Throwing Tandem Earns Trip to Nationals

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Jacksonville, Fla.

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Duke University

Day Two at NCAA East Preliminary Round

Throwing Tandem Earns Trip to Nationals

5/29/2015 10:16:00 PM | Track & Field

By: Duke Sports Information

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Returning to Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., for the second day of the NCAA East Preliminary Round, throwers Erica Brand and Thomas Lang highlighted the day for Duke by earning trips to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in their respective events. Today's qualifiers brings Duke's current total to five individuals with one day of competition remaining.

Entering the women's discus competition with a season-best mark of 175-7 (53.51m) and a personal-record distance of 177-9 (54.17m), Brand crushed her school record by two-and-a-half feet with a 180-3 (54.94m) performance. Brand's first throw of the event moved her to the top of the leaderboard and finished as the second-best mark overall, easily advancing her to next month's NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. It will be Brand's first trip to the outdoor national meet since qualifying in the discus as a sophomore in 2012.

“It definitely was a relief after getting a good mark on my first throw,” Brand said. “I think going in, I just really had to focus on calming my nerves and not think too much about what I was trying to do and just rely on all the practice I've had this season. That's what I did on that first throw and it turned out really great.”

“It's exciting for her [Brand],” assistant coach B.J. Linnenbrink said. “She got it done today. We've been working on trying to get off a good one in the first three and she did it on her very first throw of the day. It looked really good. When you do that, you kind of control the competition and make everybody chase you, and that's exactly what happened.”

Finishing almost simultaneously with Brand, Lang again came through in the clutch to secure a return trip to Eugene in the men's javelin. Lang sat just outside the top 12 heading into his final throw, but launched the implement 228-11 (69.78m) to secure third and a spot at nationals. This will be Lang's second consecutive year qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships after placing seventh in the event at regionals in 2014.

“[Lang] was solid all-around,” Linnenbrink said. “We've been talking about it for a while now about getting after it on the first three throws because we knew coming into this meet that was all we were going to get. On his first throw, he actually fell on the runway and banged up his arm a little bit, and I thought he did a good job of getting back in the hunt, especially on his last throw. He's become a very good competitor, and that was definitely proven today with how the meet unfolded for him.”

“Going into the competition, I was pretty nervous, more so than usual,” Lang said. “I'm not really sure why. I knew the level of competition was going to be high. I think this meet is the one I get the most worked up for because there's so much on the line with Eugene being the next step or your season being over before you know it.”

Lang has developed a reputation for performing his best when the stakes are at their highest. The conference champion the past two years, both of his ACC titles came off personal-best throws on his final attempt of the competitions.

“I guess maybe subconsciously I realize that my back is up against the wall and I really don't have any more opportunities to give it another shot,” Lang said. “I just really let it all hang out. I try to take a deep breath, be relaxed and just not think about what I'm doing.”

Rounding out the field events, sophomore Connor Hall represented Duke in the men's pole vault, while redshirt junior Stephen Boals competed in the men's discus. Hall, coming off a silver-medal performance at the ACC Outdoor Championships, cleared 15-11.00 (4.85m) to finish tied for 34^th. In the discus, Boals placed 42^nd with a throw of 166-6 (50.75m). One of two Duke student-athletes who qualified for multiple events, Boals will return to competition tomorrow for the men's shot put event.

The Blue Devils nearly added two national qualifiers on the track Friday, as sophomore Madeline Kopp and junior Anima Banks finished just outside the top 12 in the women's 400m and 800m, respectively. For the second consecutive day, Kopp reset the school record in the 400m, clocking a 52.74 to take 13^th overall and fourth in her heat. In the 800m, Banks also registered a personal best in her final race of the season. The Mamaroneck, N.Y., native crossed the finish line in 2:05.42, the fourth-fastest performance in program history, to place 16^th in the field.

Redshirt junior Teddi Maslowski, who already claimed a spot in Eugene in the women's heptathlon, ran in the first round of the 100m hurdles to try and earn a second bid. After speeding to a 13.47 showing to finish fourth in the first heat, Maslowski had to watch five more heats to find out if her time would stand up. When the dust settled, Maslowski's performance ranked 22^nd, advancing her to tomorrow's quarterfinals.

In the last race of the day for the Blue Devils, senior Elizabeth Kerpon took to the track for the first round of the women's 200m. The school-record holder in the event with a personal-best 23.69, Kerpon clocked a 23.93 to finish 30^th overall.

Duke will wrap up the final day of the NCAA East Preliminary Round Saturday, starting at 5 p.m. with Boals in the men's shot put.

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