DURHAM – Duke track and field saw its multi athletes get off to a blazing start at the Duke Invitational as all four competitors stood among the top three in their respective events at the conclusion of the first day of events.
Sophomore
Brianna Smith and graduate student
Zoe Hughes are currently slotted in second (3321 points) and third (3275 points), respectively, in the women's heptathlon. Sophomore
Gage Knight leads the way in the men's decathlon with 3996 points, while freshman
Michael Bennett totaled 3601 points for third.
Women's Heptathlon
Hughes and Smith opened the afternoon session in the 100m hurdles with both individuals producing solid showings. Hughes clocked the fastest time of her section, and the overall field, behind a run of 13.75 seconds – just .04 seconds off her PR. Smith also started her day with a bang as she produced a personal-best of 14.30.
Smith claimed the win in the women's high jump and climbed five spots up the leaderboard to cement herself in the top three. After passing on the first two heights, the sophomore cleared the next three on her first attempt – including the last height of 1.69m (5-6.50 feet) that secured the first-place finish after Wake Forest's Meghan O'Malley failed to clear it. Smith had the win locked up, but she wasn't done yet. The sophomore converted each of the next two heights on her second attempt before ultimately bowing out at 1.75m (5-8.75 feet). Hughes finished fourth among the field behind a leap of 1.63m (5-4.25 feet).
The pair finished back-to-back in the shot put with Hughes leading the way with a fifth-place finish. The graduate student's third throw was her best, measuring 11.46m (37-7.25 feet). Smith's best toss occurred on her second attempt as she flung the shot put 11.25m (36-11 feet) for a personal best.
Day one ended on a strong note for the pair with both Hughes and Smith finishing in the top-five of the 200m dash. Hughes finished as runner-up and registered the fastest time in the third heat, as well as a personal best of 25.24 seconds. Smith placed fifth via a run of 25.33 – 0.02 off her personal best.
Men's Decathlon
Knight got his afternoon off to a blazing start with a personal-best performance in the 100m. The sophomore dashed in 10.65 seconds to place first among the 15-member field. Bennett also had a solid outing in his first career 100m event, clocking 11.07 to take third.
Duke's duo headed into the men's long jump with its foot on the gas and claimed the top two spots among the field after each notched their best jumps on the third attempt. Knight produced a wind-assisted leap of 7.30m (23-11.50 feet) for first, while Bennett flew out to 6.97m (22-10.50 feet) to finish runner-up.
Next up was the men's shot put, which saw Knight throw 11.72m (38-5.50 feet) and Bennett's hurl measure 10.65m (34-11.25).
Knight locked up his third top-three finish of the afternoon in the fourth decathlon event, the high jump. The Crystal Beach, Fla., native cleared 1.90m (6-2.75 feet) to place third. Bennett also had a solid showing in the event as he leapt 1.78m (5-10 feet).
Knight and Bennett delivered another 1-2 finish in the 400m to wrap up a strong first day of competition. Knight ran 48.87 seconds and Bennett turned in a good run of his own as he finished in 50.02 seconds.
Up Next:
Bennett, Hughes, Knight and Smith wrap up multi-events with the final events of the decathlon and heptathlon, respectively. In addition, several Blue Devils get set to compete for the first time this weekend beginning with women's shot put at 9:30 a.m.
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