Friday, April 12
Durham, NC
Wake Forest University
vs
Duke Invitational
Robbie Grace Shattered the Wake Forest Long Jump Record at the Beach Invitational
4/13/2024 8:13:00 PM | Track and Field
Demon Deacons Claim Five Podium Finishes at the Duke Invitational.
DURHAM, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's and women's track and field teams finished the Duke Invitational with six podium finishes, three of which were first place finishes.
Thomas Kitchell dominated the Duke Invitational with two first place finishes in the men's discus and shot put. On Friday night, Kitchell secured first with a 54.10m discus throw. On Saturday afternoon, he claimed first place with a 18.23m throw in the men's shot put.
On the women's side of the shot put, Ashlyn Giles finished second with a season-best throw of 15.47m. Along with Giles, three other Deacs finished in the top-10. Amanda Schaare placed fifth with a season-best 15.16m throw, Casey Sullivan finished eighth with a season-best 14.05m throw and Isabella Gera placed tenth with a 13.63m throw.
At the Beach Invitational hosted by Long Beach State, Robbie Grace set a new program record in the women's long jump. Grace finished in second place with a program-record 6.38m jump. Prior to the 6.38m jump, Grace had a 6.35m jump that also would have set a new program-high. The graduate student now holds the program record in the indoor and outdoor long jump for Wake Forest.
During the first two days of competition the Deacs set numerous personal-best and top-10 Wake Forest marks. Jack Balick placed fifth in the men's 800m invite with a time of 1:49.18. That time set a new personal-best and is the ninth-fastest time in Wake Forest history. In the women's 1500m invite, Elizabeth Whaley finished fourth with a personal-best time of 4:19.77. Her time also ranks as the seventh-fastest time in program history. Finally, Rynard Swanepoel placed ninth in the men's 1500m invite with a personal-best time of 3:41.70. Swanepoel's time is the seventh-fastest time in Wake Forest history.
In the women's hammer, Megan Cook finished third with a season-best throw of 58.41m. Leia Braunagel claimed her third first place finish of the outdoor campaign with a 53.28m throw in the women's discus.
The Deacs will be back in action at Kentner Stadium for the Wake Forest Invitational on Friday, April 19th. For more information about the Wake Forest Invitational head to godeacs.com.
Notable Results
Women's Hammer
Men's Hammer
Women's High Jump
Men's Discus
Women's Discus
Women's 1500m
Men's 800m Invite
Women's 1500m Invite
Men's 1500m Invite
Men's Shot Put
Women's Shot Put
Women's Long Jump
From the Staff
"We had some very strong performances this weekend from all event areas including another school record from Robbie Grace. We are incredibly excited to show off our amazing athletes in front of our home crowd on Friday at the Wake Forest Invitational. The meet has nearly doubled in size over the last year. We will have Olympians and likely future Olympians so it will be a competition you don't want to miss!" - head coach John Hayes
"Despite traveling four freshmen and one sophomore, they showed up and raced like experienced upperclassmen. Our women capitalized on a competitive racing opportunity at Duke this weekend and I'm proud of the races they ran. It was a great tune up for our home meet this weekend which we are so excited for! " - associate head coach Ashley Bastron
"Overall, we had a good weekend at Duke. The group is really looking forward to competing at home next Friday at the Wake Forest Invitational." - associate head coach Collin Post
"Overall, it was a very successful trip to the west coast. Our combined event athletes had very strong performances and also left points on the table to capture in future competitions ahead. Robbie Grace had a spectacular performance in the gold invitational section of the long jump. In a highly competitive field, she came out swinging with a massive personal best and school record jump of 6.38m (20' 11¼"). She also continued to show great consistency with another great jump of 6.35m. Altogether, we are excited to get back to work and continue to have strong performances at our home meet on April 19th." - assistant coach Ryan Grinell
Up Next
The Demon Deacons head home for the Wake Forest Invitational on Friday, April 19th at Kentner Stadium. For more information please visit godeacs.com.
Follow the Demon Deacons
Social: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | #GoDeacs
Thomas Kitchell dominated the Duke Invitational with two first place finishes in the men's discus and shot put. On Friday night, Kitchell secured first with a 54.10m discus throw. On Saturday afternoon, he claimed first place with a 18.23m throw in the men's shot put.
On the women's side of the shot put, Ashlyn Giles finished second with a season-best throw of 15.47m. Along with Giles, three other Deacs finished in the top-10. Amanda Schaare placed fifth with a season-best 15.16m throw, Casey Sullivan finished eighth with a season-best 14.05m throw and Isabella Gera placed tenth with a 13.63m throw.
At the Beach Invitational hosted by Long Beach State, Robbie Grace set a new program record in the women's long jump. Grace finished in second place with a program-record 6.38m jump. Prior to the 6.38m jump, Grace had a 6.35m jump that also would have set a new program-high. The graduate student now holds the program record in the indoor and outdoor long jump for Wake Forest.
During the first two days of competition the Deacs set numerous personal-best and top-10 Wake Forest marks. Jack Balick placed fifth in the men's 800m invite with a time of 1:49.18. That time set a new personal-best and is the ninth-fastest time in Wake Forest history. In the women's 1500m invite, Elizabeth Whaley finished fourth with a personal-best time of 4:19.77. Her time also ranks as the seventh-fastest time in program history. Finally, Rynard Swanepoel placed ninth in the men's 1500m invite with a personal-best time of 3:41.70. Swanepoel's time is the seventh-fastest time in Wake Forest history.
In the women's hammer, Megan Cook finished third with a season-best throw of 58.41m. Leia Braunagel claimed her third first place finish of the outdoor campaign with a 53.28m throw in the women's discus.
The Deacs will be back in action at Kentner Stadium for the Wake Forest Invitational on Friday, April 19th. For more information about the Wake Forest Invitational head to godeacs.com.
Notable Results
Women's Hammer
- 3rd - Megan Cook - 58.41m, season-best
Men's Hammer
- 9th - Jake Goldberg - 54.58m
Women's High Jump
- 4th - Meghan O'Malley - 1.65m
- 10th - Abby Stankus - 1.60m, personal-best
Men's Discus
- 1st - Thomas Kitchell - 54.10m
- 5th - Connor Mathis - 50.53m, season-best
Women's Discus
- 1st - Leia Braunagel - 53.28m
- 5th - Ashlyn Giles - 48.45m
- 9th - Amanda Schaare - 45.87m
Women's 1500m
- 8th - Grace Wassell - 4:39.87
Men's 800m Invite
- 5th - Jack Balick - 1:49.18, personal-best, ninth-fastest time in Wake Forest history
- 8th - Paul Specht - 1:51.24
Women's 1500m Invite
- 4th - Elizabeth Whaley - 4:19.77, personal-best, seventh-fastest time in Wake Forest history
- 10th - Brooke Wilson - 4:23.60
Men's 1500m Invite
- 9th - Rynard Swanepoel - 3:41.70, personal-best, seventh-fastest time in Wake Forest history
Men's Shot Put
- 1st - Thomas Kitchell - 18.23m
- 9th - Connor Mathis - 15.97m
Women's Shot Put
- 2nd - Ashlyn Giles - 15.47m, season-best
- 5th - Amanda Schaare - 15.16m, season-best
- 8th - Casey Sullivan - 14.05m, season-best
- 10th - Isabella Gera - 13.63m
Women's Long Jump
- 2nd - Robbie Grace - 6.38m, personal-best, now holds the furthest long jump in Wake Forest history
From the Staff
"We had some very strong performances this weekend from all event areas including another school record from Robbie Grace. We are incredibly excited to show off our amazing athletes in front of our home crowd on Friday at the Wake Forest Invitational. The meet has nearly doubled in size over the last year. We will have Olympians and likely future Olympians so it will be a competition you don't want to miss!" - head coach John Hayes
"Despite traveling four freshmen and one sophomore, they showed up and raced like experienced upperclassmen. Our women capitalized on a competitive racing opportunity at Duke this weekend and I'm proud of the races they ran. It was a great tune up for our home meet this weekend which we are so excited for! " - associate head coach Ashley Bastron
"Overall, we had a good weekend at Duke. The group is really looking forward to competing at home next Friday at the Wake Forest Invitational." - associate head coach Collin Post
"Overall, it was a very successful trip to the west coast. Our combined event athletes had very strong performances and also left points on the table to capture in future competitions ahead. Robbie Grace had a spectacular performance in the gold invitational section of the long jump. In a highly competitive field, she came out swinging with a massive personal best and school record jump of 6.38m (20' 11¼"). She also continued to show great consistency with another great jump of 6.35m. Altogether, we are excited to get back to work and continue to have strong performances at our home meet on April 19th." - assistant coach Ryan Grinell
Up Next
The Demon Deacons head home for the Wake Forest Invitational on Friday, April 19th at Kentner Stadium. For more information please visit godeacs.com.
Follow the Demon Deacons
Social: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | #GoDeacs
Players Mentioned
Jumps/Multis
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
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