26-Year Program Record Falls in Final Day at Virginia Invitational

Saturday, April 3

Charlottesville, VA

Duke University

Day Two at Virginia Invitational

Photo by: Virginia Athletics

26-Year Program Record Falls in Final Day at Virginia Invitational

4/3/2021 10:12:00 PM | Track & Field

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Duke track & field program broke three program records and set 10 top-five marks all-time on the final day of competition at the Virginia Invitational.

In one of the first events of the day, junior Dana Baker provided a spark for the historic afternoon. The Olathe, Kan., native recorded a throw of 50.48 meters (165-7 feet), earning second place overall and setting a personal best that ranks third all-time in program history. Baker's previous high of 48.77m ranked fourth all-time.

The afternoon's first event victory came in the women's long jump, as graduate student Cha'Mia Rothwell took home the top honors. Rothwell became the fourth Blue Devil in history to record an outdoor jump of over 6.00m, recording a mark of 6.38m (20-11.25 feet), which was good for second all-time at Duke. Teammate and fellow graduate student Elena Brown-Soler added her name to the record books as well, taking home fourth place with a jump of 6.09m (19-11.75 feet) to rank fourth all-time at Duke.

The most dominant event of the day proved to be the 4x100m relay. The women's team of Halle Bieber, Brittany Aveni, Brown-Soler and Rothwell competed first and made history, earning a first-place finish with a time of 44.28 seconds to break the Duke record set by Sydnei Murphy, Kethlin Campbell, Domonique Panton & Maddy Price in 2018. The quartet earned the Blue Devils their second first-place finish of the day and bested the previous record by 0.19 seconds.

Next up was the men's 4x100m relay team of Joseph Laster, Miles Mingo, Alex Schwedt and Ezra Mellinger. After recording a time of 41.07 at the Raleigh Relays that finished just .01 seconds behind the program record, the quartet would not be denied this weekend. The team turned in a blazing time of 40.82 seconds to take home first-place and break a record set in 1995, when Desi Thomas, Corey Thomas, Charles London & Johannes Brugger ran a time of 41.06 seconds. The run in 1995 was one of 13 remaining outdoor records set before 2000 and marks the oldest record to fall this outdoor season.

ACC Indoor Championships bronze medalist Elasia Campbell was back in action for the first time and did not disappoint. The Marietta, Ga., native took home top honors with a jump of 1.74m (5-8.5 feet), recording the fifth best jump in program history as a result. The jump was Campbell's first foray in the outdoor season after last year's outdoor season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rothwell continued her historic run, picking up her third first-place distinction in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.32 seconds. Right behind Rothwell was senior Erin Marsh, who competed in her first event since her NCAA Indoor Championship run in which she took home a bronze medal in the pentathlon. Marsh took home second place in the event with a run of 13.41 seconds.

The men's javelin and shot put produced two more top-three finishes, as graduate student Kiegan Lenihan and sophomore Luke Jackson finished in second and third place in the javelin with marks of 64.41m & 60.30m respectively. Redshirt senior Ben Beatty delivered a second-place finish of his own in the shot put with a throw of 16.74m.

In the evening events, the Blue Devils got it started with a clean sweep in the 400m. Senior Miles Mingo took home first place in men's section with a time of 47.58 seconds. Graduate student Iman Sule took home the top honors on the women's side, with a time of 53.61 seconds to set a personal best and record the third fastest time in Duke history. Teammate and sophomore Carly King added another top-three finish with a run of 54.56 seconds to take third overall.

Fresh off a top-three showing at the Raleigh Relays, sophomore Beau Allen improved his place and jump, taking home second place in the high jump with a mark of 2.10m (6-10.75 feet). His jump was not only a personal best but ranks fourth in Duke history.

Graduate student Connor Atkinson delivered another brilliant performance in the 400m hurdles, turning in a time of 52.22 seconds. The run earned Atkinson a second-place finish and the third fastest time in program history. The run was also the fastest by any Blue Devil in the event since record holder Jesse Allen in 1999.

The Blue Devils added another sweep of the top-two positions in the women's 400m hurdles as senior Lauren Hoffman finished first with a time of 58.54 seconds, while junior Nikki Merritt took home second with a mark of 1:01.66. It marked a season best for Hoffman, while Merritt earned a personal best time. Hoffman's victory gave the Blue Devils their eighth first place finish of the day.

The final record-breaking performance of the day came courtesy of one of last week's record-breaker in Brittany Aveni. Aveni set a wind-assisted run of 22.96 at the Raleigh Relays to break the program record in the 200m but didn't need the wind this week. Aveni matched that time to supersede her previous mark and set a record in the 200m for the second straight weekend.

Ending the day on an electric note, the Blue Devils took home both 4x400m relay races. The men's team of Schwedt, Job Trahan, Alejandro Rodriguez and Mingo turned in a time of 3:13.22 to take home the top honors, while Sule, Brown-Soler, King and Aveni took home the women's title with a mark of 3:34.81.

The Blue Devils will turn their attention back home in preparation for the first home meet in just under two years. The Tobacco Road Challenge & Combined Events Meeting will open up action on April 9 and conclude on April 10. Event information will become available on GoDuke.com closer to the date of the event.

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