Guttormsen and Palma Simo Win Gold, Four Medal on First Day of ACC Outdoor Championships

Thursday, May 9

Atlanta, Ga.

All Day

Duke University

Day One at ACC Outdoor Championships

Simen Guttormsen on the podium after winning men's pole vault

Photo by: Zach Zunt

Guttormsen and Palma Simo Win Gold, Four Medal on First Day of ACC Outdoor Championships

5/9/2024 10:21:00 PM | Track & Field

Day 1 Results (PDF)Photo Gallery

ATLANTA, Ga. – Headlined by ACC titles won by Simen Guttormsen in the pole vault and Almar Palma Simo in the hammer throw, Duke track and field got off to a rapid start at the ACC Outdoor Championships on Thursday. The Blue Devils finished day one with four medals and seven All-ACC honors.

In addition to gold medals by Guttormsen and Palma Simo, the Blue Devils also tallied silver medals in the men's hammer throw and women's javelin, respectively, behind the efforts of Christian Johnson and Julia Magliaro. Six more Duke athletes – Halle Bieber, Zubeir Dagane, Ezra Mellinger, Meredith Sims, Ryan Wilson and Skyla Wilson -- secured their spot in the finals of their respective events following strong showings in the prelims.

TOP PERFORMANCES

Graduate student Aimar Palma Simo made history for the Blue Devils Thursday evening as he became the first Duke athlete, man or woman, to capture the ACC Outdoor Championship in the hammer throw.
Palma Simo parlayed his third attempt into the furthest throw of the competition, with the toss checking in at 69.78m (228-11) to lock up the gold medal and a nod to the All-ACC First Team.
Making his ACC Outdoor Championship debut and taking part in the men's pole vault, Simen Guttormsen made sure his presence was felt, delivering a dominant performance culminating in a program record, ACC gold and first-team all-conference honors.
After passing on the first four heights, the graduate student cleared the bar set at 5.18m on his first attempt. Guttormsen passed on the next height, then took on the ensuing bars at 5.38m, 5.48m, 5.58m and 5.65m, respectively – the middle two heights cleared on the first attempt.
Not only did Guttormsen's final mark of 5.65m (18-6.50 feet), which matched his personal best, catapult him to the top spot on the Duke charts, but it also made him the second Duke man in the last three seasons and just the fourth all-time, to win the ACC title in the outdoor pole vault.
Duke wasn't finished yet in the men's hammer throw though, as the Blue Devils also claimed silver via the efforts of classmate Christian Johnson, who earned the runner-up finish behind a mark of 68.50m (224-9 feet) registered on his second throw of the competition.
Julia Magliaro made her first ACC Outdoor Championships one to remember as the freshman claimed the No. 2 spot on the podium behind a personal-best performance.
The rookie came through with her clutchest throw of 50.81m (166-8 feet) on her fifth attempt to finish runner-up, locking up the silver medal and All-ACC First Team honors. Magliaro's throw also improved her No. 4 all-time Duke mark.
Graduate student Kirstin West placed fourth and earned a spot on the all-conference second team behind her furthest throw of 44.94m (147-5 feet), which came via her first attempt.
Although the start time for the women's hammer throw was pushed back due to inclement weather, senior Moorea Mitchell refused to allow a little rain to deter her as she delivered the best performance of her career en route to securing second-team all-conference honors.
Stepping into the cage for her second attempt, Mitchell registered a personal-best throw of 59.91m (196-6 feet) to finish fourth overall, the mark improving her No. 3 all-time program mark in the process.
Freshman Christian Toro also took part in the men's hammer throw alongside Johnson and Palma Simo, with the rookie collecting All-ACC Second Team honors after placing fifth on a throw of 63.56m (208-6 feet).
The women's 400m hurdles saw a pair of Blue Devils in junior Meredith Sims and graduate student Skyla Wilson advance to Championship Saturday after notching two of the top-eight times in the prelims.
Wilson earned the automatic qualifier to the final after posting the fastest time in heat three and second-fastest time overall of 57.70 seconds. The time signified a season best for Wilson and moved her up one spot to No. 3 all-time in the program record book.
Sims finished second in heat two and qualified for Saturday's final on time, clocking a personal best of 58.84 seconds.
Graduate student Ezra Mellinger advanced to the men's 200m final on Saturday with a time of 20.89 seconds. On the women's side, it was classmate Halle Bieber who earned her spot in the final after collecting the automatic qualifier via a season-best time of 23.29 seconds.
Zubeir Dagane and Ryan Wilson secured their respective spots in the next round after finishing among the top 12 in the prelims. Wilson led the charge for the Blue Devils and earned the automatic berth behind a finish of 3:44.03 while Dagane advanced on time after clocking 3:44.31.
Brianna Smith turned in a strong day of competition in the women's heptathlon with the senior sitting in first place with 3469 points after the conclusion of day one's events.
Smith finished among the top two in each of the first four events including wins in the 100m hurdles (14.04 seconds) and shot put (12.29m (40-4 feet)).

2024 ACC OUTDOOR MEDALISTS

Simen Guttormsen – Gold (Pole Vault)
Aimar Palma Simo – Gold (Hammer Throw)
Christian Johnson – Silver (Hammer Throw)
Julia Magliaro – Silver (Javelin)

2024 ALL-ACC HONOREES

Simen Guttormsen – All-ACC First Team (Pole Vault)
Aimar Palma Simo – All-ACC First Team (Hammer Throw)
Christian Johnson – All-ACC First Team (Hammer Throw)
Julia Magliaro – All-ACC First Team (Javelin)
Moorea Mitchell – All-ACC Second Team (Hammer Throw)
Christian Toro -- All-ACC Second Team (Hammer Throw)
Kirstin West – All-ACC Second Team (Javelin)

UP NEXT
Friday's action-packed schedule opens with the men's javelin (10:30) along with the final events of the multis, while field events commence at 3 p.m., via the women's shot put. The women's 3000m steeplechase rounds out the evening at 8:45 p.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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