Duke Wins Seven Events at Liberty Open

Friday, January 23

Lynchburg, Va.

Duke University

Liberty Open

Final Results (PDF)

Liberty Kick-Off
Dec. 5, 2025
Duke Athletics

Photo by: Duke Athletics

1/23/2026 9:34:00 PM | Track & Field

Final Results (PDF)

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Duke track and field turned in another solid day of competition as the Blue Devils notched seven event wins Friday at the Liberty Open.

TOP PERFORMANCES:

Sophomore Maya Collins picked up the first Blue Devil win of the day, doing so in the women's 60-meter dash. Collins hit the tape in 7.40 seconds to edge out junior Mia Edim (7.43).
Beck Wittstadt was the next Duke athlete to join the winner's circle. The graduate student turned in a personal best of 2:20.82 to earn first place in the men's 1,000-meter invite, improving his own school-record time.
The Blue Devils swept the podium in both the women's 200 meter and 400 meter races.
In the 400m, seniors Julia Jackson and Lauren Tolbert, along with graduate student Lauren Phillips, claimed the top three spots. Tolbert led the way with a mark of 52.86 seconds - No. 9 in the NCAA, Jackson finished in 53.94 seconds to finish runner-up and Phillips took third after stopping the clock in 55.55 seconds.
Sophomore Braelyn Baker set the pace in the women's 200m and secured the victory with a season's best of 23.43 seconds – the ninth-fastest mark in the NCAA at the time of the race. Collins (23.69) finished runner-up and posted her second top-three placement of the day, with Edim coming in in third at 23.97 seconds.
Duke finished atop the field in the women's 800m Invite courtesy of strong races from graduate student Bailey Goggans and sophomore Amber Wimbish. Goggans recorded a time of 2:08.44 to win the event while Wimbish's time of 2:08.56 was good for second.
The Blue Devils closed out their slate of track events with a victory in the women's 4x400m relay, as Duke's 'A' quartet of Jackson, Baker, Phillips and Tolbert hit the line in 3:38.06. The mark was four seconds faster than the event runner-up – Duke's 'B' relay (3:42.74). comprised of rookie Taylor Aska, Wimbish, Goggans and Edim.
The tandem of senior Allison Neiders and junior Gemma Tutton turned in strong showings in the women's pole vault, culminating in top-two placements for Duke. Tutton secured the win following a clearance of 4.21m (13-9.75 feet) and Neiders checked in at No. 2 with a mark of 4.06m (13-3.75 feet).
Sophomore Andres Langston and junior Michael Scherk secured runner-up finishes in the 400m and 60-meter hurdles, respectively. Langston dashed a career best of 47.49, while Scherk clocked 7.98 seconds.
Seniors Gianna Locci and Jeremy Kain and sophomore Nathan Levine also earned spots on the podium with third-place showings in their respective events.
Locci took part in the women's long jump and flew out to 5.74m (18-10 feet) on her fifth jump. Kain represented the Blue Devils in the men's mile and finished his race in 4:08.59. Levine competed in the men's high jump and tallied a mark of 2.00m (6-6.75 feet) to finish in a tie for third.

UP NEXT:
Duke returns to Lynchburg for the Liberty Brant Tolsma Elite Invitational set for Jan. 30-31.

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