CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Graduate student Zach McWhorter tied the school pole vault record while the Blue Devils won three events and tallied four top-five program marks overall to highlight a day of competition at the Dick Taylor Carolina Challenge. Duke also earned 18 top-five placements at the meet.
TOP PERFORMANCES
- Zach McWhorter made his Duke debut one to remember as the Springdale, Ark., native tied the nine-year-old school indoor pole vault record en route to winning the event.
- After passing on the first 12 heights, McWhorter cleared 5.33m (17-5.75 feet) to win the event and match Justin Amezquita’s 2014 mark.
- Sophomore Abby Geiser notched the second event win of the day for the Blue Devils and etched herself into the program record books in the 60m dash.
- Geiser clocked 7.53 in the prelims to book her spot in the final, then one-upped her performance by dashing to a first-place finish via a run of 7.47 seconds – No. 3 all-time at Duke.
- Graduate students Jordyn Shubrick and Zoe Waddell improved upon their top-five program marks in the weight throw with solid performances on Saturday.
- Shubrick finished runner-up in the event and raised her fourth-ranked program mark on a toss of 18.62m (61-1.25 feet), while Waddell improved her No. 5 program mark with a throw of 17.19m (56-4.75 feet).
- The Blue Devil trio of Brynn King, Allison Neiders and Paige Sommers went 1-2-3 in the women’s pole vault.
- King won the event behind a clearance of 4.15m (13-7.25 feet), Neiders vaulted over the bar set at 3.95m (12-11.50 feet) to finish runner-up and Sommers took third as she cleared 3.85m (12-7.50 feet).
- On the men’s side, Tyler Hrbek placed second with a clearance of 5.03m (16-6.00 feet).
- Five of Duke’s top-five placements stemmed from the men’s and women’s high jump.
- Alex Kilpatrick and Davis Howell took fourth and fifth place, respectively, after each cleared 1.85m (6-0.75 feet). Kilpatrick received the slight edge leaping over the 1.75m bar on the first attempt.
- Addie Renner, Brianna Smith and Isabel Wakefield grabbed three of the top-five spots in the women’s high jump event, led by Smith who took third with a jump of 1.68m (5-6.00 feet).
- Renner placed fourth after leaping 1.63m (5-4.25 feet) and Wakefield cleared 1.58m (5-2.25 feet) to take fifth.
- Moorea Mitchell notched a…
CLICK HERE to Read the Full Original Article at Duke University…