Pole Vault Duo Punches Tickets to Eugene

Thursday, May 28

Jacksonville, Fla.

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Duke University

Day One at NCAA East Preliminary Round

Pole Vault Duo Punches Tickets to Eugene

5/28/2015 10:15:00 PM | Track & Field

By: Duke Sports Information

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It only took one jump for junior Megan Clark to earn her first trip to Eugene for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. In what has been a tremendous junior season that includes a silver medal at the NCAA Indoor Championships and conference titles in both the indoor and outdoor women's pole vault, Clark kept the 2015 campaign alive by clearing 13-8.50 (4.18m), her lone attempt of the competition, to secure a top-12 finish. Clark came up just short of qualifying for the national meet as a sophomore in 2014, placing 14^th after dealing with a weather delay and her pole snapping mid-vault.

“It means a lot to me that I'm going to Eugene for the first time,” Clark said. “I've worked really hard and it never really worked out before, so I'm glad that a lot of things came together here. I feel like I was a lot more prepared to handle all the stresses because of everything I had to deal with in the past.”

“I think it is a big relief for her,” associate head coach Shawn Wilbourn said. “She was a little anxious today. She even said she didn't sleep well last night, and it all stems from what happened last year. We went to lunch and just kind of talked, and I let her know that she is a different vaulter from last year and to just keep doing what she's been doing. She looked good in warmups and everything came together.”

Joining Clark in claiming a spot at the national meet was freshman teammate Madison Heath. The rookie out of Mandeville, La., was flawless in her regional debut, clearing all three heights she attempted on her first try to tie Clark with a height of 13-8.50.

“I felt really good today,” Heath said. “I was kind of nervous coming out because I felt that I definitely could make nationals, but anything can happen in a meet. I just went out there with the goal of doing my personal best, and then whatever place I ended up with was just going to be the place I ended up with. I just went out there and thought of everything we've been working on the past few weeks, and I just tried to technically do my best and focus on the things that I could control.”

“We've been preparing her [Heath] for this,” Wilbourn said. “I try to get my kids to compete their best in the biggest meets. We've talked a lot about it and I've really tried to be positive with her and letting her know that she belongs and that she can make it to Eugene. That was the goal as a freshman, and she kind of just developed the confidence as the season progressed. She is going to be phenomenal, her and Megan together next year, but I'm excited for Eugene first because I think Madison can jump over 14 feet in Eugene and place pretty well.

“I was so confident that we bought both of their tickets to Eugene this morning,” Wilbourn said. “We knew we could cancel them within 24 hours, but I felt good and said let's get these tickets now because I felt like both of them could get through.”

On the track, three Blue Devils extended their seasons by registering qualifying times for the next rounds of their respective events. In the women's 1,500m, junior Madison Granger clocked a 4:21.23 to finish seventh, punctuated by a final lap time of 1:07.27. Granger will take Friday off before returning Saturday for the quarterfinals of the 1,500m at 6:30 p.m., needing a top-12 showing to advance to Eugene.

Running in the women's 400m, sophomore Madeline Kopp showed off her speed for the fans at Hodges Stadium, smashing her own school record with a 52.76 showing. Kopp's career performance pegged her 11^th overall, qualifying her for Friday's quarterfinal heat at 6 p.m.

Rounding out the Duke runners qualifying for quarterfinals was junior Anima Banks in the women's 800m. Banks produced her best race of the season, placing second in the third heat and 10^th overall with a time of 2:05.88 to automatically advance to Friday's quarterfinal at 7 p.m.

Needing a top-12 finish to earn a trip to Eugene, graduate student Jessie Rubin placed 23^rd in the women's 10,000m race, clocking a time of 35:12.42. The lone competitor of the day for the Duke men, Nate McClafferty saw his season come to an end in the men's 1,500m. The senior out of Wernersville, Pa., crossed the finish line in a time of 3:50.89, taking seventh in his heat and 28^th overall.

The Blue Devils will return to the track Friday for day two of the NCAA East Preliminary Round, starting at noon with graduate student Erica Brand in the women's discus and redshirt junior Thomas Lang in the men's javelin.

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