Marsh Shines in Heptathlon in Day One of Tobacco Road Challenge

Friday, April 9

Durham, N.C.

Duke University

Day One at Tobacco Road Challenge & Combined Events Meeting

Erin Marsh_Tobacco Road Challenge_4.9.21

Photo by: Reagan Lunn

Marsh Shines in Heptathlon in Day One of Tobacco Road Challenge

4/9/2021 11:42:00 PM | Track & Field

Live Stats Watch (Day Two)Results (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. – The first home meet in almost two years got started on Friday, as Duke track & field played host to the Tobacco Road Challenge & Combined Events Meeting. The Blue Devils felt right at home, turning in several standout performances on the first day of the two-day event.

Right out of the gate, the Blue Devils made a statement, as freshman Moorea Mitchell delivered in the women's hammer. The Sunnyvale, Calif., native set a personal best and the fourth farthest throw in Duke history at 52.09m (170-10 feet). That landed Mitchell in second place overall and started a big day for the Blue Devils.

The strongest performances of the day came in the heptathlon, where the Blue Devils rewrote the record books. The first event of the day was the 100m hurdles, where the Blue Devils turned in a clean sweep, taking first, second and third place. Senior Erin Marsh earned first place with a personal best time of 13.30 seconds. That mark improves her previous PR of 13.37, which ranked second in program history. Right behind Marsh was junior Isabel Wakefield, who improved her own top-five program time with a run of 13.56 seconds, keeping the fourth best time in Blue Devil history. Graduate student Zoe Hughes turned in a sparkling run of 13.71 seconds for a collegiate PR, finishing third and setting the fifth best mark in program history.

Heptathlon action continued in the high jump, where Marsh made it two wins in a row, taking the event with a jump of 1.79m (5-10.25 feet). Marsh recorded another personal best and jumped into the record books with the third best mark in program history and the best by a Blue Devil in six years. Freshman Brianna Smith made a dramatic impression in her heptathlon debut, setting personal best with a second-place finish and jump of 1.70m (5-7 feet).

Sophomore Payton Little continued a strong day in the field, recording a personal best in the discus at 39.96m (131-1 feet). Little was able to earn the first top-three finish of her collegiate career and impressed as Duke's lone representative in the event.

An impressive afternoon concluded with first and second place finishes in the men's javelin. Graduate student Kiegan Lenihan earned first place with a season best throw of 67.34m (220-11 feet), while freshman Scott Campbell took a close second place at 66.88m (219-5 feet).

The heptathlon was back in action in the afternoon, with the shot put commencing. Hughes led the way for the Blue Devils in one of her strongest events, recording a throw of 13.41m (44-0 feet) to lead the field. However, thunderstorms rolled into the area, forcing a weather delay. The delay ultimately forced the postponement of several events into Saturday's schedule.

At the stoppage of play, with two events completed and one partially completed event with each athlete holding at least one score, Marsh leads the field with 2,670 points. Hughes ranks second with 2,558 points, while Smith holds seventh with 2,319 points.

In the decathlon, graduate students Evan Lee and Harry Lord stood out for the Blue Devils. Lee opened the day with a blazing personal record of 10.77 seconds in the 100m. Lee was joined by Lord with top-five finishes in the long jump and Lord was off to a good start in the high jump with a mark of 1.74m, before play was called for the day.

The Blue Devils will wrap up the Tobacco Road Challenge on Saturday, April 10, beginning at 9 a.m. The remainder of the heptathlon shot put will take place at 10 a.m., with the 200m shortly to follow. Due to the weather delay, the decathlon has been canceled, while the 1,500m and 5,000m have been pushed back to 11:15 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. respectively.

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