Friday, February 10
Lynchburg, Va.
All Day
Wake Forest University
vs
Darius Dixon Invitational
Demon Deacons Set to Compete at David Hemery Valentine Invitational and Darius Dixon Invitational
2/9/2023 4:33:00 PM | Track and Field
The Deacs will return to action after a six day hiatus.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Following a weekend in which multiple school and meet records were broken, the Wake Forest men's and women's indoor track & field teams will return to action Friday and Saturday as several Deacs will travel to Boston, Mass. for the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, while others will make their way to Lynchburg, Va. for the Darius Dixon Invitational.
The David Hemery Valentine Invitational is set to begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, while the Darius Dixon Invitational is slated to begin at 2 p.m. On Saturday, the David Hemery Valentine Invitational will start at 9 a.m., and the Darius Dixon Invitational will begin at 10:30 a.m.
The Darius Dixon Invitational will be streamed on ESPN+, while the David Hemery Valentine Invitational will be streamed via FloTrack.
Last Week's Top-Five Finishes
Last Time Out (Camel City Invite)
After spending the previous three weeks competing on the road, the Wake Forest men's and women's indoor track & field teams returned to competition in the city of Winston-Salem in emphatic fashion as the Demon Deacons recorded several top performances at the Camel City Invitational.
Saturday, an enthusiastic crowd at JDL Fast Track witnessed junior Thomas Kitchell obliterate the Camel City Invitational men's shot put meet record as the Bethlehem, Penn. native tossed 18.69m to win the event in dominating fashion. Kitchell's toss marked the third-farthest throw in Wake Forest history and was less than one meter off the school record, which he set last season.
As a unit, the Demon Deacons continued to thrive in the women's throwing events as graduate student Amanda Schaare narrowly defeated teammate sophomore Ashlyn Giles to win the women's shot put. In the women's weight throw, Katrina Andreassen tossed 17.98m, marking the second-best throw in Wake Forest history.
For the second-consecutive week, graduate student Mackenna Curtis-Collins shattered a school record as she clocked 9:09.52 in the 3k to break the school record by nearly three seconds. The previous school record was set by All-American Anna Nosenko in 2011.
Last week, Curtis-Collins broke the previous school record in the mile, which ironically was set by Nosenko's twin - Dina Nosenko - in 2011.
Saturday, the Demon Deacons enjoyed success in the 800m on both the men's and the women's side as sophomore Laura Giudice (2:16.40) won the women's 800, while graduate student Joe Pearl (1:54.19) won the men's 800.
Of note, Wake Forest won a total of five events between the two programs. Additionally, the Demon Deacons recorded eight top-two finishes and 18 top-five finishes for the weekend.
Familiar Faces
Wake Forest is building upon a solid 2022 campaign as the Demon Deacons have returned six indoor track & field All-ACC honorees and five outdoor track & field All-ACC honorees from a season ago between the men's and women's programs.
This season, the Wake Forest men's track & field team has returned First-Team All-American and ACC Champion Thomas Vanoppen. Last season, Vanoppen placed fourth in the 1500m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, becoming the first Wake Forest outdoor All-American since Robert Heppenstall in 2018 and the first 1500m All-American since Kyle Graves in 2015.
In addition to Vanoppen, the Demon Deacon men return Zach Facioni who collected Second-Team All-American honors a season ago, along with three indoor All-ACC honorees (Thomas Kitchell, Andrew White and Rynard Swanepoel).
For the women, Wake Forest returns Anna Bush and Emma Soderstrom as they both earned All-American honorable mention honors last season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, finishing 18th in the heptathlon and 23rd in the high jump, respectively. Additionally, the Deacs return All-ACC selection Addison Berry.
Up Next
Wake Forest men's and women's indoor track & field teams will return to Winston-Salem next weekend to compete in the JDL DMR Invitational.
Follow The Demon Deacons
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | #GoDeacs
The David Hemery Valentine Invitational is set to begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, while the Darius Dixon Invitational is slated to begin at 2 p.m. On Saturday, the David Hemery Valentine Invitational will start at 9 a.m., and the Darius Dixon Invitational will begin at 10:30 a.m.
The Darius Dixon Invitational will be streamed on ESPN+, while the David Hemery Valentine Invitational will be streamed via FloTrack.
Last Week's Top-Five Finishes
- Women's 400m
- 2) Alexis Lay, 1:00.28
- Women's 800m
- 1) Laura Giudice, 2:16.40
- 2) Elizabeth Whaley, 2:17.25
- 5) Eilidh Nicholson, 2:18.87
- Men's 800m
- 1) Joe Pearl, 1:54.19
- Men's 1 Mile (Elite)
- 4) Thomas Vanoppen, 4:02.02
- 5) Zach Facioni, 4:02.18
- Women 1 Mile
- 3) Elizabeth Whaley, 4:50.09
- Women's Shot Put
- 1) Amanda Schaare, 15.33m
- 2) Ashlyn Giles, 15.13m
- 4) Leia Braunagel, 13.82m
- Men's Shot Put
- 1)Thomas Kitchell, 18.69m
- 4) Mason Ellis, 16.43m
- 5) Connor Mathis, 16.11m
- Women's Weight Throw
- 3) Katrina Andreassen, 17.98m
- Men's Weight Throw
- 1) Andrew White, 21.06m
- 4) Thomas Kitchell, 17.94m
- 5) Mason Ellis, 17.16m
Last Time Out (Camel City Invite)
After spending the previous three weeks competing on the road, the Wake Forest men's and women's indoor track & field teams returned to competition in the city of Winston-Salem in emphatic fashion as the Demon Deacons recorded several top performances at the Camel City Invitational.
Saturday, an enthusiastic crowd at JDL Fast Track witnessed junior Thomas Kitchell obliterate the Camel City Invitational men's shot put meet record as the Bethlehem, Penn. native tossed 18.69m to win the event in dominating fashion. Kitchell's toss marked the third-farthest throw in Wake Forest history and was less than one meter off the school record, which he set last season.
As a unit, the Demon Deacons continued to thrive in the women's throwing events as graduate student Amanda Schaare narrowly defeated teammate sophomore Ashlyn Giles to win the women's shot put. In the women's weight throw, Katrina Andreassen tossed 17.98m, marking the second-best throw in Wake Forest history.
For the second-consecutive week, graduate student Mackenna Curtis-Collins shattered a school record as she clocked 9:09.52 in the 3k to break the school record by nearly three seconds. The previous school record was set by All-American Anna Nosenko in 2011.
Last week, Curtis-Collins broke the previous school record in the mile, which ironically was set by Nosenko's twin - Dina Nosenko - in 2011.
Saturday, the Demon Deacons enjoyed success in the 800m on both the men's and the women's side as sophomore Laura Giudice (2:16.40) won the women's 800, while graduate student Joe Pearl (1:54.19) won the men's 800.
Of note, Wake Forest won a total of five events between the two programs. Additionally, the Demon Deacons recorded eight top-two finishes and 18 top-five finishes for the weekend.
Familiar Faces
Wake Forest is building upon a solid 2022 campaign as the Demon Deacons have returned six indoor track & field All-ACC honorees and five outdoor track & field All-ACC honorees from a season ago between the men's and women's programs.
This season, the Wake Forest men's track & field team has returned First-Team All-American and ACC Champion Thomas Vanoppen. Last season, Vanoppen placed fourth in the 1500m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, becoming the first Wake Forest outdoor All-American since Robert Heppenstall in 2018 and the first 1500m All-American since Kyle Graves in 2015.
In addition to Vanoppen, the Demon Deacon men return Zach Facioni who collected Second-Team All-American honors a season ago, along with three indoor All-ACC honorees (Thomas Kitchell, Andrew White and Rynard Swanepoel).
For the women, Wake Forest returns Anna Bush and Emma Soderstrom as they both earned All-American honorable mention honors last season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, finishing 18th in the heptathlon and 23rd in the high jump, respectively. Additionally, the Deacs return All-ACC selection Addison Berry.
Up Next
Wake Forest men's and women's indoor track & field teams will return to Winston-Salem next weekend to compete in the JDL DMR Invitational.
Follow The Demon Deacons
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | #GoDeacs
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Track and Field
Multi
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Multi
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Multi
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
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