Wakefield, Marsh Finish 2-3 in Heptathlon, Hoffman Breaks Own Duke 400mH Record

Thursday, March 24

Raleigh, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

Day One at Raleigh Relays

Photo by: Matthew Fecteau

Wakefield, Marsh Finish 2-3 in Heptathlon, Hoffman Breaks Own Duke 400mH Record

3/24/2022 11:21:00 PM | Track & Field

Texas Relays Results - Day Two (PDF)Raleigh Relays Results - Day One (PDF)

AUSTIN, Texas – Senior Isabel Wakefield capped off a stellar performance in her first outdoor meet of the spring as she registered 5,850 points to finish runner-up in the women's heptathlon Thursday afternoon at the Texas Relays. Erin Marsh also had a solid showing in the event with the graduate student totaling 5,735 points to finish right behind Wakefield in third, while classmate Zoe Hughes placed 11th with 5,402 points.

Wakefield's point total was a career best, improving her previous event score by 883 points and moved her into second all-time at Duke in the process.

The trio kicked off the morning with the fifth event of the heptathlon in the high jump. All three Duke competitors finished within four centimeters of each other. On her second attempt, Wakefield flew out to 6.02m (19-9 feet) – good for third among the field. Marsh placed fourth behind her jump of 5.99m (19-8 feet) and Hughes tied for fifth via a measurement of 5.98m (19-7.50 feet).

Wakefield was the top performer for the Blue Devils once again, this time collecting a fifth-place finish in the javelin throw. The Barnstaple, Devon, England native produced her third personal best of the two days on a throw of 41.07m (134-9 feet), improving her previous best by 50 centimeters. Marsh's third attempt was her best attempt as her hurl measured 36.71m (120-5 feet), while Hughes lobbed her javelin 32.73m (107-4 feet).

Marsh and Wakefield finished neck-and-neck in the 800m run that closed out the heptathlon events, adding 865 points and 858 points to their respective totals. Marsh finished in 2:16.98 for fourth and Wakefield took fifth after clocking 2:17.52. Hughes ran 2:23.04 to place 10th among the field.

Graduate student Lauren Hoffman took the track for the first round of the 400m hurdles and booked her spot in Friday evening's final via a dazzling performance. Hoffman registered the second-fastest time of her heat and overall field as she clocked a new personal-best of 55.98 seconds, breaking her own school record for the second time in as many weeks.

Raleigh Relays
Duke opened competition at the Raleigh Relays Thursday and produced a handful of good performances including ones in the women's 10,000m, men's javelin and men's 1500m events.

Michaela Reinhart capped the first day of competition at the meet for the Blue Devils with a solid outing in the women's 10,000m run. The graduate student from Louisville, Ky., registered a personal best of 33:22.49 to finish fifth and shaved over four seconds off her No. 4 all-time Duke mark in the process.

Inclement weather conditions pushed back the start time of the men's javelin, but the trio of Blue Devil competitors didn't allow that hinder their performances. Graduate student Chris Shanahan led the way with a third-place finish behind a personal-best throw that measured 68.13m (223-6 feet) – beating his previous best by over two meters. Junior Luke Jackson finished right behind Shanahan in fourth via his mark of 67.69m (222-5 feet), while sophomore Scott Campbell's heave of 65.66m (215-5 feet) was good for seventh.

Sophomore Carter Dillon hit the track for the first time this spring and ran a strong opener in the men's 1500m. Dillon shaved three seconds off his previous best and finished with a PR of 3:48.06.

Up Next:
Duke resumes competition at the Texas Relays Friday morning with 10 individuals set to compete across five events. The Blue Devils get their slate of events going with the prelims of the women's 4x100m relay at 9:35 a.m., to be followed by the women's high jump (10 a.m.), women's 100m dash (10:30 a.m.) men's 4x400m prelims (1:30 p.m.) and women's 400m hurdle final at 6:35 p.m. All times mentioned are Central Time.

The Blue Devils also gear up for a busier day two of competition at the Raleigh Relays. Duke returns to the field at 9:30 a.m., for the men's high jump, while the team's track events commence with Sections 1-3 of the women's 5000m run at 10 a.m.

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

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