DURHAM – Duke track and field hits the West Coast this weekend as the Blue Devils head to the Golden State for a pair of meets, with the team once again splitting into two groups. Several individuals will compete at the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 13-15) in Azusa, Calif., while others take part in the Mt. SAC Relays (April 13-15) in Walnut, Calif. The Blue Devils' throws unit will also take part in the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate meet at Long Beach State on Thursday, April 13.
MEET INFO
WHAT TO KNOW (all times listed below are Eastern Time)
- Duke features 49 athletes set to compete in the Golden State this weekend.
- In the #EventSquad rankings, the Duke women rank top-five nationally in four events – 100m (fourth), hammer throw (fifth), high jump (fifth) and javelin (fifth).
- On Thursday, the Duke throws unit gets the action started at 11 a.m., in the men's hammer throw. The Blue Devils are also scheduled to take part in the women's heptathlon (Bryan Clay Invite) at 5:30 p.m., and the men's 10,000m (Mt. SAC) at 12:40 a.m.
- Competition gets going in Walnut on Friday at 2 p.m., in the men's long jump, women's javelin and women's long jump. The women's 100m hurdles (2:25 p.m.) commences the Friday track events.
- Friday's Bryan Clay Invitational slate opens at 3:15 p.m., with the final events of the women's heptathlon. Track events get underway via the women's 800m at 7:10 p.m.
- The women's hammer throw (12 p.m.) gets things going for the Blue Devils on Saturday at the Mt. SAC Relays, with the women's 4x100m relay (3:50 p.m.) tipping off the afternoon slate. Over in Azusa, Saturday action gets started at 3:50 p.m., and 4 p.m., respectively, with the women's 100m hurdles and the women's pole vault.
LAST TIME OUT
- Duke opened the Duke Invitational on Thursday and concluded the first day of competition with a pair of top-five program marks in the men's and women's hammer throw, along with an event win in the men's discus.
- Moorea Mitchell kick-started the day with a personal-best showing in the women's hammer throw, using her third attempt to launch the hammer 57.91m (190-0 feet) – jumping up one spot to No. 2 all-time at Duke.
- On the men's side, Jide Akinjisola made a revision to the program records via a nice throw of his own as he notched a personal-best of 59.66m (195-9 feet) on his first throw, leaping three spots up to No. 2 all-time in program lore.
- Following a weather delay, Robbie Otal capped the night by claiming the win in the men's discus – his fourth of the season – on a throw of 58.90m (193-3 feet).
- Making her outdoor track debut, Amina Maatoug posted a runner-up finish in the women's 1500m invite, finishing below the previous meet record time of 4:19.00 as she clocked 4:18.80 to take second.
- Heavy rain and windy conditions didn't deter Duke in the women's 200m dash as the Blue Devils claimed two of the top-five spots.
- Megan McGinnis and Julia Jackson led the charge as the pair finished back-to-back in second and third place, respectively, via personal-best times of 23.68 seconds and 23.90 seconds.
- On the men's side Guinness Brown clocked 22.03 seconds for a fourth-place finish.
- The men's and women's 800m invite saw two Duke athletes finish among the top-10 as well.
- Lauren Tolbert paced the Blue Devils on the women's side with a fifth-place finish behind a time of 2:06.54. The men's race saw Jackson Walker place fifth via a time of 1:51.55.
- Duke capped Friday night with two more top-five finishes in the men's and women's 5,000m race via personal-best performances by Sam Rivera and Kelli Wilson.
- Rivera collected a third-place finish in his race behind a finish of 14:02.94. Wilson clocked 16:32.24, good for fifth among the field.
- The Blue Devils capped the Duke Invite with a pair of top-five program marks and three event wins.
- Tyler Hrbek and Paige Sommers, both taking part in the 'A' sections of their respective pole vault competitions, turned in a pair of top-five program marks via personal-best performances.
- Hrbek cleared a height of 5.25m (17-2.75 feet) to place fourth and move into a tie for third all-time in program lore while Sommers finished runner-up behind a vault of 4.30m (14-1.25 feet) – No. 4 all-time at Duke.
- Duke's first win of the day came from the women's 400m race, where Jackson clocked a time of 53.46 seconds in her outdoor 400m debut to finish atop the field.
- Max Forte collected the win in his first career decathlon after totaling a career-best 6,130 points over the two-day meet.
- Beau Allen collected a third first-place finish for the Blue Devils in the men's high jump. Using a short approach due to rainy conditions on the track, Allen leapt 2.10m (6-10.75 feet) to claim the win.
- Full Duke Invite Recap – Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
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