Blue Devils Head to Notre Dame for ACC Indoor Championships

Thursday, February 27

South Bend, Ind.

Duke University

Day One at ACC Indoor Championships

Blue Devils Head to Notre Dame for ACC Indoor Championships

2/26/2020 2:52:00 PM | Track & Field

ACC NETWORK EXTRA | FRIDAY ACC NETWORK EXTRA | SATURDAY LIVE RESULTS SCHEDULE OF EVENTS HEAT SHEETS (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke track & field program is set to compete at the 2020 ACC Indoor Championships Feb. 27-29 in South Bend, Ind.

Setting the Scene

The Blue Devils will compete in the Loftus Sports Center on the campus of Notre Dame.
At the 2019 championship meet, the Duke women finished fifth in the team standings with 60 points while the men posted a ninth-place finish with 30.5 points.
Friday and Saturday's portion of the meet will feature coverage on ACC Network Extra. ESPN broadcaster Shawn Kenney will be handling play-by-play duties while Larry Rawson will be alongside as an analyst.

Among the ACC

The Blue Devils feature several student-athletes who have performed among the best in the conference and the country.
For the women, 14 recorded marks set by 10 individuals and two relays are in the top 10 of the ACC while the men boast six individuals in the top 10 – including one atop the conference – as well as two relays.

Wisner Holds Top Mark in the 800m

Senior Matt Wisner is coming off a seasonal-best performance at the JDL DMR Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he won the men's invite 800m with a raw time of 1:50.17.
With a flat track conversion, Wisner's time of 1:48.62 ranks as the fastest in the ACC this indoor season.
Wisner has gone up against strong fields in the 800m throughout the entire 2020 campaign, including the Tiger Paw Invitational, where he lined up next to four of the top 16 runners in the nation, and the Camel City Invitational, where his competition included the 2016 Olympic Bronze medalist.
The senior from Carlisle, Pa., will also be a member of the men's distance medley relay and 4x400m relay squads.

Marsh Shows Her Versatility in 2020

Junior Erin Marsh has proven to be one of Duke's most versatile performers this indoor season, ranking in the top 10 in the ACC in the 60m hurdles, high jump and long jump.
Marsh clocked an 8.38 time in the 60m hurdles at the "Doc" Hale Virginia Tech Elite Meet, which is the ninth-fastest mark in the conference and the second-best time in Duke program history.
The junior from Buford, Ga., cleared 1.70m (5-7.0 feet) in the high jump that same weekend in Blacksburg, which is tied for ninth-best among ACC jumpers.
She tied for the 10th-best clearance in the long jump one week later, when she recorded a distance of 5.94m (19-6.0 feet) at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, S.C. That mark also ranks as the fifth-best all-time at Duke.
Marsh will be competing in all three events as well as the pentathlon in South Bend. She was the runner-up in the pentathlon at the 2019 ACC Indoor Championships, finishing with 4,132 points.

Beatty Leads the Way in Field Events

Redshirt junior Ben Beatty has been one of the ACC's top performers in the men's weight throw and shot put this season.
In the weight throw, Beatty has finished in the top five in four of the five meets he has participated in. At the Virginia Tech Challenge this past weekend, he threw a career-best 19.08m (62-7.25 feet), which broke a school record and ranks fifth in the ACC in 2020.
Beatty also sits at fourth in the conference in the shot put, as he placed first at the Tiger Paw Invitational with a mark of 18.01m (59-1.25 feet) – good for second all-time by a Duke student-athlete.

Fantastic Freshmen

Duke has been boosted by a talented crop of freshmen this indoor season, led by Ezra Mellinger, Beau Allen and Isabel Wakefield.
Mellinger set the school record on two separate occasions in the men's 200m – first at the "Doc" Hale Virginia Tech Elite Meet, where he clocked a time of 21.48, and then again with a time of 21.46 at the Tiger Paw Invitational. The time ranks seventh in the ACC and is the fastest among ACC freshmen.
Allen has placed in the top five in the high jump at all five competitions he has appeared in, and his clearance of 2.12m (6-11.50 feet) is tied for fifth in the conference. The mark is also good for fourth in program history.
Wakefield earned 3,753 points in the pentathlon at the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge in New York City, which is good for second in the ACC this indoor season. Meanwhile, her clearance of 5.85m (19-2.50 feet) in the long jump ranks 14th in the ACC. The England native is set to compete in the pentathlon and long jump this weekend.

Success in the Women's Relays

The Duke women have two relay teams that rank in the ACC and will look to continue their success in South Bend.
The women's distance medley relay (DMR) squad has the third-best time in the conference and 12th-best in the nation, finishing at 11:06.57 at the JDL DMR Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Junior Leigha Torino, junior Lauren Hoffman, senior Brittany Aveni and junior Michaela Reinhart will compete for the Blue Devils.
Hoffman, Aveni, freshman Halle Bieber and sophomore Nikki Merritt will take part in the women's 4x400m relay. That quartet's time of 3:42.09 set at the Tiger Paw Invitational ranks sixth in the ACC.

#GoDuke

MEN:

Beau Allen	High Jump
CJ Ambrosio	5000m
Connor Atkinson	DMR
Ben Beatty	Weight Throw, Shot Put
Rory Cavan	Mile
Joe Cullen	800m
Paul Dellinger	5000m
Aiden Felty	Shot Put
Kyle Foltz	Heptathlon
Cole Hoff	5000m
Joseph Laster	60m, 200m
Ezra Mellinger	Long Jump, 200m
Alex Miley	DMR, Mile
Miles Mingo	400m
Matt Politis	DMR, 800m
Josh Romine	3000m
Cole Rowan	Pole Vault
Jacob Sobota	Heptathlon
Esteban Suarez	Pole Vault
Tom Sullivan	3000m
Keith Williams	High Jump
Matt Wisner	DMR, 800m
Connor Atkinson, Ezra Mellinger, Miles Mingo, Matt Wisner, Jacob Sobota (replacement)	4x400m Relay

WOMEN:

Brittany Aveni	DMR, 400m
Amanda Beach	5000m
Halle Bieber	60m Hurdles, 200m
Lindsay Billings	5000m
Elasia Campbell	High Jump
Emily Cole	Mile
Jenna Crean	200m
Lauren Hoffman	DMR
Carly King	400m
Kate Kutzer	Pentathlon, Long Jump
Erin Marsh	Pentathlon, High Jump, Long Jump, 60m Hurdles
Cassie Martin	High Jump
Nikki Merritt	400m
Sara Platek	5000m, 3000m
Michaela Reinhart	DMR, 3000m
Samantha Schadler	800m
Kelcie Simmons	60m, 200m
Leigha Torino	DMR, Mile
Isabel Wakefield	Pentathlon, Long Jump
Chesney Ward	Pole Vault
Lauren Hoffman, Halle Bieber, Brittany Aveni, Nikki Merritt, Jenna Crean/Carly King (replacements)	4x400m Relay