Blue Devils Open Indoor Season at JDL College Kick-off

Saturday, December 4

Winston-Salem, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

Day One at JDL College Kick-off

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Open Indoor Season at JDL College Kick-off

12/3/2021 10:56:00 AM | Track & Field

LIVE RESULTS

DURHAM – Duke track & field kicks off the 2021-22 indoor campaign this weekend, as 41 student-athletes get set to compete in the JDL College Kick-off at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Blue Devil women will compete on Saturday, while the men open their season on Sunday.

The JDL College Kick-off marks the beginning of the season for the Blue Devils and is the only event on Duke's schedule prior to the winter break. The Blue Devils return 13 All-ACC indoor track & field athletes looking to build off last season's success, seven of whom are competing this weekend - Erin Marsh, Elasia Campbell, Isabel Wakefield, Carly King, Jenna Crean, Alejandro Rodriguez and Ezra Mellinger.

Thirteen student-athletes are also set to make their Duke debuts – Paige Sommers, Chyler Turner, Abby Geiser, Meredith Sims, Michael Fairbanks, Max Forte, Mohammad Almarhoun, Mike Herzog, Michael Bennett, Bri'Yon Watts, Megan McGinnis and Alex Kilpatrick.

Saturday, Dec. 4 (Women):

10 a.m. – Shot Put, Pole Vault, Long Jump, 60m. Weight Throw and Triple Jump to follow

Kinsie Huggins, Lara Kohlenbach and Erin Marsh will compete in the shot put.
Huggins looks to build off last indoor season's success, which saw her notch a PR of 13.43m (44-0.75 feet) at the Virginia Tech Challenge, No. 5 all-time in Duke history.
Kohlenbach and Marsh compete in a trio of events this weekend, beginning with shot put. Marsh, a 2021 USTFCCCA First Team All-American and NCAA Bronze Medalist in the pentathlon, owns the school record in the pentathlon, set at the NCAA Indoor Championship with a mark of 4,344 points.
Brynn King and Paige Sommers open their respective junior and freshman seasons in the pole vault.
Sommers enters as a decorated high school pole vaulter and one of the Blue Devils' top signees from the 2021 recruiting class. Tabbed the 2021 High School Girls Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News, Sommers competed in the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials and set the national high school pole vault record with a clearance of 4.50m (14-9 feet).
Kohlenbach joins Abby Geiser and Isabel Wakefield in the long jump.
Geiser won a state title in Texas and set the state meet record in the long jump.
Wakefield was named All-ACC Second Team following a fourth-place finish in the pentathlon at 2021 ACC Indoor Championships, where her finish in the long jump contributed to her 3,936 points - the fourth best pentathlon point total in Duke history.
Payton Little, Moorea Mitchell and Jamila Otieno will take part in the weight throw. Mitchell posted the fourth best throw in program history in the weight throw with a mark of 16.50m (54-1.75 feet) at the Virginia Tech Challenge.
Geiser, seniors Nikki Merritt and Kelcie Simmons, along with juniors Carly King and Maya Provencal open the track events in the 60m.
Simmons, a USTFCCCA All-America Second Team and All-ACC Second Team selection, owns the third best indoor marks in the Duke record books in the 60m (7.51) and 200m (23.82). King is coming off her first indoor All-ACC Second Team selection.

10:45 a.m. – 60m Hurdles

Marsh and Wakefield join junior Elasia Campbell, sophomore Brianna Smith and freshman Chyler Turner.
Marsh is one of the top returners in the event, collecting three top-five finishes in the 60m hurdles during the 2021 indoor season, including a career weekend at the ACC Indoor Championships. Marsh won a silver medal and shattered her previous school record in the 60m hurdles by 0.12 seconds with a final time of 8.06 on the way to a silver medal and All-ACC First Team honors.
Wakefield is tied for the third best mark in program history with a PR time of 8.44 seconds, also set at the ACC Indoor Championships last season.

11:30 a.m. – 400m

Freshman Meredith Sims will compete alongside junior Jenna Crean and sophomore Kiara Ekeigwe.
Crean played a key role in helping the Blue Devil women win their first ACC title in the outdoor season, taking the gold medal as part of the 4x400m relay with a school record time of 3:30.47, while garnering All-ACC First Team recognition. She also earned All-ACC Second Team distinction in the indoor season following a bronze medal in the 2021 DMR.

12 p.m. – 600m / 1 p.m. - 1000m

The afternoon session opens with seniors Rylee Bowen and Virginia Capehart, along with graduate student Lauren Hoffman and freshman Megan McGinnis.
A 2021 USTFCCCA All-America First Team (4x400m) and All-America Second Team (400m Hurdles) honoree, Hoffman took home 2021 All-ACC First Team honors after winning the silver medal in the 400m hurdles. She ranks fifth in the Duke record books in the indoor 60m hurdles (8.54), in addition to the No. 1 and No. 5 spots in the outdoor 400m hurdles and 100m hurdles, respectively.
Bowen and Capehart will also compete in the 1000m run.

2 p.m. – High Jump

Campbell, junior Hannah Kelly, Marsh and Smith headline a crowded field in the high jump.
Campbell owns the program's No. 5 high jump mark in both indoor (1.79m) and outdoor (1.78m), as well as the No. 5 total in the indoor pentathlon (3,804). The three-time All-ACC First Team selection has earned gold (2021), silver (2020) and bronze (2021) medals high jump at the ACC Championships. Smith collected All-ACC Second Team honors in 2021.

2:30 p.m. – 4x400m Relay

The Blue Devils close out competition with the 4x400m relay, for the first time since Hoffman, current volunteer assistant coaches Brittany Aveni and Cha'Mia Rothwell, and Elena Brown-Soler became First Team All-Americans at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Sunday, Dec. 5 (Men):

10 a.m. – Pole Vault, Long Jump, 60m. Triple Jump to follow

Newcomer Michael Fairbanks and sophomore Gage Knight open the 2021-22 campaign in the pole vault.
Fairbanks, a three-time CAA pole vault champion at William & Mary, posted a pair of first place finishes during the 2021 indoor season.
Graduate student Mohammad Almarhoun, junior Ezra Mellinger and freshman Max Forte will take part in the long jump.
Mellinger garnered All-ACC Second Team honors in the long jump and set the third best long jump mark in Duke history, taking first with 7.63m (25-0.5 feet) at the Hokie Invitational. Almarhoun earned three top-10 finishes during the indoor season at Arizona.
Mellinger joins junior Joseph Laster and graduate student Miles Mingo in the 60m.
Freshman Mike Herzog will be the lone Duke competitor in the triple jump later that morning. Herzog was a two-time Texas 2A state champion in the triple jump (2019, 2021).

10:45 a.m. – 60m Hurdles

Freshmen Michael Bennett and Bri'Yon Watts, as well as sophomores Alex Kilpatrick and Knight will compete.

12 p.m. – 600m

The trio of Colin Grip, Alejandro Rodriguez and Job Trahan open action in the 600m. Rodriguez won an ACC bronze medal and was named All-ACC Second Team in the indoor DMR during his freshman season.

1 p.m. – 1000m

Grip will be the lone Duke athlete in the event.

2 p.m. – High Jump

Junior Beau Allen, Bennett, junior Davis Howell and Kilpatrick will represent the Blue Devils in the event.
Allen posted five top-five finishes in 2021, as well as Duke's fourth best mark all-time in the indoor (2.12m) and outdoor (2.10m) high jump.

2:30 p.m. – 4x400m Relay

Mingo and Rodriguez helped the 4x400m relay finish fourth with a school record time of 3:11.15 at the ACC Indoor Championships, where Mingo garnered All-ACC Second Team honors.

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