Atkinson Qualifies for Quarterfinal in Day One at NCAA East Regional

Wednesday, May 26

Jacksonville, Fla.

Duke University

Day One at NCAA East Regional

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Atkinson Qualifies for Quarterfinal in Day One at NCAA East Regional

5/26/2021 10:58:00 PM | Track & Field

RESULTS (PDF)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With spots in the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., on the line, the Duke track & field program completed day one at the NCAA East Regional at the Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium on the campus of North Florida on Wednesday.

Graduate student Connor Atkinson continued his push for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, advancing to the quarterfinals in the men's 400m hurdles. Atkinson missed out on a top-three finish and automatic qualifying spot by 0.01 seconds, but his blazing run of 51.44 seconds was more than enough to secure a spot in Friday's quarterfinal, finishing 17th out of 48 competitors. The Ashburn, Va., native will be back in action on Friday at 7:55 p.m., with eyes on his first NCAA Championship appearance.

The Blue Devils were well-represented in the first event of the day, as graduate student Kiegan Lenihan, sophomore Luke Jackson and freshman Scott Campbell competed in the men's javelin. Jackson participated in the first flight of the day, recording a throw of 57.12m (187-5 feet). In the second flight, Lenihan and Campbell competed, with Lenihan throwing a mark of 66.01m (216-6 feet) on his third try, while Campbell set a mark of 63.60m (208-8 feet).

Having already secured the best NCAA East Regional finish of his collegiate career, Lenihan sat back and waited to see his fate, but fell short of the top-12, placing 20th. Campbell took home 30th and Jackson finished 47th in their respective NCAA East Regional debuts.

Sophomore Ezra Mellinger was another NCAA East Regional debutant, competing in the long jump on Wednesday afternoon. Mellinger bounced back from an early foul to recover for a jump of 7.22m (23-8.25 feet). However, the mark fell short of qualification to Eugene, as Mellinger took home 28th place overall.

The evening was marked on the track, as sophomore Rory Cavan made his NCAA East Regional debut in the 1500m. Cavan took sixth in his heat with a time of 3:45.90, and just missed qualification to Friday's quarterfinal, taking 26th overall and missing out on the final four at-large times by just 0.61 seconds.

Graduate student Alex Schwedt had a near miss as well, running a time of 47.18 seconds in the 400m, finishing fifth in his heat. However, Schwedt missed the quarterfinal by 0.47 seconds and finished 32nd overall.

The final event of the day was the men's 10,000m, as senior CJ Ambrosio and freshman Zach Kinne competed for the Blue Devils. Ambrosio clocked in at 30:15.35 for a 35th place finish, while Kinne did not finish the race.

Duke will be back in action on Thursday, beginning at 1:30 p.m. with senior Ashleigh Rodriguez in the women's javelin. Fifteen women are scheduled to compete in a thrilling day of action.

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