ATLANTA, Ga. (theACC.com) – After two days of fierce competition at the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the Duke Blue Devils lead both the men’s and women’s fields.
The Blue Devil men lead the pack for the second straight day, holding a 6.33-point advantage over second-place Virginia. North Carolina rounds out the top three teams with 44 points following the second day. On the women’s side, the Blue Devils rose to the top spot on the leaderboard after finishing the first day in second place. With 48 points, Duke is being chased by second-place Virginia Tech (43) and third-place Notre Dame (34).
Ilse Steigenga of Pittsburgh won the women’s heptathlon after logging 5,637 total points. On her way to victory, Steigenga won the long jump and finished second in both the shot put and 800 meters. Duke’s Brianna Smith finished in second place with 5,616 points and Pitt’s Lydia Bottelier finished third with 5,472 points. Steigenga became the first woman in Pitt history to win an individual title at the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Louisville’s Jayden Ulrich won the women’s shot put with a heave of 17.95 meters (58-10.75), nearly a full meter better than anybody else in the field. Virginia Tech’s Katrin Brzyszkowska recorded a personal-best mark of 17.05 meters (55-11.25), while Wake Forest’s Ashlyn Giles picked up First Team All-ACC honors with a third-place finish and a throw of 16.65 meters (54-7.5). Ulrich is Louisville’s first women’s shot put champion since Emmonnie Henderson won three consecutive titles between 2015 and 2017.
In the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase, Notre Dame’s Sophie Novak clocked a personal-best time of 9:48.00 to win the gold medal. Novak won by more than eight seconds over second-place finisher Madison Neuner (9:56.63). Georgia Tech’s Helena Lindsay rounded out the top three of the steeplechase, finishing in 10:01.69.
Virginia Tech’s Victoria Gorlova won the women’s long jump competition with a 6.32-meter leap, defeating Pitt’s Steigenga by just 1.25 inches. Steigenga’s 6.29-meter (20-7.75) jump was good for the silver medal, while Wake Forest’s Robbie Grace earned bronze after leaping 6.27 meters (20-7).
Duke freshman Gemma Tutton completed the sweep of the pole vault events for the…
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