DURHAM, N.C. – Director of Track and Field Norm Ogilvie announced the schedule for the 2015 indoor and outdoor seasons today, featuring a slate of great competitive opportunities across the country.
Duke will open the 2015 indoor season Jan. 16 at the Carolina Cup in Chapel Hill, N.C., a meet that the women's squad won last year while the men took second. The Blue Devil multi-event athletes will return to Chapel Hill the following weekend for the Tobacco Road Cup Jan. 22-23, while the rest of the squad will be heading to Blacksburg, Va., for the Virginia Tech Invite Jan. 23-24. The Blue Devils will wrap up the month of January with the Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York Jan. 30-31.
The month of February starts with the Virginia Tech Elite Meet Feb. 6-7 in Blacksburg, Va., before the squad splits up on Valentine's weekend, with a portion making the trek to Ames, Iowa, for the Iowa State Classic while the rest return to New York for the Millrose Games. Duke will then compete in the Virginia Tech Challenge Feb. 20-21 in Blacksburg, Va., before the indoor championship begins.
Duke will return to Blacksburg, Va., for the fourth time during the indoor season for the ACC Indoor Championships Feb. 26-28. In 2014, the women finished with 83 points to place second, their highest finish in program history, while the men recorded 67 points to take fourth-place out of the 15 conference foes. The Blue Devils will have a weekend off before heading to Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA Indoor Championship March 13-14. In 2014, The Duke men finished tied for 20th with 11 points, fueled by former Blue Devil Curtis Beach's second NCAA Indoor Championships heptathalon title. Junior pole vaulter Megan Clark will look to make consecutive appearances at the indoor nationals after placing 14th with a clearance of 13-9.25 (4.20) last season, while the distance medley relay will return three members – junior Anima Banks, senior Elizabeth Kerpon and sophomore Haley Meier – to a team that took 10th-place in 2014 with a time of 11:36.89.
The outdoor season starts with four meets in the state of North Carolina for the Blue Devils. Duke will travel to Chapel Hill for the Carolina Relays March 20-21, Raleigh for the Raleigh Relays March 27-28, High Point for the Vertklasse Meeting April 3-4, and will host the Duke Invite in Durham April 11. The Duke Invite will also serve as the opening of the Blue Devils' new home track, Morris Williams Track and Field Stadium.
The Blue Devils will again divide into two groups the following weekend, with student-athletes heading to either the Mt. Sac Relays April 15-18 in Walnut, Ca., or Atlanta, Ga., for the Georgia Tech Invite April 17-18. Duke's top relay teams and field athletes will then head to Philadelphia, Pa., for the 120th running of the Penn Relays. The team will host the Duke Twilight meet May 6-7 before heading to the ACC Championships.
The ACC Outdoor Championships will take place in Tallahassee, Fla., May 14-16, scheduled a month later than it had been in previous years. In 2014, both the men's and the women's squads placed fourth at the conference meet, scoring 81 and 70 points, respectively. Redshirt junior Thomas Lang and sophomore Haley Meier will also look to repeat as conference champions. Lang took gold in the javelin throw last year with a personal-best 229-1.00 (69.83), while Meier placed first in the 1,500 with a 4:30.33.
The postseason starts May 28-30 with the NCAA Regional East meet in Jacksonville, Fla., with any qualifying individuals continuing on to Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 10-13. In 2014, the Duke women placed 22nd as a team behind former Blue Devil Juliet Bottorff's 10 points after taking third in the 10,000 and fifth in the 5,000. Lang will look to improve on his 2014 performance that earned him 11th place in the javelin and an All-America honor.
The Blue Devils' outdoor season concludes with the USATF Championship meet June 24-28 for any individuals who qualify.
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