Aveni, Rothwell, 4x400m Relay Advance to Saturday Finals at NCAA Outdoor Championships

Thursday, June 10

Eugene, Ore.

Duke University

Day One at NCAA Outdoor Championships

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Aveni, Rothwell, 4x400m Relay Advance to Saturday Finals at NCAA Outdoor Championships

6/10/2021 11:57:00 PM | Track & Field

RESULTS (PDF)

EUGENE, Ore. – In a historic day one at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the Duke track & field program finished off one of the best days in program history, as graduate students Cha'Mia Rothwell, Brittany Aveni and the 4x400m relay team advanced to their respective national finals.

All six competing Blue Devils secured their spot as USTFCCCA All-Americans, with several poised to compete for first team honors. With four top-10 finishes by the Blue Devils, it tied a program record for most top-10 event ledgers, matched only by the 2005 team, with two student-athletes still yet to compete.

Rothwell became the first to punch her ticket to the national final, claiming the ninth and final spot with a time of 13.07 seconds. Rothwell took second in her heat to take the automatic qualifying spot and became the first Duke 100m hurdler to reach the national final, securing at least Second Team USTFCCCA All-America honors.

Aveni, the 2021 ACC Champion in the 400m, was the next to punch her ticket with room to spare, as she finished eighth out of the nine qualifying times with a run of 51.92 seconds. Despite facing a heat that feature the top-three runners nationally, Aveni was up to the task, turning in a strong performance that sets her up for a chance to attain First Team All-America honors for the first time.

With one more chance to grab tickets to the final, the Duke women's 4x400m relay team of graduate students Iman Sule, Elena Brown-Soler, senior Lauren Hoffman and Aveni faced another difficult heat, made up of two of the top-five teams in the country, based on previous best times. Looking to add to the program's rich 4x400m relay tradition, Sule kicked off a strong run by the group, as they clocked in a time of 3:31.60. The time ranked third in the heat but secured the seventh-best mark in the competition and was more than enough to qualify for Saturday's final.

In the first event of the day, the women's 4x100m relay team of Halle Bieber, Aveni, Brown-Soler and Rothwell turned in another brilliant effort, capping off a historic year for the 4x100m relay unit. Duke's first representative in the event in program history, the quartet turned in a time of 44.04 seconds, their second fastest time of the season. Rothwell avoided a tumble from her counterpart from Arkansas on the final lap to finish third in their heat.

The mark missed the school record they set by just 0.03 seconds and came up just shy of qualification for the final, taking 11th overall. Nevertheless, the quartet have secured Second Team USTFCCCA All-America honors for the first time by a 4x100m team in Duke history.

Later in the afternoon, Hoffman set a NCAA Outdoor Championship personal best with a 10th place finish in the 400m hurdles, falling just shy of qualification to Saturday's final. Hoffman secures Second Team USTFCCCA All-America honors and finished with a time of 57.91 seconds, missing the final by just 0.27 seconds. It caps of an incredible season for Hoffman, who set the program record earlier in the year.

Graduate student Zoe Hughes and senior Erin Marsh will open competition in the heptathlon Friday, beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET with the 100m hurdles.

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

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