Competing against more than 100 teams at the nation’s oldest annual track and field meet, both the men’s and women’s track teams enjoyed success at the ECAC/IC4A Championships in Princeton, N.J. The men ended the three-day long meet in 13th while the women finished eighth.
“It was a great weekend for both the men’s and the women’s teams,” head coach Norm Ogilvie said.
Headlining the men’s team was long jumper Jade Ellis, who earned All-East honors by breaking his own school record with a jump of 24’ 11”. The mark earned the freshman standout a silver medal and was the sixth-best mark in the NCAA Eastern Region during the outdoor season.
“It was a great jump from Jade,” Ogilvie said. “It was the best performance, period.”
Ellis also finished seventh in the triple jump with a distance of 49’ 4.25”. With these two finishes, Ellis contributed half of Duke’s 20 overall points.
“It’s just me getting better,” Ellis said. “As I continue to get better and get more personal records, the [school] records are going to go with me.”
Senior Nick Schneider, who ran with the lead pack in the men’s 5,000-meter run, finished in third place with a time of 14:06.88. The event secured Schneider’s ninth overall All-East honor, a new Duke record. Pole-vaulter John Fay also set a personal record after clearing 4.95 meters, good for fifth place and All-East honors.
In the sprint events, the 4x100 relay team of Brett Morrell, Jabari Marshall, Ronnie Drummer and anchor Dan King tallied the second-fastest time in school history at 41.81 seconds. Drummer also ran a season-best 10.68 in the 100-meter dash, the fastest time of any freshman in the meet.
For the women’s team, a pair of hometown athletes came through in a key 10-minute stretch. In the high jump, sophomore Debra Vento placed second after clearing a height of 1.84 meters.
Moments later, fellow New Jersey native Liz Wort pulled away in the final 150 meters of the women’s 1,500-meter run to win the event by two seconds with a time of 4:25.56.
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