Nikki Merritt

Position:
Sprints/Hurdles
Height:
5-6
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Trabuco Canyon, Calif.

https://www.tfrrs.org/athletes/7020658/Duke/Nikki_Merritt.html

2021-22 (Senior)
Outdoor

Took eighth in the 400m hurdles (1:00.63) at the ACC Championships
Ran 400m hurdles personal best (59.99) to place seventh at the Virginia Challenge
Placed third in the 400m hurdles at the High Point Meet of Champions, clocking 1:01.22
Earned top-10 finishes in the 4x400m (3:45.64) and 400m hurdles (1:02.26) at the Duke Invite, placing third and seventh, respectively
Opened the season with a win as part of the 4x100m relay (46.40) at the Bob Davidson Memorial Invite

Indoor

Collected third-place finishes in the 4x400m (3:44.74) and long jump (5.72m (18-9.25 feet)) at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational
Earned a trio of top-10 placements at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet, finishing fifth in the 4x400m (3:47.82), sixth in the 400m (57.13) and 10th in the long jump with a mark of 5.62m (18-5.25 feet)
Took sixth in the 4x400m (3:47.41) at the Hokie Invitational
Ran 500m personal best (1:18.23) at the Virginia Tech Invitational; Also finished second in the 4x400m (3:45.95) and eighth in the long jump after leaping 5.82m (19-1.25 feet)
Ran 60m personal best (7.79) and placed first at the JDL College Kickoff

2020-21 T&F: Opened the indoor season with a victory as part of the 4x400-meter relay team with a time of 3:49.84 at the Virginia Tech Invitational (1/15) ... Also turned in a fifth place finish in the long jump with a mark of 5.77m (18-11.25 feet) and an eighth place mark in the 300m with a time of 40.63 ... Competed in three events at the Hokie Invitational (1/22), coming in fifth place in the 4x400m relay with a run of 3:45.20, seventh place in the long jump with a mark of 5.75m (18-10.5 feet) and ninth place in the 200m with a sprint of 25.25 ... Picked up her second top-three performance of the indoor season, taking third place with a time of 3:40.30 in the 4x400m relay at the Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite (2/5) ... Further performances included a 10th place finish in the long jump (5.70m) and 11th place in the 200m (24.86) ... Took home 15th place in the 400m with a time of 56.65 and 28th place in the 200m with a time of 24.77 at the Tiger Paw Invite (2/12) ... Set a PR in the long jump with a mark of 5.93m (19-5.5 feet) as part of a ninth place finish at the ACC Indoor Championships (2/25) ... Also took home 23rd in the 200m with a time of 24.97 ... Opened the outdoor season with a fifth place finish in the long jump, with a mark of 5.85m (19-2.5 feet), while taking home eighth in the 400m with a time of 1:01.73 at the Raleigh Relays (3/25-3/27) ... Set a PR in the 400m hurdles, finishing second with a time of 1:01.66, while taking home third as part of the 4x400m relay team (3:46.87) and finishing ninth in the long jump (5.79m) at the Virginia Invitational (4/3) ... Set personal bests in the 400m hurdles and long jump with marks of 1:01.29 and 5.99m (19-8 feet), taking second place in both, while earning first place as part of the 4x400m relay at the Tobacco Road Challenge (4/10) ... Finished 20th in the long jump with a mark of 5.32m (17-5.5 feet) at the Virginia Challenge (4/17) ... Turned in a sixth place finish in the long jump, recording a leap of 5.77m (18-11.25 feet) at Duke Twilight (5/3) ... Ran a time of 1:02.28 to finish 14th in the 400m hurdles at the ACC Outdoor Championships (5/13).

2019-20 T&F: Competed in four meets during the indoor season ... placed sixth in the 60m hurdles (8.82) and fifth in the long jump (5.67m) at the Dick Taylor Carolina Challenge (1/11) ... clocked a PR 300m time of 39.92 seconds at the Virginia Tech Invitational (1/17) to place 12th ... placed seventh in the long jump with a distance of 5.76m (18-10.75 feet) and clocked a 200m PR time of 24.55 to finish 11th at the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge (1/23) ... set a new personal record in the 400m at the ACC Indoor Championships (2/27), clocking 56.02 ... did not compete in any outdoor events due to the season being cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

2018-19 T&F: Competed in nine meets, including three indoor and six outdoor … finished third in the long jump at the Dick Carolina Cup (1/12) with a jump of 5.46m … set a personal record in the long jump at the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge (1/24) with a mark of 5.78m … at the Battle of the Blues (4/6), was part of the 4x100m relay team that took first with a time of 45.19 … achieved a personal best time of 14.35 in the 100m hurdles at the Battle of the Blues, finishing second … took seventh at the ACC Outdoor Championships with the 4x100m relay team with a time of 45.29.

Prior to Duke: Attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. … lettered four years in track and field, leading Santa Margarita to four consecutive Southern Section D3 Team Championships from 2015-18 … wrapped up her final year in 2018 as the Southern Section D3 Individual Champion in the 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles, 100m and 4x100m … ranks third on the all-time Orange County list for 100m hurdles, and fourth all-time in the 300m hurdles … placed third in the California State Championship in the 300m hurdles, and sixth in the 100m hurdles in 2018 … selected as the Orange County Girl’s Track and Field Athlete of the Year in both 2017 and 2018 … received the Scholar Athlete Award all four years of her high school career … a member of the National Honor Society in 2017 and 2018 … received the Caritas Christa Service Award for achieving over 120 hours of service in 2017 and 2018 … earned the AP Scholar Award … an active member of her community, volunteering at the local assisted living facility and homeless shelter.

Personal: Daughter of Andrew and Michele Merritt … born on Jan. 2, 2000 … has one brother, Ryan, and one sister, Kaitlyn … her sister competes as a pole vaulter at Stanford University.