Lee Takes Gold, Marsh and Miley Earn Silver in Day 2 of ACC Outdoor Championships

Friday, May 14

Raleigh, N.C.

Duke University

Day Two at ACC Outdoor Championships

Photo by: Jaylynn Nash

Lee Takes Gold, Marsh and Miley Earn Silver in Day 2 of ACC Outdoor Championships

5/14/2021 11:03:00 PM | Track & Field

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RALEIGH, N.C. – Duke track and field added more medals to its collection, as the teams completed day two of the ACC Outdoor Championships at the Paul Derr Track Facility on the campus of NC State in Raleigh, N.C.

After day two, the men sit in seventh place with 29 points through nine of 21 scored events completed, while the women are in eighth with 27 points through nine of the 21 events completed.

Duke delivered sterling performances in the heptathlon and decathlon. Graduate student Evan Lee became an ACC Champion for the first time, winning the decathlon with a cumulative point total of 7,300 for a collegiate personal best. Lee takes home All-ACC First Team honors and a newfound spot in the Duke record books, setting the fifth best mark the program's decorated multi-event history. The Indianapolis, Ind., native becomes Duke's first ACC Champion in the decathlon since Daniel Golubovic in 2017, but the fourth in the last eight years. Lee also broke a 27-year-old Paul Derr Track Facility record, originally held by Geoff Bradshaw (7,090) of Cal State Stanislaus.

"It's phenomenal," said Lee. "It's such a good feeling. It was my first ACC Championships and to come in and do so well, I'm just really grateful for my coaches and my teammates who pushed me the whole way."

Lee took home third or better in every single event on the day, including first place in the pole vault with a mark of 4.70m (15-5 feet). His counterpart Harry Lord also earned All-ACC honors, joining the second team with a sixth-place finish. Lord rebounded from a disqualification yesterday with a huge day, taking first place in the discus, javelin and 1500m. Lord's javelin throw of 57.36m (188-2 feet) marked a collegiate personal best. The two Blue Devils added 13 team points to the team's total, moving up to sixth place with 21 team points through seven events.

Senior Erin Marsh made more history, earning the silver medal in the heptathlon and setting a personal best and school record with a point total of 5,903. The Buford, Ga., native headlined her day with a third-place finish in the long jump at 5.94m (19-6 feet) and finished off the day with a fourth-place finish in the 800m, to beat her own school record by 97 points. Marsh's win not only guarantees her All-ACC First Team honors for the seventh time, but her point total was also the fifth best in the country as of the end of competition on Friday.

Marsh wasn't the only one to excel in the heptathlon, as graduate student Zoe Hughes earned All-ACC Second Team honors with a fourth-place finish. A strong fourth place finish in the long jump of 5.87m (19-3.25 feet) helped buoy her point total as Hughes and Marsh delivered potential marks to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. Freshman Brianna Smith also impressed, recording a personal best of 5,149 points to take eighth place. Senior Kate Kutzer delivered an impressive third place finish and season best of 35.26m (115-8 feet) in the javelin en route to a ninth-place finish of 4,909 points. With the success of the Blue Devils in the heptathlon, the women's team earned 13 team points to vault them to third place overall with 26 points through six scored events.

The women's team was able to secure important points in the very first event of the day, as senior Ashleigh Rodriguez took home fifth place in the women's javelin. The Las Vegas, Nev., native tallied a throw of 47.27m (155-1 feet), to secure All-ACC Second Team honors for the first time and add four points to the Blue Devils' team total.

The afternoon continued with several more preliminaries, beginning with the women's 100m hurdles. Graduate student Cha'Mia Rothwell started the event off well, winning her heat with a time of 13.29 seconds to advance to Saturday's final. Marsh was back in action following her silver medal in the heptathlon, taking third in her heat but qualifying for Saturday's final with a time of 13.51 seconds to join Rothwell.

As pre-qualifying times indicated, the Blue Devils had one of the deepest 400m teams in the conference and it showed on Friday evening. In the women's 400m, five Blue Devils qualified for the final eight, led by graduate student Brittany Aveni, who ran the fastest time of the day at 52.59 seconds. Graduate student Elena Brown-Soler made some history of her own, taking second behind Aveni with a time of 53.18 for a personal best and the fifth fastest time in program history. Joining Aveni and Brown-Soler in the final are graduate student Iman Sule, who won her heat at 53.21 seconds and sophomores Jenna Crean and Carly King.

In the men's 400m, graduate student Alex Schwedt turned in a blazing time, taking second in his heat with a time of 46.68 seconds to advance to Saturday's final. Schwedt got under 47 seconds for the first time in his collegiate career and recorded the second fastest time in program history. Following his run, senior Leigha Torino turned in another huge time, finishing second among all runners with a personal best time of 2:05.41. Torino turned in a potential NCAA East Regional qualifying time, checking in at No. 32 in the East Region.

With two finals to end the day, the 3000m steeplechase took center stage and the Blue Devils did not disappoint. The women's event went first, and freshman Victoria Patterson added a bow on her brilliant first season. The Greenville, S.C., native set another personal best, taking eighth overall with a time of 10:08.13. That mark checks in as the second fastest time in program and the fastest by a Blue Devil in 15 years.

The Blue Devils ended the day on an electric note, as senior Alex Miley recorded one of the best distance runs in program history. In a competitive field, Miley broke away with the top-three runners, ultimately taking second place to become an ACC silver medalist for the first time in his collegiate career. Miley notched a time of 8:32.72, which not only comfortably beat his previous best of 8:49.05, but set a new school record by 5.38 seconds, shattering a 49-year-old school record held by Roger Beardmore, who held the previous best of 8:38.10. Miley earned eight points for the Blue Devil men, while Patterson added another point for the Blue Devil women to end the day.

One final day remains, as the Blue Devils will see the bulk of action on Saturday. 12 men's and women's events remain, beginning with the men's discus at 2:00 p.m.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils track & field, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeTFXC."

ACC Medalists
Evan Lee – Gold Medal (Decathlon) – ACC CHAMPION
Erin Marsh – Silver Medal (Heptathlon)
Alex Miley – Silver Medal (3000m Steeplechase)
Julia Valenti – Silver Medal (Pole Vault)

All-ACC Honors
Evan Lee – All-ACC First Team (Decathlon)
Erin Marsh – All-ACC First Team (Heptathlon)
Alex Miley – All-ACC First Team (3000m Steeplechase)
Julia Valenti – All-ACC First Team (Pole Vault)
Zoe Hughes – All-ACC Second Team (Heptathlon)
Kiegan Lenihan – All-ACC Second Team (Javelin)
Harry Lord – All-ACC Second Team (Decathlon)
Ezra Mellinger – All-ACC Second Team (Long Jump)
Ashleigh Rodriguez – All-ACC Second Team (Javelin)

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