The Blue Devils are always a dangerous track and field team to face at home, and this weekend’s Duke Invitational was no exception.
In a three-day marathon, Duke hosted athletes from over 20 schools at Morris Williams Stadium. The men’s and women’s squads both had impressive weekends, as the Blue Devils picked up wins in five events and podium finishes in several more.
“It was a great overall meet as we continue to get the team prepared for the championship season,” head coach Shawn Wilbourn said.
Thursday
The men’s hammer event was a testament to the Blue Devils’ tenacity and season improvement. Sophomore Christian Toro, freshman Phillips Moore and freshman Ben Kampman all scored a personal best.
Great Britain's Jack Paget posed the toughest challenge for Toro. Paget, 28, attended the Duke Invitational as an individual contestant. He threw 69.56m — but Toro threw a personal-best 70.13m to take a slim first-place finish over his older competitor and mark a new second-place Duke all-time record. He was tabbed an ACC Outdoor Performer of the Week Tuesday.
Blue Devil freshmen followed close behind Toro. Moore claimed fifth place with a personal best of 61.43m, while Kampan closed out the results at a personal best 44.81m. -Kate Reiniche
Friday
The Blue Devils broke two meet records on day two at the track. It began with junior Lauren Tolbert in the 800m Invite race.
She's been a superstar,” Wilbourn said. “But now as a junior, I think the confidence is coming with the physical ability.”
As the runners took to the start line, one thing was for sure: It was going to be a fast race. Three of the racers — Tolbert, Clemson’s Gladys Chepngetich and Judy Kosgei — had seed times of 2:01 or faster. Chepngetich was the clear favorite: she was the only one who’d broken the notorious two-minute barrier before. And Friday, the pacing lights were set for 57 and 63 seconds for the first and second laps respectively, primed to send more women sub-two.
The ten women crouched down into racing position. The gun sounded, and then they were off. After Duke’s own Ally Gomm paced the group to a blistering 57.49-second first lap, the field looked as expected: Chepngetich in the lead, with Kosgei and then Tolbert close behind. Then, as they sprinted the first curve before floating down the straight, Tolbert made her move. Around the final bend, she passed Kosgei, trailing Chepngetich by a mere 15 meters. As the home crowd cheered in anticipation, Tolbert blasted past the Tiger with 50 meters to go. With her time of 2:01.87, the Belmont, N.C., native smashed the meet and facility records, only 0.08 seconds off her own program-best mark. She was also named an Outdoor Performer of the Week by the ACC.
On the field, Moore and graduate student Eric Bottern continued the standard of excellence Toro had set for the throwers the day before.
“Eric … was at a D3 school, and he’s come here and he’s fit right into the team and bought into the culture,” Wilbourn said. “He just performs week in and week out.”
Competing in the men’s shot put, both Blue Devils registered their farthest throws on their sixth attempts. With a personal best of 18.15m at the very last moment, Bottern secured himself a runner-up finish. After failing three of five attempts, a mark of 18.03m was exactly what Moore needed to slot himself into third place.
As they powered through the rest of the day, the Blue Devils added more podium finishes. Graduate student Addie Renner placed third in high jump and sophomore Hattie Reynolds clinched the runner-up spot in the 3000m steeplechase.
At the end of the day, the Duke women only looked toward the next. Three of them secured spots in Saturday’s 100m final, led by senior Abby Geiser, who broke a 7-year old meet record with her time of 11.41 seconds in the prelims. -Prithvi Kotapati
Saturday
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The home squad ended Saturday with five event wins and two new meet and facility records. Tolbert, fueled from the high of her meet record, commanded the track once again in the women’s 400m. She ran a personal-best lap in 51.83 seconds, annihilating a four-year-old facility record and nine-year-old meet record.
“She's one of the best track and field athletes in the country," Wilbourn said.
Tolbert was not the only athlete Saturday to set a new meet and facility record. Within a few hours, graduate student Aliya Garozzo decided to claim her own in the women’s 400m hurdles as she clocked 55.77 seconds — almost two seconds ahead of the runner-up.
And the Blue Devils were still not done making history. Clocking 13.74 seconds in the men’s 110m hurdles, sophomore Michael Scherk made his presence known, coming out on top with his fastest collegiate performance yet. He matched exactly Jeff Howser’s No. 1 program record, set in 1971.
On the field, standout performances in the pole vault by sophomore Gemma Tutton and freshman TJ Rowan meant two additional top finishes.
The Blue Devils’ standout performances amid a packed meet schedule has shown them not only to be a threat to the competition, but a community that knows how to win while having fun doing it.
On the third day of competition, the invitational proposed a twist. After the men’s and women’s 4x100m races, brightly colored wigs, fake mustaches and some poorly bleached heads took to the track for the mixed 4x100m All-Campus Relay. Some fun for everyone. -Ava Grant