Blue Devils prep for ACC run

With several of its athletes resting up for next weekend's ACC championships, Duke headed to the Carolina Fast Times looking for last-minute qualifying marks.

The meet also was a final chance for the Blue Devils to perfect their forms before one of the most important outings of the season.

"The meet is the week before the ACCs," head coach Norm Ogilvie said. "It's time for guys on the bubble to make their case for going to the conference championships."

Sophomore Chris Rowland ran a personal best in the 800-meter race to qualify for the IC4As. Rowland's time of 1:52.11 was good for a fifth-place finish in the meet.

"It was a breakthrough race for Chris," Ogilvie said. "It was his best race of the year, and it'll give him a lot of confidence going into the ACCs."

Senior Dan King qualified for the IC4As in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.73. King used the 200 as a speed workout for his primary event, the 400-meter race, in which he will compete next weekend.

"Dan said he came out kind of flat in the 400," Ogilvie said. "It made him determined to come back and run a good 200."

Several Duke field athletes continued their postseason-level performances by extending their streaks of qualifying marks.

Senior Debra Vento came in second in the high jump with a mark of over five-feet eight-inches to qualify for the NCAA Eastern regionals for the fourth straight week. The defending ACC outdoor high jump champion used the meet to tweak her approach, Ogilvie said.

Vento faces tough competition at the upcoming outdoor championship after placing second at this year's indoor ACC championships to Viktoria Andonova of Miami.

Senior Kelly Reynolds extended her ECAC qualifying streak to three straight meets with her second-place throw of 165-10. For the men, senior Jonathan Fay notched his third IC4A qualifying mark this season with his meet-winning pole vault of 15-feet seven-inches.

Junior Robert Weinstein won the javelin throw with a mark of 179'-11," falling just short of the IC4A qualifying standard.

Discussion

Share and discuss “Blue Devils prep for ACC run” on social media.