Wake Forest University

Thomas Kitchell dominated the Duke Invitational with two first-place finishes in the men's discus and shot put. Friday night, Kitchell took first place with a discus throw of 54.10m. On Saturday afternoon, he won first place with a throw of 18.23m in the men's shot put.

On the women's side of the shot put, Ashlyne Giles finished second with a season's best throw of 15.47m. Along with Giles, three other Deacs finished in the top 10. Amanda Schaare placed fifth with a season's best throw of 15.16 m, Casey Sullivan finished eighth with a season's best throw of 14.05m and Isabelle Gera placed tenth with a throw of 13.63 m.

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 jump of 6.38m, a program record. Prior to the 6.38m jump, Grace had completed a jump of 6.35m which would have also set a new program high. The graduate student now holds the program record in indoor and outdoor long jump for Wake Forest.

Over the first two days of competition, the Deacs set numerous personal bests and top 10 finishes for Wake Forest. Jack Balick placed fifth in the men's guest 800m with a time of 1:49.18. This time set a new personal record and is the ninth-fastest time in Wake Forest history. In the women's 1,500m invitational, Elizabeth Whaley finished fourth in a personal best time of 4:19.77. His time also ranks as the seventh-fastest time in program history. Finally, Rynard Swanepoel placed ninth in the men's guest 1,500m with a personal best time of 3:41.70. Swanepoel's time is the seventh-best time in Wake Forest history.

In the women's hammer, Megan Cook finished third with a season's best throw of 58.41m. Leia Braunagel earned her third first-place finish of the outdoor campaign with a throw of 53.28m in the women's discus.

The Deacs will be back in action at Kentner Stadium for the Wake Forest Invitational on Friday, April 19. For more information on the Wake Forest Invitational, visit godeacs.com.

Notable results
Hammer for women

Men's hammer

• 9th – Jake Goldberg – 54.58m

Women's high jump

Discus for men

Discus for women

1500m women

Men’s 800m Invitational

• 5th – Jack Balick – 1:49.18, personal best, ninth fastest time in Wake Forest history
• 8th – Paul Spect – 1:51.24

Women’s 1,500m Invitational

Men’s 1,500m Invitational

• 9th – Rynard Swanepoel – 3:41.70, personal best, seventh fastest time in Wake Forest history

Men's Shot Put

Women's Shot Put

Women's long jump

• 2nd – Robbie Grace – 6.38 m, personal best, now holds the longest long jump in Wake Forest history

Staff
“We had some great performances this weekend in all event areas, including another school record of Robbie Grace. We are incredibly excited to showcase our incredible athletes in front of our home crowd on Friday at the Wake Forest Invitational. The size of the competition has almost doubled over the past year. We will have Olympians and probably future Olympians, so this will be a competition not to be missed! » – head coach John Hayes

“Despite traveling four freshmen and one sophomore, they showed up and ran like experienced upperclassmen. Our women took advantage of a competitive racing opportunity at Duke this weekend -end and I'm proud of the races they ran It was a great tune up for our house this weekend that we are so excited for” – Associate Head Coach Ashley Bastron!

“Overall, we had a great 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 events athletes performed very well and also left points on the table to score in future competitions. Robbie Grace put in a spectacular performance in the long jump invitational gold section. In a highly competitive field, she came out on top with a huge personal best and school record of 6.38m (20' 11″). She also continued to show great consistency with another superb jump from 6.35 m. Overall, we are excited to get back to work and continue to perform well in our home meet on April 19th – Assistant Coach Ryan Grinell.

Following
The Demon Deacons return home for the Wake Forest Invitational on Friday, April 19 at Kentner Stadium. For more information, please visit godeacs.com.

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