McWhorter Ties Duke Pole Vault Record, Blue Devils Post Four Top-Five Program Marks

Saturday, January 14

Chapel Hill, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

Dick Taylor Challenge

Photo by: Duke Athletics

McWhorter Ties Duke Pole Vault Record, Blue Devils Post Four Top-Five Program Marks

1/14/2023 11:33:00 PM | Track & Field

Meet Results

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Graduate student Zach McWhorter tied the school pole vault record while the Blue Devils won three events and tallied four top-five program marks overall to highlight a day of competition at the Dick Taylor Carolina Challenge. Duke also earned 18 top-five placements at the meet.

TOP PERFORMANCES

Zach McWhorter made his Duke debut one to remember as the Springdale, Ark., native tied the nine-year-old school indoor pole vault record en route to winning the event.
After passing on the first 12 heights, McWhorter cleared 5.33m (17-5.75 feet) to win the event and match Justin Amezquita's 2014 mark.
Sophomore Abby Geiser notched the second event win of the day for the Blue Devils and etched herself into the program record books in the 60m dash.
Geiser clocked 7.53 in the prelims to book her spot in the final, then one-upped her performance by dashing to a first-place finish via a run of 7.47 seconds – No. 3 all-time at Duke.
Graduate students Jordyn Shubrick and Zoe Waddell improved upon their top-five program marks in the weight throw with solid performances on Saturday.
Shubrick finished runner-up in the event and raised her fourth-ranked program mark on a toss of 18.62m (61-1.25 feet), while Waddell improved her No. 5 program mark with a throw of 17.19m (56-4.75 feet).
The Blue Devil trio of Brynn King, Allison Neiders and Paige Sommers went 1-2-3 in the women's pole vault.
King won the event behind a clearance of 4.15m (13-7.25 feet), Neiders vaulted over the bar set at 3.95m (12-11.50 feet) to finish runner-up and Sommers took third as she cleared 3.85m (12-7.50 feet).
On the men's side, Tyler Hrbek placed second with a clearance of 5.03m (16-6.00 feet).
Five of Duke's top-five placements stemmed from the men's and women's high jump.
Alex Kilpatrick and Davis Howell took fourth and fifth place, respectively, after each cleared 1.85m (6-0.75 feet). Kilpatrick received the slight edge leaping over the 1.75m bar on the first attempt.
Addie Renner, Brianna Smith and Isabel Wakefield grabbed three of the top-five spots in the women's high jump event, led by Smith who took third with a jump of 1.68m (5-6.00 feet).
Renner placed fourth after leaping 1.63m (5-4.25 feet) and Wakefield cleared 1.58m (5-2.25 feet) to take fifth.
Moorea Mitchell notched a fourth-place finish in the women's weight throw via a toss of 18.09m (59-4.25 feet) while on the men's side, Jide Akinjisola threw 18.24m (59-10.25 feet) to take fifth.
Duke also got top-five finishes in the 60m hurdles, via Sara Absten's run of 8.71 seconds, and the 60m dash, as Halle Bieber (third) and Julia Jackson (fifth) clocked 7.52 seconds and 7.69 seconds, respectively
The full Dick Taylor Carolina Challenge meet results can be found here.

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