Upcoming Event: Track & Field versus Duke Invitational on April 8, 2026
Track & Field
vs Duke Invitational
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Duke Signs Eight to Class of 2022
11/12/2021 12:18:00 PM | Cross Country, Track & Field
DURHAM – The Duke track & field and cross country teams are excited to announce the addition of eight student-athletes to the 2022 recruiting class, including the third-ranked women's recruiting class according to MileSplit. Nick Falk, Dalia Frias, Julia Jackson, Jeremy Kain, Gianna Locci, Allison Neiders, Falon Spearman and Lauren Tolbert will compete for the Blue Devils across various units, including distance, jumps/sprints, hurdles and the pole vault.
"For the second year in a row, we have signed a class that will rank as one of the best in the nation," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Shawn Wilbourn. "We were able to sign a diverse group from a variety of event groups. As the director of this program, it is my goal to put a complete team on the track and in the field and this class will help us continue with that mission."
DISTANCE
Nick Falk will look to contribute to all three seasons for the Blue Devils. The Glencoe, Ill., native set the school record in the three-mile race and guided New Trier to its best finish (fourth) at the IHSA Cross Country State Championships, clocking in at 14:14 to garner second place. The team captain and team MVP also owns personal bests in the 1600m (4:16) and 3200m (9:03), which he set at the 2021 Deerfield Invite (1st) and Distance Night in Palatine (3rd), respectively.
Dalia Frias hails from Hermosa Beach, Calif., and currently competes for Mira Costa High School, where she owns the school record in the 800 (2:09.43), 1600 (4:46.34) and 3200 (10:15.61) meter events, respectively, all of which are personal bests. Frias, the 2020 Mira Costa Girls Athlete of the Year and a two-time Mira Costa High School MVP and Scholar-Athlete Award recipient for cross country and track & field, holds the Woodbridge Invitational three mile course record after clocking in at 15:43.5, the fastest time of her career. In 2019, she notched a third-place finish in the 5K at the D1 CIF State Cross Country Championships before going on to compete in the Foot Locker West Regional Qualifier and National Championships, where she notched a 5K personal best with a time of 17:10.70. Additionally, Frias was a Brooks PR qualifier after running the mile in 4:47.48.
Jeremy Kain recently collected his third straight cross country SCCAL League Championship. A native of Scotts Valley, Calif., Kain took home both the 2021 SCCAL League and California State Championships in 1600m, posting a time of 4:10.91 in the latter. He set a new Santa Cruz County 1600m record of 4:08.94, earned first place (14:08.6) at the 2021 Lowell Cross Country Invitational, as well as notched personal bests of 4:10.39 (men's mile run) at the 2021 Outdoor National Championships and 15:11.5 (5K) for 10th place at the 2021 Clovis Cross Country Invitational. Kain was named the Scotts Valley High School Most Valuable Cross Country Runner in 2018 and 2021, along with the Most Valuable Distance Runner from 2019-2021. The three-time Junior Olympic All-American in track & field and cross country also set the 12-year-old world record in the mile run (4:36.8), won the 2018 Junior Olympic National Champion (4x800m relay) and earned runner-up in the 2018 800m with a time of 2:01.39.
SPRINTS
Julia Jackson, a two-time state champion, was named the 2021 NJ.com Track Athlete of the Year after a strong 2021 campaign. She took the gold medal in the outdoor 400m race at the NJSIAA Track and Field Meet of Champions with a personal best of 54.48, while also assisting the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School girls 4x400 relay team to a personal best of 3:43.73 to take first place at the Meet of Champions. The Scotch Plains, N.J., native broke her own school indoor record and clocked in with a PR of 57:15 to win the 400 at the Union County Championships and claim her first county title. Jackson also owns outdoor PRs of 12.06 (100m) and 24.42 (200m), which she set during the Union County and Union County Conference Championships, respectively.
JUMPS/SPRINTS
Gianna Locci joins the Blue Devil family upon her graduation from Stillwater High School in Stillwater, N.Y. Locci owns the fourth and fifth best long jump marks in New York state history for outdoor and indoor track with leaps of 20-2 feet and 19-9.5 feet, respectively. Both distances ranked first in the state of New York that year and set the Section 2 All-Time record as well. Crowned the 2021 Times Union Girls' Track & Field Athlete of the Year, she garnered Adidas All-American recognition in the indoor long jump in 2021 and her recorded times in the outdoor 200m (25.20) and 100m (12.14) that year ranked fourth and fifth in the state, respectively. At the 2021 East Coast Outdoor Championships, Locci finished first in the outdoor long jump (5.94m) and second in the 100m (12.24) and triple jump (10.89m).
Locci was ranked the fifth-best high school long jumper in the country and took home first place in the long jump at the Armory Metro Eagles Invitational, while also earning Section 2 (long jump, triple jump, 100m, 200m) and WASAREN Outdoor League (long jump, 100m, 200m) championships. A WASAREN League All Star for outdoor (2021) and indoor (2020) track, Locci placed third in both the 2020 Long Jump NYSPHSAA and Long Jump Federation Indoor State Championships and helped lead Stillwater to the Section 2 2021 Outdoor and 2019-20 Indoor Championships. Additionally, she holds Stillwater's outdoor records in the 100m, 200m and long jump, as well as the indoor records for long jump, the 55m, 400m and 800m relay.
POLE VAULT
Allison Neiders, the Seattle, Wash., native comes from Holy Names Academy, where she set the Washington State High School freshman pole vault record, along with Holy Names' school record. Referred to by MileSplit as "one of the best pole vaulters in the country during the most competitive era in high school pole vaulting history," Neiders placed second at the 2021 Nike NSAF Outdoor Nationals and third at Vaulter Magazine Nationals with 14' jumps – a personal best, while also being ranked in the top-10 on the national T&FN HS leaderboard and the second-ranked outdoor pole vaulter in the class of 2022. Neiders also placed first in the pole vault at every meet for Holy Names and helped the team win the Metro Culminating Meet with placements in the 100m (second), 4x100 (second), pole vault (first) and long jump (first). As a freshman, she placed first in the Girls Rising Stars Open and second in the Girls Seeded pole vault events at the Arcadia Invitational, first at the Great Southwest Classic, second place at both the Pasco and Nike Eason Invitationals in Washington, while assisting Holy Names to the 2019 Metro and 3A State Championship.
A dual citizen of the United States and Latvia, Neiders is ranked by World Athletics as the No. 3 U18 athlete in 2021 pole vault, holds the Latvian women's, U23, U20 and U18 National Records (4.27m), captured the 2018 USATF JO Nationals Girls (13-14) and 2019 USATF Youth Indoor Nationals Girls (15-16) championships, as well as the 2019 New Balance National Outdoor freshman section title. She also placed first at the Association and Regional USATF JO Meets and fourth at JO nationals in 2019. During the 2021 campaign, Neiders finished the indoor season ranked ninth nationally amongst high school pole vaulters and third in the junior class. She also notched first place at the High School Nike Boise Indoors and University of Washington HS Invitational, second at Washington's Husky Classic and jumped a new PR of 13-6.5 feet to win the 2021 NW Indoor Pole Vault Championship.
HURDLES
Joining the Blue Devil hurdles unit is Falon Spearman, a Charlotte, N.C., native. Spearman took home the 2020 Junior Olympic Championship in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles, improving on the previous year's runner-up finishes in both events. She was twice named the North Carolina Independent School Female Athlete of the Year (2019, 2021), garnered 2019 (15-16) USATF Athlete of the Year honors and took home 60-meter hurdles titles at the 2020 Grant Holloway Invitational and AAU High School Elite Indoor Championships. Additionally, Spearman earned MileSplit Girls National Performer of the Week honors as a junior following a strong performance at the NCISAA Division 1 State Championships. Her personal best of 41.75 in the 300-meter hurdles ranked No. 5 in the country and No. 3 all-time in the state of North Carolina, while her 13.55 finish in the 100-meter hurdles was the fourth best in the United States.
SPRINTS / MID DISTANCE
Lauren Tolbert comes to Durham from Belmont, N.C., where she attends the Highland School of Technology. She has already made a name for herself on the national stage, finishing as the 2021 Nike Outdoors National Runner-Up in the 800m and the 2021 Indoors Adidas Nationals Bronze Medalist in the 400m. A five-time NCHSAA 1A State Champion, featuring four track titles (400m – 2019, 2021; 800m – 2021; 1000m – 2019) and one cross county championship (5k - 2020), Tolbert was named the 2021 NCHSAA 1A State MVP (800m), finished runner-up in the 2021 100m, and has also earned bronze medals in the 200 (2021), 4x400 (2019) and 5k (cross country - 2018).
Tolbert took home the 2021 NC Runners Twilight outdoor championship where she also recorded a personal best (2:07.77) in the 800m, clocked in a PR of 54.30 (400m) at the AAU North Carolina District Qualifier, garnered four consecutive Southern Piedmont 1A Conference Runner of the Year awards in cross country and is a two-time Gaston Country cross country champion (2019, 2021). Also, a force in the 800m AAU circuit, Tolbert collected the 2021 AAU Junior Olympics and Club National Championships, respectively, as well as the Junior Olympics bronze medal and NCAAU Regional Track MVP (15-16 Division) award in 2019.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils cross country and track & field, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeTFXC."
#GoDuke
"For the second year in a row, we have signed a class that will rank as one of the best in the nation," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Shawn Wilbourn. "We were able to sign a diverse group from a variety of event groups. As the director of this program, it is my goal to put a complete team on the track and in the field and this class will help us continue with that mission."
DISTANCE
Nick Falk will look to contribute to all three seasons for the Blue Devils. The Glencoe, Ill., native set the school record in the three-mile race and guided New Trier to its best finish (fourth) at the IHSA Cross Country State Championships, clocking in at 14:14 to garner second place. The team captain and team MVP also owns personal bests in the 1600m (4:16) and 3200m (9:03), which he set at the 2021 Deerfield Invite (1st) and Distance Night in Palatine (3rd), respectively.
Dalia Frias hails from Hermosa Beach, Calif., and currently competes for Mira Costa High School, where she owns the school record in the 800 (2:09.43), 1600 (4:46.34) and 3200 (10:15.61) meter events, respectively, all of which are personal bests. Frias, the 2020 Mira Costa Girls Athlete of the Year and a two-time Mira Costa High School MVP and Scholar-Athlete Award recipient for cross country and track & field, holds the Woodbridge Invitational three mile course record after clocking in at 15:43.5, the fastest time of her career. In 2019, she notched a third-place finish in the 5K at the D1 CIF State Cross Country Championships before going on to compete in the Foot Locker West Regional Qualifier and National Championships, where she notched a 5K personal best with a time of 17:10.70. Additionally, Frias was a Brooks PR qualifier after running the mile in 4:47.48.
Jeremy Kain recently collected his third straight cross country SCCAL League Championship. A native of Scotts Valley, Calif., Kain took home both the 2021 SCCAL League and California State Championships in 1600m, posting a time of 4:10.91 in the latter. He set a new Santa Cruz County 1600m record of 4:08.94, earned first place (14:08.6) at the 2021 Lowell Cross Country Invitational, as well as notched personal bests of 4:10.39 (men's mile run) at the 2021 Outdoor National Championships and 15:11.5 (5K) for 10th place at the 2021 Clovis Cross Country Invitational. Kain was named the Scotts Valley High School Most Valuable Cross Country Runner in 2018 and 2021, along with the Most Valuable Distance Runner from 2019-2021. The three-time Junior Olympic All-American in track & field and cross country also set the 12-year-old world record in the mile run (4:36.8), won the 2018 Junior Olympic National Champion (4x800m relay) and earned runner-up in the 2018 800m with a time of 2:01.39.
SPRINTS
Julia Jackson, a two-time state champion, was named the 2021 NJ.com Track Athlete of the Year after a strong 2021 campaign. She took the gold medal in the outdoor 400m race at the NJSIAA Track and Field Meet of Champions with a personal best of 54.48, while also assisting the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School girls 4x400 relay team to a personal best of 3:43.73 to take first place at the Meet of Champions. The Scotch Plains, N.J., native broke her own school indoor record and clocked in with a PR of 57:15 to win the 400 at the Union County Championships and claim her first county title. Jackson also owns outdoor PRs of 12.06 (100m) and 24.42 (200m), which she set during the Union County and Union County Conference Championships, respectively.
JUMPS/SPRINTS
Gianna Locci joins the Blue Devil family upon her graduation from Stillwater High School in Stillwater, N.Y. Locci owns the fourth and fifth best long jump marks in New York state history for outdoor and indoor track with leaps of 20-2 feet and 19-9.5 feet, respectively. Both distances ranked first in the state of New York that year and set the Section 2 All-Time record as well. Crowned the 2021 Times Union Girls' Track & Field Athlete of the Year, she garnered Adidas All-American recognition in the indoor long jump in 2021 and her recorded times in the outdoor 200m (25.20) and 100m (12.14) that year ranked fourth and fifth in the state, respectively. At the 2021 East Coast Outdoor Championships, Locci finished first in the outdoor long jump (5.94m) and second in the 100m (12.24) and triple jump (10.89m).
Locci was ranked the fifth-best high school long jumper in the country and took home first place in the long jump at the Armory Metro Eagles Invitational, while also earning Section 2 (long jump, triple jump, 100m, 200m) and WASAREN Outdoor League (long jump, 100m, 200m) championships. A WASAREN League All Star for outdoor (2021) and indoor (2020) track, Locci placed third in both the 2020 Long Jump NYSPHSAA and Long Jump Federation Indoor State Championships and helped lead Stillwater to the Section 2 2021 Outdoor and 2019-20 Indoor Championships. Additionally, she holds Stillwater's outdoor records in the 100m, 200m and long jump, as well as the indoor records for long jump, the 55m, 400m and 800m relay.
POLE VAULT
Allison Neiders, the Seattle, Wash., native comes from Holy Names Academy, where she set the Washington State High School freshman pole vault record, along with Holy Names' school record. Referred to by MileSplit as "one of the best pole vaulters in the country during the most competitive era in high school pole vaulting history," Neiders placed second at the 2021 Nike NSAF Outdoor Nationals and third at Vaulter Magazine Nationals with 14' jumps – a personal best, while also being ranked in the top-10 on the national T&FN HS leaderboard and the second-ranked outdoor pole vaulter in the class of 2022. Neiders also placed first in the pole vault at every meet for Holy Names and helped the team win the Metro Culminating Meet with placements in the 100m (second), 4x100 (second), pole vault (first) and long jump (first). As a freshman, she placed first in the Girls Rising Stars Open and second in the Girls Seeded pole vault events at the Arcadia Invitational, first at the Great Southwest Classic, second place at both the Pasco and Nike Eason Invitationals in Washington, while assisting Holy Names to the 2019 Metro and 3A State Championship.
A dual citizen of the United States and Latvia, Neiders is ranked by World Athletics as the No. 3 U18 athlete in 2021 pole vault, holds the Latvian women's, U23, U20 and U18 National Records (4.27m), captured the 2018 USATF JO Nationals Girls (13-14) and 2019 USATF Youth Indoor Nationals Girls (15-16) championships, as well as the 2019 New Balance National Outdoor freshman section title. She also placed first at the Association and Regional USATF JO Meets and fourth at JO nationals in 2019. During the 2021 campaign, Neiders finished the indoor season ranked ninth nationally amongst high school pole vaulters and third in the junior class. She also notched first place at the High School Nike Boise Indoors and University of Washington HS Invitational, second at Washington's Husky Classic and jumped a new PR of 13-6.5 feet to win the 2021 NW Indoor Pole Vault Championship.
HURDLES
Joining the Blue Devil hurdles unit is Falon Spearman, a Charlotte, N.C., native. Spearman took home the 2020 Junior Olympic Championship in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles, improving on the previous year's runner-up finishes in both events. She was twice named the North Carolina Independent School Female Athlete of the Year (2019, 2021), garnered 2019 (15-16) USATF Athlete of the Year honors and took home 60-meter hurdles titles at the 2020 Grant Holloway Invitational and AAU High School Elite Indoor Championships. Additionally, Spearman earned MileSplit Girls National Performer of the Week honors as a junior following a strong performance at the NCISAA Division 1 State Championships. Her personal best of 41.75 in the 300-meter hurdles ranked No. 5 in the country and No. 3 all-time in the state of North Carolina, while her 13.55 finish in the 100-meter hurdles was the fourth best in the United States.
SPRINTS / MID DISTANCE
Lauren Tolbert comes to Durham from Belmont, N.C., where she attends the Highland School of Technology. She has already made a name for herself on the national stage, finishing as the 2021 Nike Outdoors National Runner-Up in the 800m and the 2021 Indoors Adidas Nationals Bronze Medalist in the 400m. A five-time NCHSAA 1A State Champion, featuring four track titles (400m – 2019, 2021; 800m – 2021; 1000m – 2019) and one cross county championship (5k - 2020), Tolbert was named the 2021 NCHSAA 1A State MVP (800m), finished runner-up in the 2021 100m, and has also earned bronze medals in the 200 (2021), 4x400 (2019) and 5k (cross country - 2018).
Tolbert took home the 2021 NC Runners Twilight outdoor championship where she also recorded a personal best (2:07.77) in the 800m, clocked in a PR of 54.30 (400m) at the AAU North Carolina District Qualifier, garnered four consecutive Southern Piedmont 1A Conference Runner of the Year awards in cross country and is a two-time Gaston Country cross country champion (2019, 2021). Also, a force in the 800m AAU circuit, Tolbert collected the 2021 AAU Junior Olympics and Club National Championships, respectively, as well as the Junior Olympics bronze medal and NCAAU Regional Track MVP (15-16 Division) award in 2019.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils cross country and track & field, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeTFXC."
#GoDuke
2025 OUTDOORS TRACK & FIELD NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP - Duke Track & Field
Tuesday, June 17
Outdoor Track & Field ACC Men's Champions!
Friday, May 30
Duke Track & Field Brought It For The Raleigh Relays!
Tuesday, April 01
Duke Athletics: A Tour of Campus
Saturday, October 19
