Blue Devils Close Out Raleigh Relays

Saturday, March 26

Raleigh, N.C.

10:00 AM

Duke University

Day Two at Raleigh Relays

Blue Devils Close Out Raleigh Relays

3/26/2016 5:36:00 PM | Track & Field

Final Results

By: Duke Sports Information

RALEIGH, N.C. – Concluding the season-opening Raleigh Relays Saturday at Paul Derr Track at NC State, the Blue Devil track & field program capped the final day with 17 top-10 performances, including first-place finishes in both the men's 4x1,500 relay and the women's pole vault.

In the first race of the day for the Blue Devils, the relay squad of Kyle Francis, Jordan Burton, Stephen Shine and Alec Kunzweiler battled Michigan State the entire 6,000 meters and emerged victorious with a time of 15:39.79. With roughly a 20-second cushion between the Blue Devils and Spartans and the rest of the field, the two squads went back and forth until the final 100 meters. Anchoring the Duke relay, Kunzweiler showed off his sprint ability down the homestretch to secure the win for the Blue Devils.

Elsewhere on the track for the men, redshirt junior Michal Filipczak took seventh in the 800 with a time of 1:51.24, while senior Matthew Rodio clocked a personal-best 53.25 in the 400-meter hurdles, the fifth-fastest time in Duke history, to place eighth. Sophomore Brett Bofinger finished just outside the top 10 in the men's 200, placing 11^th with a 21.81 showing.

Sophomore Maddy Price and redshirt senior Teddi Maslowski paced the Blue Devil women on the track, accounting for five of Duke's top-five performances Saturday. After setting the school record in the 100-meter dash Friday, Price placed fourth in the final with a time of 11.81, then returned to finish third in the 200 with a 23.99 clocking, the fifth-fastest time in Duke history. Junior Madeline Kopp joined Price in the 200, placing ninth with a 24.36. Price and Kopp also ran legs of Duke's 4x200 relay, teaming up with freshmen India Lowe and MacKenzie Kerr to place third with a combined time of 1:36.69, the No. 3 performance all-time in program history.

For Maslowski, the multi-event standout showed off her talents in the hurdles by finishing second in both the 100 and 400-meter hurdles. After qualifying for finals in the 100-meter hurdle prelims Friday, Maslowski crossed the line in 13.65 to place second, then matched that performance in the 400-meter hurdles with a 1:00.71 clockin.

The field events for Duke were highlighted by the women's pole vault group, placing three in the top five of the invitational competition and sweeping the first two spots. Sophomore Madison Heath and senior Megan Clark turned in matching vaults of 14-1.25 (4.30m) to tie for the top mark, but Heath's fewer misses at the previous height gave her the tiebreaker. Heath's personal-best performance moves her up to third in the Duke records book, with Clark holding the standard at 14-9.00 (4.50m). Rookie Nati Sheppard joined the pair by taking fifth with a vault of 12-5.50 (3.80m).

Two more Blue Devil women added their names to Duke's all-time top-five list in their respective events. Competing outdoors for the first time collegiately, freshman Stefani Vukajlovic placed seventh in the women's hammer throw with a toss of 177-11 (54.23m), the third-best mark in Duke history, while fellow rookie Domonique Panton took 21^st in the women's triple jump with a distance of 37-1.75 (11.32m), the No. 2 mark all-time by a Blue Devil.

On the men's side, Duke turned in a strong group showing in the javelin, with all three competitors finishing in the top 10. 2015 All-American Thomas Lang led the way for the Blue Devils, placing third with a throw of 214-10 (65.49m). Following Lang were freshman Nicholas Solfanelli in eighth with a mark of 183-4 (55.89m) and sophomore Travis Closs in 10^th with a distance of 177-7 (54.14m).

Rounding out the field events, senior Michael Foley placed eighth in the men's hammer throw to pace a trio of Blue Devils by launching the implement 189-11 (57.90m), just an inch short of his own school record. In the triple jump, junior Grant Emrie logged a personal-best leap of 45-11.75 (14.01m) to finish 17^th overall.

Duke will return home to host Michigan and North Carolina for the Battle of the Blues April 1-2 at Morris Williams Track & Field Stadium. For fans unable to attend, Saturday's portion of the meet will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

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