Five Advance to Quarterfinals in Day Two at NCAA East Regional

Thursday, May 27

Jacksonville, Fla.

Duke University

Day Two at NCAA East Regional

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Five Advance to Quarterfinals in Day Two at NCAA East Regional

5/27/2021 11:36:00 PM | Track & Field

RESULTS (PDF)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After several members of the men's program opened the NCAA East Regional Wednesday, it was the Duke women's track & field program that competed on day two as the Blue Devils completed action at the Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium on the campus of North Florida on Thursday.

Several Blue Devils turned in impressive results to move on to their respective quarterfinals to be held Saturday. In the women's 100m hurdles, the duo of graduate student Cha'Mia Rothwell and senior Erin Marsh made waves, qualifying for the quarterfinal with blazing wind-assisted times. Rothwell broke 13 seconds for the first time with a wind-assisted time of 12.95 seconds, while Marsh checked in at 13.13 seconds (wind-assisted). While not official records, the marks would improve their own first and second-best marks in Blue Devils history. Both runners will compete again Saturday with eyes on Eugene.

The red-hot Duke 400m squad was also back in action with graduate students Brittany Aveni, Elena Brown-Soler, Iman Sule and sophomore Jenna Crean competing. Aveni and Sule raced out to terrific opening marks, running times of 52.48 and 52.90 seconds, respectively, to qualify for the quarterfinal. Aveni won her heat and finished eighth among opening times, while Sule finished fourth in her heat but 15th overall. Brown-Soler checked in with a mark of 53.83 seconds to finish 32nd, while Crean ran a time of 54.50 seconds to take 39th.

The final quarterfinal qualifier of the day was senior Lauren Hoffman, who continued her string of excellence in the 400m hurdles. Hoffman breezed to the fourth-fastest time among all competitors with a run of 57.58 seconds and comfortably secured qualification to Saturday's decisive quarterfinal.

In the first event of the day, the 2021 All-ACC Second Team honoree senior Ashleigh Rodriguez made her NCAA East Regional debut. Rodriguez recorded a throw of 40.06m (131-5 feet), taking 47th place overall.

Two more events followed in the field as the women's long jump and pole vault were up next. In the long jump, Rothwell and Brown-Soler had eyes on qualification but fell just short. Brown-Soler led the way with a 23rd place finish, taking seventh in the first two flights with a jump of 6.06m (19-10.75 feet). Rothwell finished with a jump of 5.89m (19-4 feet) to placed 32nd.

In the pole vault, the Blue Devils fielded graduate student and ACC silver medalist Julia Valenti and sophomore Brynn King, making her NCAA East Regional debut. Both competitors impressed, but it was King who delivered the top result, finishing 20th overall and 12th in her flight with a clearance of 4.07m (13-4.25 feet). It marked an outdoor personal best for King by 0.07m, while Valenti matched that mark to finish 28th overall and 14th in her flight.

In one of the tightest finishes of the day, senior Leigha Torino missed out on the quarterfinal in the 800m by just 0.05 seconds, running a time of 2:06.14. Torino finished fourth in her heat and 26th overall, waiting until the last race to see her fate. The All-ACC Second Team honoree finishes off an impressive combined season in which she made her NCAA Indoor Championships debut, earning USTFCCCA All-America Second Team honors with a ninth place finish in the 800m.

Junior Kelcie Simmons delivered a sensational individual performance in the 200m, taking fourth place in her heat and 28th overall. Simmons made the most of her opportunity, setting the fifth-fastest mark in program history, with a personal best run of 23.60 seconds. The Leonard, Texas, native missed out on the quarterfinal by just 0.11 seconds but ran her way into the top-five in program history in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay this season.

In the final event of the day, the trio of seniors Amanda Beach, Sara Platek and Michaela Reinhart competed in the 10,000m. Facing the grueling summer heat, all three ran terrific races, but came up short for qualification to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Reinhart ran another terrific mark to lead the pack, but placed 14th to finish two slots out of automatic qualification with a run of 34:14.64. Beach took 32nd with a time of 35:18.26, while Platek took 35th with a run of 35:39.54.

Duke will return to action on Friday at 1 p.m. as sophomore Beau Allen makes his NCAA East Regional debut in the men's high jump as part of four events Duke will compete in with NCAA Outdoor Championships spots on the line.

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