CHAPEL HILL— The Blue Devils came out hot off the blocks as their first meets since winter break were defined by program records and a slew of top-five finishes. Separated by 197 miles, a portion of the team made the trek to Blacksburg, Va., for the Virginia Tech Invitational, while the remainder took to Tobacco Road for the UNC Dick Taylor Carolina Challenge.
“We had some great performances across the board, which is our philosophy … we had a lot of great performances, wins, in a lot of different events,” head coach Shawn Wilbourn said Sunday.
Graduate student Christian Johnson kicked things off for the Blue Devils on Friday evening in Chapel Hill. Johnson, looking to follow up on a record-breaking performance at the Liberty Kickoff in December, shattered the competition. The Clovis, Calif., native’s sixth throw, marked at 22.57m, bested his recent program record of 22.45m and landed 3.8m clear of the runner-up.
Also snagging wins in field events were Max Forte and Gemma Tutton. Forte, a senior, took first in the men's long jump after getting marked 7.33m into the sand on his second attempt. Although she couldn’t manage to clear 4.25m on the women’s pole vault, Tutton’s effortless climb to 4.11m was enough to take the top spot.
Rounding out the winners at Eddie Smith Field House was standout transfer TJ Clayton.
“The highlight I thought of the weekend was TJ Clayton in the 60m, who tied the school record, and in the first meet, he looked phenomenal,” Wilbourn highlighted.
The 6-foot-4 sprinter joined Duke as a graduate transfer following a campaign at Rhodes College where he was also a member of the men’s basketball team. In Chapel Hill, he blazed down the straight with a 6.69-second run that put him atop the podium and tied the Duke record.
“I think it shows how well our coaching staff has done in recruiting,” Wilbourn said. “It’s great to see the freshmen and the transfers that we bring in new to the program be able to contribute right away.”
The value of Duke’s newcomers was even more pronounced over in Blacksburg. Freshman Braelyn Baker managed a 37.80-second finish in the women’s 300m. A personal best, Baker’s time also put her second on the podium and in the program record books. The record wasn’t all that the Carnation, Wash., native walked away with — her 24.04-second performance in the women’s 200m was good for the win. On the men’s side, Aden Bandukwala added to the freshman effort with a win in the 800m.
Although success from new blood gives the Duke contingent much to be excited about, the strength of core returners is not to be understated. Junior Lauren Tolbert showcased one of the most impressive performances of the weekend with a 37.67-second time in the women’s 300m. The former First Team All-American now holds the top spot in the program record books, in addition to picking up a win. Tolbert is a key piece of the Blue Devils’ perennially dominant 4x400m unit — her continued success will be crucial to the team’s aspirations for an Indoor ACC championship.
“It was a great start, getting the opportunity to see our team compete and evaluate the talent we have … over the next couple of weeks, we’ll get a better feel for the conference and what they have,” Wilbourn said.
Top to bottom, Duke’s weekend of breaking program records and competing with other ACC teams promises much for fans to be excited about over the coming weeks. The team delivered early, came out strong and set itself on a trajectory to grasp the lofty expectations that the growing program has come to earn.
The Blue Devils get a week to reset before returning to Blacksburg for the Virginia Tech Hokie Challenge Jan. 24.
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