Duke Preps for Virginia Tech Elite Meet

2/5/2015 5:30:00 PM | Track & Field

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – For the second time this season, the Duke track and field teams travel to Rector Field House in Blacksburg, Va., to compete in the two-day Virginia Tech Elite Meet this weekend, Feb. 6-7. The Blue Devils previously competed in Blacksburg Jan. 23-24 at the Hokie Invitational, and will return to the venue twice more during the indoor season for the Virginia Tech Challenge (Feb. 20-21) and the ACC Indoor Championships (Feb. 26-28).

Friday's session will begin at 5 p.m. with field events, highlighted by Grant Emrie and Alex Jebb competing for Duke in the men's triple jump. During his last trip to Blacksburg, Jebb notched a personal-best mark of 46-1.50 (14.06) to finish sixth at the Hokie Invitational. Wrapping up the field events for the Blue Devils, Jordan Hatfield, Tanner Johnson, Ian Rock and Robert Rohner will compete in the unseeded men's pole vault at 7 p.m. Rock, a senior multi-event athlete, leads this group with a season-high clearance of 16-4.75 (5.00). Rohner will be competing unattached this weekend as he redshirts the indoor season.

Also starting at 5 p.m., running events will kick off with the women's mile. The opening race will feature a group of Blue Devils, comprised of Gina Daniel, Chloe Maleski, Jessie Rubin and Allison Sturges. Running the mile at the Carolina Cup, Rubin, Maleski and Sturges each turned in their season-best performances to place second, fourth and sixth, respectively.

Following the men's mile, Karli Johonnot and Teddi Maslowski will compete in the prelims of the women's 60m hurdles. Maslowski recorded the second-fastest time in school history this past weekend at the Armory Invitational, crossing the finish line in 8.59 in both the prelims and the semifinals of the event.

Running on the men's side, Johnson, Rock and Rohner will join Tionne Barmer in the qualifying race. Duke's top hurdler this season, Barmer leads the Blue Devils with a season-best time of 8.56.

Tommy Meister will be Duke's lone runner in the 800. The Janesville, Wis., native will run in his first race of the 2015 indoor season, entering Friday with a personal-best time of 1:51.72. Meister used that performance to place ninth in the 800 at the 2013 ACC Indoor Championships.

After the final heats of the 60m hurdles and 60m dash, Madeline Kopp and Elizabeth Kerpon will represent the Blue Devils in the 400 invitational race. The duo holds the top two times in school history in the event with Kopp running a 54.07 in 2014 and Kerpon clocking a time of 54.38 in 2013. Kerpon has registered Duke's fastest time this season, completing the race in 55.46 this past weekend to place ninth at the Armory Invitational.

Wrapping up Friday's portion of the competition for Duke will be the women's 200 open with Lauren Hansson, Maddy Price, Dorehn Coleman and Rachel Thompson making up the field for the Blue Devils. Both Hansson and Price have added their names to the all-time Duke list in this event, led by Hansson ranked second with a personal-best time of 24.37. Price, a freshman out of Hillsborough, Calif., holds the No. 4 performance in school history, running a 24.66.

Saturday's action will start at 11 a.m. with the women's pole vault and women's high jump. Megan Clark will look to continue her strong start to the season in the pole vault with her fourth straight top-two finish. After winning the event at the first two meets, Clark finished second at the Armory Track Invitational with a mark of 13-11.25, the eighth-best collegiate mark in Division I this season. Madison Heath will join Clark in the event, holding a season-high clearance of 12-11.50 (3.95) to rank fourth all-time in Duke history.

In the high jump, Maddie Morrow will return to Blacksburg after tying the fifth-best jump in school history at the Hokie Invitational. The junior out of North Canton, Ohio, cleared 5-8.00 (1.73) to place third overall.

Beginning at noon, Stephen Boals will represent Duke in the men's shot put, while a handful of Blue Devils will compete in the men's and women's long jumps. Boals, a redshirt junior out of Loomis, Calif., has placed first, third and second in the event through the first three meets, recording a season-best throw of 58-9.25 (17.91) at the Hokie Invitational. Boals holds the indoor school record with a toss of 59-4.25 (18.09).

In the women's long jump, three of Duke's top-five performers in school history will be in action. Maslowski, Johonnot and Karly Gregory, ranking second, third and tied for fifth all-time, each produced personal-record marks this past weekend at the Armory Invitational, led by Maslowski with a jump of 19-1.25 (5.82).

Rounding out the field events will be the men's seeded pole vault, men's high jump and women's shot put. Pole vaulter Connor Hall opened the season by winning the event at the Carolina Cup, clearing a season-best 16-4.75 (5.00). In the high jump, Carl Heinz paces the Blue Devils with his personal-record jump of 6-10.00 (2.08) to take second at the Carolina Cup.

Erica Brand and Urina Harrell will compete for the Duke in the women's shot put. Harrell and Brand placed first and second at the Carolina Cup, respectively, with Harrell tossing the implement 47-1.75 (14.37) to notch the third-farthest throw in school history.

On the track, a group of five Blue Devils will start the day for Duke in the men's 3,000, slated for 1:15 p.m. Last time in Blacksburg, Blake Udland finished the 3,000 in a time of 8:24.55 to take fifth place.

Scheduled to follow is the women's and men's 400 races. Price recorded the fourth-best time in school history last weekend, placing 10^th in the event with a time of 55.66. Competing at this distance for the first time this season, Hansson owns the No. 3 performance in school history, clocking a time of 54.48 last season. On the men's side, Chaz Hawkins and Brett Bofinger pace the Blue Devils with times of 49.10 and 49.92, respectively, each set at the Armory Track Invitational. Hawkins' time of 49.10 ranks as the third-fastest time in Duke history.

Kerpon and Kopp will then return to the track for the 200 Invitational race, Duke's No. 1 and No. 3 runners all-time in the event. A senior from Coppell, Texas, Kerpon holds the school record with a time of 24.32, followed by Kopp in third at 24.53.

In the last individual races, Julianna Miller and Callie Wynn will represent Duke in the women's 5,000 run, while Spencer Pecha will compete for the men. The meet will conclude with the 4x800 and the 4x400 relays.

A complete list of Duke competitors can be found below.

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Friday, Feb. 6

Time	Event	Name
5:00 p.m.	Men's Triple Jump	Grant Emrie Alex Jebb
7:00 p.m.	Men's Pole Vault (unseeded)	Jordan Hatfield Tanner Johnson Ian Rock Robert Rohner (unattached)
5:00 p.m.	Women's Mile	Gina Daniel Chloe Maleski Jessie Rubin Allison Sturges
5:35 p.m.	Women's 60m Hurdles (prelims)	Karli Johonnot Teddi Maslowski
5:45 p.m.	Men's 60m Hurdles (prelims)	Tionne Barmer Tanner Johnson Ian Rock Robert Rohner (unattached)
5:55 p.m.	Women's 60m Dash (prelims)	Dorehn Coleman Rachel Thompson
6:05 p.m.	Men's 60m Dash (prelims)	JR Smith
6:35 p.m.	Men's 800m	Tommy Meister
7:35 p.m.	Men's 60m Hurdles (finals)
7:40 p.m.	Women's 60m Hurdles (finals)
7:45 p.m.	Men's 60m Dash (finals)
7:50 p.m.	Women's 60m Dash (finals)
8:00 p.m.	Women's 400m Invitational	Elizabeth Kerpon Madeline Kopp
8:15 p.m.	Women's 200m Open	Lauren Hansson Maddy Price Dorehn Coleman Rachel Thompson

Saturday, Feb. 7

Time	Event	Name
11:00 a.m.	Women's Pole Vault (seeded)	Megan Clark Madison Heath
11:00 a.m.	Women's High Jump	Maddie Morrow
12:00 p.m.	Men's Shot Put	Stephen Boals
12:00 p.m.	Women's Long Jump	Kiersten Bell Karly Gregory Karli Johonnot Teddi Maslowski
12:00 p.m.	Men's Long Jump	Grant Emrie Ashton Huey Alex Jebb Tanner Johnson JR Smith Robert Rohner (unattached)
1:30 p.m.	Men's Pole Vault (seeded)	Connor Hall
1:30 p.m.	Men's High Jump	Carl Heinz Ian Rock
2:00 p.m.	Women's Shot Put	Erica Brand Urina Harrell
1:15 p.m.	Men's 3,000m	Kyle Carrozza Aaron Liberatore Eddie Merenda William Rooney Blake Udland
1:30 p.m.	Women's 400m Open	Jessica Buttinger Callie Francis Lauren Hansson Jasmine Hill Maddy Price
1:45 p.m.	Men's 400m Open	Brett Bofinger Chaz Hawkins Michael Wilson Christian Vail
2:00 p.m.	Women's 200m Invitational	Elizabeth Kerpon Madeline Kopp
2:10 p.m.	Women's 5,000m	Julianna Miller Callie Wynn
2:30 p.m.	Men's 5,000m	Spencer Pecha
2:50 p.m.	Women's 4x800m Relay	Gina Daniel Allison Sturges Teddi Maslowski Karli Johonnot
3:10 p.m.	Women's 4x400m Relay Open	Dorehn Coleman Callie Francis Jessica Buttinger Jasmine Hill
3:30 p.m.	Men's 4x400m Relay Open	Chaz Hawkins Brett Bofinger Michael Wilson Matthew Rodio Alternate: Christian Vail