Duke Successful at Day One of Armory Invite

Friday, January 30

New York, N.Y.

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Day One at Armory Collegiate Invitational

Duke Successful at Day One of Armory Invite

1/30/2015 8:30:00 PM | Track & Field

By: Duke Sports Information

NEW YORK CITY – After the first day of the Armory Track Invitational, the Duke men's and women's track teams claimed first in one race and had multiple performances shake up the program's all-time lists, including one school record falling.

The women's distance medley relay squad, made up of seniors Anima Banks, Callie Francis and Jessica Buttinger and sophomore Haley Meier, secured the Blue Devils lone first-place finish on the day. The unit combined to run a time of 11:23.42, finishing just over a second in front of second-place Wisconsin.

Individually, sophomore Madeline Kopp highlighted Friday's action in New York City by running the women's 500m faster than any Blue Devil before her, clocking a time of 1:12.11. Kopp, who already holds the school record in the indoor 400 and is in the top five in the 60, 200 and 300, placed second in the race and bested the previous Duke standard of 1:13.63, set by Duke standout Cydney Ross in 2009. Senior teammate Lauren Hansson joined Kopp in the event, placing sixth in a time of 1:13.68 to move into the No. 3 spot on Duke's all-time list.

In the field events, redshirt junior Stephen Boals garnered runner-up honors in the men's shot put, tossing the implement 58-5.25 (17.81). Boals has now placed in the top three at each of the first three meets to start the 2015 indoor season, winning the event at the Carolina Cup and placing third at the Hokie Invitational.

Junior Megan Clark also notched her third consecutive top-three finish, taking second in the women's pole vault with a season-best 13-11.25 (4.25). Clark won the event at both the Carolina Cup and the Hokie Invitational leading up to this weekend. Freshman Madison Heath tied her personal-best performance of 12-11.50 (3.95) to finish in eighth.

After setting Duke's indoor 300 record last weekend, sophomore Chaz Hawkins tied for the third-best time in school history in the 400 by running a 49.10. Hawkins placed 13^th, followed by freshman Brett Bofinger in 31^st with a time of 49.92.

In the women's 400, senior Elizabeth Kerpon earned a ninth-place finish, crossing the finish line in 55.46, while freshman Maddy Price took 10^th. A native of Hillsborough, Calif., Price moved into the No. 4 spot on Duke's all-time list with a time of 55.66.

Duke placed two in the top eight of the men's 1,000, with freshman Sean Kelly taking sixth and senior Henry Farley finishing eighth. Kelly crossed the line in 2:26.41, followed by Farley with a time of 2:26.96.

The Blue Devils will return for day two of the Armory Track Invitational Saturday, with the first events starting at 8:55 a.m.

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