Blue Devils Set for "Doc" Hale VT Elite Meet

Friday, February 5

Blacksburg, Va.

Duke University

Day One at "Doc" Hale VT Elite Meet

Blue Devils Set for "Doc" Hale VT Elite Meet

2/5/2021 11:04:00 AM | Track & Field

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS LIVE RESULTS

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke track & field team is back in action this weekend when it returns to Blacksburg, Va., for the "Doc" Hale Virginia Tech Elite Meet on Friday and Saturday.

The Blue Devils make the trip back to Rector Field House for the third time this indoor season after competing in the Virginia Tech Invitational from Jan. 15-16 and the Hokie Invitational from Jan 22-23. Friday's events will begin at 5 p.m. ET, while Saturday's slate kicks off at 11 a.m. ET.

FIELD EVENTS

Redshirt-senior Ben Beatty will get the weekend started for the Blue Devils in the men's weight throw at 5 p.m. on Friday. The school-record holder has taken part in two weight throw events this indoor season, placing in the top 10 in each. He recorded a mark of 16.70 meters (54-9.5 feet) at the Hokie Invitational.
The women's long jump at 5 p.m. features senior Erin Marsh and junior Nikki Merritt. Marsh's first-place long jump distance of 5.83m helped her win the pentathlon at the Hokie Invitational. Merritt placed fifth in the event at the Virginia Tech Invitational and seventh at the Hokie Invite.
Sophomore Ezra Mellinger looks to continue his stellar start to the season in the men's long jump at 7 p.m. Mellinger took first place at the Hokie Invitational with a PR distance of 7.63m (25-0.5), which ranks third all-time at Duke. He has placed in the top-two in all three of his long jump appearances this season.
Freshman Moorea Mitchell is set to make her collegiate debut in the women's weight throw at 7 p.m. A native of Sunnyvale, Calif., Mitchell entered Duke with impressive high school personal records in the hammer throw (155-11.0 feet) and shot put (41-5.5).
Graduate-student Harry Lord, junior Cole Rowan and freshman Alex Kilpatrick will wrap up Friday night's field schedule in with the men's unseeded pole vault at 7 p.m. Rowan will make his season debut, with his last performance coming at the 2020 ACC Indoor Championships. That weekend at Notre Dame, he placed seventh with a clearance of 4.88m (16-0.0).
The event will mark Kilpatrick's collegiate debut.
Sophomore Brynn King gets Saturday started for the Blue Devils when she competes in the women's pole vault at 11 a.m.
In her three career competitions, which have all come this indoor season, King has placed in the top seven while recording a personal-best height of 4.22m (13-10.0) at the Virginia Tech Invitational.
Five Blue Devils will take part in the women's high jump at noon – Marsh, senior Rivka Arbiv, Junior Isabel Wakefield, sophomore Elasia Campbell and freshman Brianna Smith.
Marsh's last high jump clearance of 1.79m (5-10.5), set during her pentathlon run at the Hokie Invitational, went in as a PR and the third-best mark in Duke indoor history.
Wakefield's PR of 1.60m (5-3.0) was recorded at the season-opening Orange & Purple Elite Meet.
Campbell has cleared 1.70m (5-7.0) in both of her high jump performances this season.
Beatty, Kilpatrick, Lord and sophomore Aiden Felty will compete in the men's shot put at noon.
Beatty has taken third and fourth place, respectively, in his two shot put competitions this season. His PR of 18.01m (59-1.25) set last season ranks second in Duke indoor history.
Sophomore Davis Howell will line up for the men's high jump at 2 p.m. Howell set a PR his last time in Blacksburg, clearing 1.97m (6-5.5) at the Virginia Tech Invitational.
Field events will conclude with Mitchell and sophomore Kinsie Huggins competing in the women's shot put at 2 p.m. Huggins' last competition was the Dick Taylor Carolina Challenge in January of 2020, when she placed ninth with a mark of 10.74m (35-3.0).

TRACK EVENTS

Friday's slate on the track begins with the men's 800m at 5 p.m., which features graduate-student Alex Schwedt, junior Joe Cullen and freshman Jackson Walker.
Walker finished first in the 800m at the Hokie Invitational, clocking a time of 1:53.44. Cullen took fourth at 1:55.02.
It will be Schwedt's first 800m competition as a member of the Blue Devils. The grad-transfer from Michigan has posted impressive results so far this season for Duke, including first-place finishes in the 400m and 500m at the Virginia Tech Invitational.
Senior Leigha Torino and sophomore Rylee Bowen will run the women's 800m at 5:10 p.m.
Torino took the top finish at the Hokie Invite with a PR time of 2:10.36.
Kilpatrick and Lord are set to compete in the men's 60m hurdle prelims at 5:25 p.m.
In his Duke debut at the Orange & Purple Elite Meet, Lord finished third with a time of 9.07 seconds.
Sophomore Halle Bieber will go toe-to-toe with Campbell, Marsh, Smith, Wakefield and fellow sophomore Maya Provencal in the women's 60m hurdle prelims at 5:35 p.m.
Marsh holds the school record of 8.29 seconds, set at the 2020 ACC Indoor Championships, while Bieber's PR time of 8.44 ranks third and Wakefield's personal-best mark of 8.56 stands at fifth in Duke indoor history.
Mellinger and sophomore Joseph Laster will run in the men's 60m prelims at 5:45 p.m. Laster's best time of 6.84 seconds, recorded at last year's ACC meet, ranks fourth all-time at Duke, while Mellinger's PR of 6.86, set at the Hokie Invitational two weeks ago, ranks fifth.
Provencal, junior Kelcie Simmons and Hailey Williams will line up for the women's 60m prelims at 5:55 p.m.
Simmons holds the third-best time ever at Duke (7.51) and she placed third at the season-opening meet in Clemson with a finish of 7.76 seconds.
Duke will be represented by junior Mike Ungvarsky and freshman Sam Rivera in the men's 3000m at 6:05 p.m.
Senior Miles Mingo will compete with a trio of freshman – Alejandro Rodriguez, Job Trahan and Jackson Walker – in the men's 400m at 7:15 p.m.
Mingo's last 400m came at the Hokie Invitational, where he finished fifth with a time of 48.19 seconds. His PR of 47.45 ranks second all-time at Duke.
Rodriguez will make his collegiate debut in the event.
The women's 400m will close out Friday night for the Blue Devils, with senior Lauren Hoffman, sophomore Jenna Crean and sophomore Carly King set to compete at 7:30 p.m.
Hoffman placed sixth in the 400m at the Hokie Invitational with a time of 56.87 seconds, while Crean took second at the Virginia Tech Invitational by clocking 59.03.
Cullen will get Saturday's track lineup started on Saturday when he runs the mile at 2 p.m.
His last mile competition was at the Camel City Invitational in February of 2020, when he recorded a PR time of 4:17.79.
Torino and Bowen will follow up in the women's mile at 2:15 p.m.
Laster, Mellinger, Mingo, Schwedt and Trahan are set to run the men's 200m at 2:30 p.m.
Mellinger holds the school-record time of 21.46 seconds, which he set as a freshman in 2020. In two such events this season, he has placed first and third overall.
The women's 200m at 2:45 p.m. features Bieber, Crean, Hoffman, Merritt, Provencal, Simmons and Williams.
Simmons boasts Duke's top mark of the indoor season, as she clocked 24.72 to place second at the Virginia Tech Invitational. Her PR of 23.82 ranks third all-time at Duke.
The men's and women's 4x400m relays will close out the weekend for the Blue Devils. The men's relay begins at 3:40 p.m. and the women's race will take place at 3:55 p.m.