Duke remained behind its Tobacco Road rival to open its indoor track season Saturday, though it still finished in the middle of the pack thanks to strong performances in the middle distance and field events.
The Blue Devil men and women each finished second behind North Carolina in the Carolina Cup at the Eddie Smith Field House in Chapel Hill Sunday. N.C. State placed third and East Carolina placed fourth in both competitions.
On the women's side, sophomore Brittany Aveni won the 400-meter dash in 56.15 seconds, more than a full second ahead of the rest of the field, and junior Olivia Gwynn broke five minutes to win the mile run. Junior Gabrielle Richichi was right behind her teammate in second place in the mile with a time of 5:01.90.
Duke had three of the top four finishers in the women's pole vault, led by senior Madison Heath, who cleared a height of 4.31 meters to win the event. Kethlin Campbell and Sydnei Murphy were also the top two finishers in the long jump by a wide margin.
The Blue Devil men enjoyed first-place finishes from Rivers Ridout in the high jump and Esteban Suarez in the pole vault. Duke runners also placed second and third in both the 800 meters and the mile run, barely missing out on first place in both events.
Duke will go up against a bigger field next weekend in the Clemson Invite Friday and Saturday.
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