Olympics.
Not to be outdone by its male counterparts, the women's distance medley team of Katie Atlas, Stephanie Thomas, Heather Ryan and Megan Sullivan qualified for the ECAC's when they clocked in at 11:58.70. The same quartet teamed up again for a second-place finish in the 4x800 relay and broke a school record set back in 1994 with a time of 9:21.24.
After a busy weekend, the majority of the team will have this weekend off as they prepare for the ACC Championship to be held later this month. Six athletes, however, will travel to Virginia Tech on Friday for a meet.
Note: Several members of the men and women's track teams traveled to Delaware with assistant coaches Todd Doughy and Art Smith for the Delaware Invite. Sophomore Beverly Asante won the 500 in a time of 1:20.29. The 4x400 relay team of Courtney Botts, Fay Wells, Margaret Ng and Dana Howle posted a 4:07.67 first place time. Lisa Bell won and set a school record in the pole vault with a height of 10-9. Tom Becker won the 3000 in 8:37, while Seth Benson recorded his second win in the pole vault with a 15-9 jump that ranks him third in the ACC in the event.
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