Duke Distance Squad Shines at Spec Towns Invite

Friday, April 8

Athens, Ga.

12:00 PM

Duke University

Day One at Spec Towns Invitational

Banks Earns ACC Performer of the Week Honors

Duke Distance Squad Shines at Spec Towns Invite

4/8/2016 8:54:00 PM | Track & Field

Day 1 Results

By: Duke Sports Information

ATHENS, Ga. – Competing on the first day of the Spec Towns Invitational on the campus of the University of Georgia Friday, the Duke track & field program ended the opening session with three victories, all coming in the distance races.

The Blue Devil contingent dominated the women's 1,500 elite section, placing four in the top five. Senior Anima Banks paced the group with a winning time of 4:22.10, followed by fellow seniors Olivia Anderson and Madison Granger in third and fourth, respectively, with times of 4:26.64 and 4:27.82. The time for Anderson is a personal best and puts her under the automatic qualifying standard for the ACC Outdoor Championships. Rookie Kim Hallowes crossed the line just behind Granger in fifth, clocking a 4:29.35. Racing in the men's 1,500 elite race, junior Alec Kunzweiler and sophomore Jordan Burton each picked up top-five placings, as well, registering times of 3:50.56 and 3:53.30, respectively, to take third and fifth.

Duke continued to prove its distance depth across the board as the Blue Devils swept the men's and women's 3,000-meter runs. Starting with the women's race, graduate student Colleen Schmidt finished first in a time of 9:51.08, while junior Gina Daniel claimed third with a 9:55.24. On the men's side, junior Stephen Shine and sophomore Josiah Hanko captured the top two spots as Shine placed first with an 8:24.98, followed by Hanko at 8:31.90, both of which were personal bests.

Elsewhere on the track, redshirt senior Teddi Maslowski ran a 13.68 in the 100-meter hurdles to finish sixth overall.

In the field events, Duke finished with four top-10 placings across the seven competitions. Senior Michael Foley took eighth in the men's hammer throw with a toss of 187-0 (56.99m), while junior Grant Emrie also placed eighth in the men's long jump with a wind-aided mark of 22-9.25 (6.94m). Junior Amarie Bremel added a ninth-place showing in the women's discus with a throw 146-3 (44.58m), and fellow junior Connor Hall tied for ninth in the men's pole vault with a clearance of 15-3.50 (4.66m).

The Blue Devils will return to the track Saturday for the second and final day of the Spec Towns Invitational. Field events are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., followed by running events at 1 p.m.

#GoDuke