Duke Women Notch Four More Qualifiers for NCAA Outdoor Championships

Saturday, May 28

Bloomington, Ind.

All Day

Duke University

Day Four at NCAA East Regional

Photo by: Matthew Fecteau

Duke Women Notch Four More Qualifiers for NCAA Outdoor Championships

5/29/2022 12:53:00 AM | Track & Field

FINAL RESULTS (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – No. 21 Duke women's track and field added four more qualifiers to its NCAA Outdoor Championship profile on the final day of the NCAA East Regional as women's preliminary action concluded Saturday evening at Haugh Track & Field Stadium on the campus of Indiana University.

With graduate student Erin Marsh and senior Isabel Wakefield automatically qualifying in the heptathlon prior to the start of regional action, the Duke women were able to punch tickets in six more events across two days of competition and conclude the week with 13 total women qualifiers – the most in school lore.

In total, the Blue Devils concluded the four-day meet with a program-record 17 athletes that punched their tickets to the national meet in Eugene, Ore.

"I'm so proud of this team and how they come to every meet ready to perform," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Shawn Wilbourn. "This is a true team that will have representation at the national championships from every event group. We have sprints, hurdles, relays, distance, throws, pole vault and combined event athletes repping our program. It's awesome to see the vision come to fruition"

Saturday evening's most stout performance was delivered by graduate student Lauren Hoffman, who broke her own school record in the 400m hurdles for the third time this season en route to locking down her spot for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Hoffman put on another dazzling display as she clocked a personal best of 55.91 seconds – the third-fastest time of the 24-person field.

Emily Cole continued to build on her stellar outdoor season as the junior punched her ticket to Eugene in the 3000m steeplechase with another strong performance. Keeping the magic going, Cole finished second in her heat and secured an automatic qualifier slot behind a 10:01.37 finish.

Both of Duke's relay teams advanced to the national meet as well. The 4x100m relay unit of Abby Geiser, Kelcie Simmons, Halle Bieber and Chyler Turner kickstarted the evening session for the Blue Devils in the first track event of the Saturday slate, running 44.20 seconds to advance to the nationals. The Blue Devil 4x400m quartet of Carly King, Erin Marsh, Megan McGinnis and Hoffman capped the night with a strong performance as they captured an automatic qualifier with a season-best time of 3:33.32.

The full meet results can be found HERE.

Up Next:
Duke's 17 qualifying athletes will head to Eugene, Ore., to compete in the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The four-day meet will take place from June 8-11 at Hayward Field, hosted by the University of Oregon.

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

NCAA Outdoor Championship Qualifiers