Blue Devils set records in Collegiate Invitational

After setting collegiate and school records at previous meets, Duke headed to the New Balance Collegiate Invitational last weekend with confidence.

Once there, the Blue Devils went on to win four championships and set three new school records.

“It was a great weekend for the whole program,” director of track and field Norm Ogilvie said. “It was the most successful regular season indoor meet we’ve had in a very long time.”

On the men’s side, senior Josh Lund ran the distance medley championship with sophomore teammates Curtis Beach, Domenick DeMatteo and freshman Ben Raskin. Lund ran the last leg to secure the win and the Blue Devils took first in the event for the second year in a row. Less than 24 hours later, Lund was back for the 3000m championship where his time of 8:04.85 shaved nearly six seconds off the previous school record set by senior Bo Waggoner.

Waggoner set a record of his own at the meet as well, breaking his previous school record in the 5k with a time of 14:10.50. Although four seconds faster than his championship winning time last year, Waggoner finished in third this weekend.

There were other solid performances in the field for the men, especially in the high jump. On Friday, freshman Michael Krone tied the record set by fellow freshman Tanner Anderson. The next day, Anderson raised his record by about one and a quarter inches.

Prior to the start of this season, the Duke team had no athletes who were able to clear seven feet in the high jump. After this weekend, it has two.

The Blue Devil women also had a successful weekend, placing sixth overall. Senior Kate Van Buskirk won the women’s one-mile championship with a time of 4:35.83, giving her the nation’s top time in the indoor event this season. The 4x200m team also performed well, running the fastest time yet for Duke.