Clark Claims Fifth in Women's Pole Vault

Thursday, June 9

Eugene, Ore.

All Day

Duke University

Day Two at NCAA Outdoor Championships

Clark Claims Fifth in Women's Pole Vault

6/9/2016 11:24:00 PM | Track & Field

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By: Duke Sports Information

EUGENE, Ore. – A pair of seniors highlighted day two of the NCAA Outdoor Championships for Duke Thursday at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., with one claiming first team All-America status and the other advancing to Saturday's finals. Megan Clark finished fifth in the women's pole vault, while Anima Banks qualified for the women's 800 final.

In the women's team standings, Clark's four points put Duke in a tie for 22^nd place. Arkansas paces the field with 26 points, followed by Texas A&M (16), Georgia (13), Oklahoma (12) and Florida (11) rounding out the top five.

Clark cemented a fantastic Duke career Thursday, placing fifth in the women's pole vault with a clearance of 14-1.25 (4.30m). After clearing 13-9.25 (4.20m) on her first attempt, Clark got over the bar on her second attempt at 14-1.25. With the field cut to five at that point, the Duke senior elected to pass the next height before returning at 14-5.25 (4.40m). With the chance to secure a top-two finish, Clark clipped the bar with her foot on her third attempt to end her Duke career with a fifth-place showing and first team All-America honors. Competing alongside Clark, sophomore Madison Heath capped her second straight trip to nationals by tying for 15^th with a clearance of 13-3.50 (4.05m). Clark, Duke's indoor and outdoor pole vault school-record holder, will return to Eugene next month for the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Running in the semifinals of the women's 800, Banks used a strong finish to secure a spot in Saturday's final, placing second in her heat with a time of 2:04.22. After clocking a 59.63 split over the first lap, Banks held off the rest of the pack over the final 400 meters, closing out the race with a 1:04.59. The 2:04.22 performance for Banks ranked as the seventh-fastest time among the three sections, less than a full second behind the leading time of 2:03.32.

Senior Madison Granger, competing for the first time in her career at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, kicked off the day for the Blue Devils in the women's 1,500 semifinals. Running in the second heat, Granger registered a time of 4:23.92 to finish 23^rd overall.

Closing out Thursday's portion of the meet, Duke's 4x400 relay squad of redshirt senior Teddi Maslowski, junior Madeline Kopp, freshman MacKenzie Kerr and sophomore Maddy Price teamed up for a time of 3:36.30 to finish 20th overall in the semifinals. Maslowski and Kopp combined for a 1:48.08 split over the first two laps before Kerr clocked a 55.50 on the third leg. Price closed it out with a blistering anchor leg, completing her lap in 52.72.

Moving on to the third day of competition Friday, Maslowski will serve as Duke's lone competitor as she kicks off the heptathlon at 3:30 p.m. (ET). Fans can watch the heptathlon in its entirety on ESPN3.

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