Marsh in Fourth Place After Day One of Heptathlon at NCAA Outdoor Championships

Friday, June 11

Eugene, Ore.

Duke University

Day Two at NCAA Outdoor Championships

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Marsh in Fourth Place After Day One of Heptathlon at NCAA Outdoor Championships

6/11/2021 11:26:00 PM | Track & Field

RESULTS (PDF)

EUGENE, Ore. – Aiming to become Duke track & field's first national champion since 2011, senior Erin Marsh got off to a great start in the heptathlon at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships and sits in fourth place after day one. Teammate and graduate student Zoe Hughes sits in 20th after the first day of competition.

The day began on a high note for Marsh, who turned in the second fastest time among all competitors in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking in at 13.18. The mark was just 0.02 seconds away from setting personal best, but netted the Buford, Ga., native 1,097 points. Hughes finished 21st overall in the same event, running a time of 14.23 to tally 946 points.

Despite facing the collegiate leader in the high jump in the second event in Texas A&M's Tyra Gittens, Marsh turned in another strong showing with a fifth-place finish and mark of 1.72m (5-7.75 feet). Marsh was able to build strong momentum from the start, clearing her first three jumps on the first try. With the finish, Marsh tallied 879 points, but moved into third place after two with 1,976 points. Hughes added another 701 points to her total with a 22nd place finish and mark of 1.57m (5-1.75 feet).

The third event of the day saw Hughes deliver a strong shot put performance. The Hornchurch, U.K., native tallied her second throw of over 13 meters this season, finishing seventh overall with a mark of 13.11m (43-0.25 feet). Her performance netted her 735 points and vaulted her into 20th overall with 2,382 points. Not to be outdone, Marsh set a personal best in the shot put, taking ninth overall with a mark of 12.36m (40-6.25 feet) to net 685 points. After three events Marsh stood in fourth with 2,661 points.

The day ended on a high note for Marsh, who breezed through her heat in the 200m with a personal best time of 23.90. The mark not only crushed her previous best by 0.22 seconds but was the second fastest in the field and helped shave the lead for third place down to just four points as Marsh netted 990 points to sit at 3,651 total, four behind Miami's Michelle Atherley's 3,655. Gittens holds a 183-point advantage on Marsh as the leader at the end of day one.

Hughes maintained her hold on 20th overall with a run of 25.38 seconds in her 200m heat. Hughes sits just 78 points back of 16th with a point total of 3,234, which would be the final spot to secure All-America Second Team status.

Should Marsh maintain her top-10 status, she would set the record for most top-10 event finishes in the NCAA Outdoor Championships by a Duke team in a single season with the fifth of the event. Marsh would join Cha'Mia Rothwell, Brittany Aveni, Lauren Hoffman and the 4x400m relay team.

Marsh and Hughes will be back in action to complete the heptathlon, beginning with the long jump at 2 p.m., ET and followed by the javelin and 800m. Joining them will be Aveni and Rothwell, competing in the 400m and 100m hurdles at 7:02 p.m. ET and 6:42 p.m. ET, respectively. In addition, the 4x400m relay team of graduate students Iman Sule and Elena Brown-Soler, Hoffman and Aveni will compete in the final at 8:21 p.m. ET.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils track & field, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeTFXC."

#GoDuke