Blue Devils Win Nine Events, Rewrite Record Books at JDL Mondo Invitational

Saturday, January 13

Winston-Salem, N.C.

All Day

Duke University

JDL Mondo College Invitational

Coach Posillico and the Men's Weight Throw crew at the JDL Mondo Invite

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Win Nine Events, Rewrite Record Books at JDL Mondo Invitational

1/14/2024 1:41:00 AM | Track & Field

Meet Results

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Duke track and field opened the New Year with a strong team performance as the Blue Devils captured nine event wins and made several revisions to the Duke record books Saturday at the JDL Mondo Invitational.

Graduate student Ezra Mellinger and senior Brianna Smith paced the efforts on the day with two event wins apiece while the Blue Devils also secured first-place finishes from Halle Bieber, Christian Johnson, MaKayla Mason, Tia Rozario and Paige Sommers in their respective events.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Ezra Mellinger and Brianna Smith had their versatility on full display Saturday with two wins each – one track event and one field event. Mellinger's victories came via the men's 60m dash and long jump while Smith won the women's 60m hurdles and high jump.
Mellinger advanced to the next round after recording the top time of the prelims (6.78), then one-upped his performance with an even faster time in the final.
The graduate student clocked a personal best of 6.74 seconds and moved into a tie for No. 2 all-time at Duke. Over in the long jump, Mellinger flew out to 7.04m (23-1.25 feet) to claim the win.
Smith delivered another solid performance in the women's high jump en route to picking up the fifth event win of her career.
After passing on the first five heights, the senior cleared the ensuing two bars on her first attempt before ultimately finishing with a jump of 1.72m (5-7.75 feet). On the track, Smith finished her 60m hurdles race in 8.80 seconds for the first-place finish.
The Duke men's weight throw unit made several revisions to the Duke record books as the trio of Christian Johnson, Aimar Palma Simo and Christian Toro parlayed a stellar showing into a sweep of the top-three spots – all three individuals' throws unseating the JDL Mondo Invitational meet record in the event.
Duke's program record in the men's weight throw came crashing down behind Johnson's stellar throw on his sixth and final attempt. The Clovis, Calif., product launched his weight 20.76m (68-1.50 feet) to claim the win, with the mark besting both the previous school record and meet record by nearly four feet.
Palma Simo's best toss also occurred on his final attempt as the graduate student slotted himself third all-time at Duke via a throw of 20.11m (65-11.75 feet). Toro threw his weight 19.77m (64-10.50 feet) on the fourth attempt for his best showing and No. 3 all-time at Duke.
On the track, the Duke duo of graduate student Halle Bieber and sophomore Julia Jackson shined in the women's 60m dash en route to claiming the top two placements among the field.
After locking up their spots in the final via automatic qualifiers out of the prelims, Bieber and Jackson each turned in another solid race to finish at the head of the pack once again.
Bieber finished her race in 7.41 seconds while Jackson clocked 7.51 seconds – tied for fifth in program history.
Graduate students MaKayla Mason and Tia Rozario impressed in their first meets as Blue Devils.
Mason opened the morning in the women's shot put and made her Blue Devil debut one to remember. She notched a throw of 14.94m (49-0.25 feet), shattering the previous meet record by more than two feet while slotting herself fourth all-time on the Duke charts in the process.
Rozario made her fourth attempt her best, leaping out to a meet record of 12.30m (40-4.25 feet) to slot herself atop the women's triple jump field.
Junior Paige Sommers locked up a win in the women's pole vault after surpassing 4.15m (13-7.25 feet) – a height that no one else could attain.
Sommers passed on the first eight heights, then cleared the final two on her second and third attempts, respectively, to tally her third event win.
Rounding out the top Duke performers on Saturday were Mike Herzog and Addie Renner – both individuals earning runner-up finishes.
Herzog set a meet record in the men's triple jump and flew out to 14.72m (48-3.50 feet) on his second attempt. In the women's high jump, Renner skipped the initial four bars then cleared the subsequent two on her first attempt before bowing out with a clearance of 1.67m (5-5.75 feet).
To view the full meet results, click here.

UP NEXT
Duke features a split squad next weekend as the Blue Devils get set to compete at two meets. Some members of the team will make the trek to Virginia for the Hokie Invitational (Jan. 19-20) while others head up the road to Chapel Hill for UNC Dick Taylor Challenge on Jan. 20.

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