Smith Wins Gold, Three Others Medal on Day Two of ACC Indoors

Friday, February 25

Blacksburg, Va.

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Duke University

Day Two at ACC Indoor Championships

Photo by: Tom Connelly

Smith Wins Gold, Three Others Medal on Day Two of ACC Indoors

2/26/2022 12:18:00 AM | Track & Field

Results - Day Two (PDF)Saturday Startlist (PDF)

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Duke track and field collected four medals in a standout showing on day two of the ACC Indoor Championships.

Brianna Smith headlined a strong day of competition for Duke and ended the day with a win in the women's high jump to collect the gold medal in the event. Graduate student Erin Marsh earned the silver medal in the women's long jump, while sophomore Gage Knight and graduate student Michaela Reinhart earned bronze in the men's heptathlon and women's seeded 5000m.

Entering the event unseeded after competing in the women's pentathlon on Thursday, Smith put everyone in Rector Field House on notice as she collected 10 team points and All-ACC First Team status with her best performance of the season. The Elkins Park, Pa., native leapt to the head of the field with a height of 1.81m (5-11.25 feet) – one that no one else in the 15-member field was able to clear. Smith's personal-best mark moved her into third all-time in the Duke record books, garnered the sophomore her second career and first indoor All-ACC honor. It also moved the 25th-ranked Blue Devil women into third place heading into the final day of the conference meet.

The moment the title became hers ???? pic.twitter.com/0rVz0awJOF
— Duke Track & Field and Cross Country (@DukeTFXC) February 26, 2022

The Blue Devils crown their third overall high jump champion in as many seasons. The last two Duke women's track and field athletes to win gold in the event were current junior Elasia Campbell (2021, Outdoor) and 2020 graduate Cassie Martin (2020, Indoor).

Marsh produced a career-best performance in the long jump and finished as the runner-up despite entering the field unseeded. The graduate student started the event with a bang and recorded a leap of 6.24m (20-5.75 feet) on her first jump. Marsh wasn't finished, as her second jump measured 6.27m (20-7 feet), which tied Sydnei Murphy's No. 2 all-time mark. Marsh's final jump was her best one as the final attempt saw her fly out to 6.32m (20-9 feet) and move into sole control of that No. 2 mark in program lore – one centimeter off the school record. The Buford, Ga., native collected her second consecutive long jump honor and now owns 14 career All-ACC accolades.

In his ACC Indoors debut, Knight collected bronze and All-ACC First Team status after wrapping up the men's heptathlon with a personal best 5,466 points, improving his No. 5 program mark. The sophomore competed in the final three events on day two registering PR's in two of them. Knight ran the 1000m in 2:42.35 and cleared 4.50m (14-9 feet) in the pole vault to finish third and fifth among the field, respectively.

Reinhart delivered a spectacular performance in the women's 5000m race and earned the highest placement of her career at ACC Indoors via a third-place finish. Reinhart clocked a personal best 15:55.24 to earn first team All-ACC recognition, while also moving into No. 3 all-time in program lore.

Junior Beau Allen received All-ACC Second Team honors as he finished in the top six. Allen placed sixth in the men's high jump behind a leap of 2.11m (6-11 feet).

Nine Blue Devils secured their spot in Saturday's finals of their respective events, five delivering personal-best performances in the process.

Graduate student Nick Dahl advanced in the men's mile run following a dominant performance in the preliminaries. Dahl heads into the final as the number one seed after cruising to 4:03.73 – number one in his heat and the fastest overall time in the preliminary.

The trio of Marsh, freshman Chyler Turner and senior Isabel Wakefield continued the strong performance for the Duke women as all three advanced to Saturday's 60m hurdle final. Marsh and Wakefield owned the two fastest times of the prelims as each ran 8.16 seconds. Turner had a great showing in her ACC Indoors debut and moved into fourth all-time on the Duke list after clocking a personal best of 8.41 seconds.

Junior Jenna Crean, graduate student Lauren Hoffman and freshman Megan McGinnis all finished first in their heats to book their ticket to the 400m final. Hoffman's personal-best preliminary time of 54.08 seconds ranked third among the finalists and improved her No. 5 program time. Crean's 54.79 second finish was also a PR, while McGinnis ran 54.96.

Graduate student Donovan Spearman and junior Halle Bieber were the final two Duke athletes to book their spot in the finals. Spearman improved his school-record 60m time and dashed a personal best of 6.69 seconds to advance, while Bieber booked her spot and jumped into the third all-time spot at Duke via a personal-best 23.80 second run in the 200m.

Sophomore Moorea Mitchell added a point to the Duke women's total as she placed eighth in the women's weight throw. She catapulted in the No. 2 spot on the program list with a PR toss of 19.14m (62-9.50 feet).

Up Next:
With points still up for grabs, Duke's 25th-ranked women's team is in prime position to compete for a conference championship heading into the final day. The Blue Devils are currently slotted in third with 33 points.

Graduate students Erick Duffy and Michael Fairbanks, freshman Mike Herzog and senior Cole Rowan take the field for the first time starting at 1:00 p.m. The Blue Devil men will look to accumulate points and move up the leaderboard.

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

#GoDuke