Blue Devils Perform Well at Liberty Brant Tolsma Elite Invitational

Thursday, January 29

Lynchburg, Va.

1 p.m.

Duke University

Liberty Bryant Tolsma Elite Invitational

Duke track and field competes at Liberty Kick-Off
Duke Athletics
Dec. 5, 2025

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Perform Well at Liberty Brant Tolsma Elite Invitational

1/30/2026 9:40:00 PM | Track & Field

Final Results (PDF)

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Duke track and field continued its strong indoor season Friday, wrapping up competition at the Liberty Brant Tolsma Elite Invitational with five events wins, two top-five Duke marks and a handful of meet records.

The Blue Devils garnered wins in two track events and three field events, closing out the month of January with first-place finishes in the 60 meters, 200 meters, heptathlon, long jump and pole vault. Duke's women notched four of the victories, with the efforts paced by junior Mia Edim's two wins.

TOP PERFORMANCES:

Graduate student Michael Bennett headlined the performances for the Blue Devils with a strong, first-place showing in the men's heptathlon. Bennett totaled 5,514 points – No. 4 all-time at Duke – over two days of competition. He earned three first-place finishes across seven events, with his best heptathlon performances coming in the 60m, long jump and 1,000 meter.
Edim sprinted her way to victory in the 60m via a dash of 7.42 seconds. Edim turned in a personal best (7.37) in the prelims, improving her No. 2 all-time program mark.
Duke's third victory came via Gianna Locci as the senior topped the podium in the women's long jump. Locci made her third time the charm and flew out to 5.80m (19-0.50 feet) too slot herself atop the field.
The trio of Edim, graduate student Lauren Phillips and Sims each turned in stellar races to help Duke sweep the podium in the women's 200m. Edim secured her second win of the day after hitting the tape in 23.90 seconds, with Sims (24.48) and Phillips (24.62) taking second and third.
Junior Gemma Tutton vaulted her way to a first-place finish in the women's pole vault. After passing on the first three heights, Tutton cleared the winning mark of 4.11m (13-5.75 feet).
Competing alongside Tutton was Allison Neiders, who claimed third place following a solid outing of her own. Neiders also posted a final mark of 4.11m (13-5.75 feet) but needed two attempts to clear the bar.
Graduate student Abby Hassman impressed in the women's 3,000 meter invite, with her performance leading to a facility and meet record in the event. Hassman completed her race in 9:07.64 – nearly 10 seconds faster than the old Liberty Indoor Track Complex mark (2024; 9:17.27) and almost 27 seconds quicker than the previous meet record (2023; 9:34.42).
Three Blue Devils posted meet-record times in the women's mile invite. The efforts were led by graduate student Stephanie Moss (10th), who turned in a mark of 4:42.96.
Sophomore Ebba Cronholm (13th) and junior Hattie Reynolds (14th) also had solid races en route to finishing under the previous meet record (4:47.40) with the pair finishing in 4:46.70 and 4:46.88, respectively.
Amber Wimbish and Beck Wittstadt raced well in their respective 800m invite races with each setting Brant Tolsma Elite Invitational records in the event.
Wittstadt (fifth; 1:51.09) broke the 2023 men's mark (1:51.45), while Wimbish (ninth; 2:10.41) finished under the women's record (2:10.51) set in 2022.
Junior Rendon Kuykendall bested the previous meet record (2025; 14:42.76) by 18 seconds, crossing the finish line in 14:24.49 (fifth).
Graduate student John Fay and junior Christian Toro gave strong performances in the men's weight throw and closed out the Duke field events with both knocking down the two-year-old Brant Tolsma Elite Invitational record (2024; 19.89m).
Fay (fourth) opened the competition with a bang and improved his No. 4 all-time program mark via a throw of 20.15m (66-1.50 feet) on his first attempt. Toro (sixth) came through with his best toss on the third attempt, launching the weight 19.95m (65-5.50 feet).
Full results are available HERE.

UP NEXT:
The Blue Devils head back to Winston-Salem for the JDL Camel City Invite, which will take place Feb. 6-7 at the JDL Fast Track.

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