Women’s DMR Claims Gold, Rowan Earns Silver on Day One at ACC’s

Braelyn Baker, Abby Hassman, Stephanie Moss and Lauren Tolbert pose with gold medals after winning DMR

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Women’s DMR Claims Gold, Rowan Earns Silver on Day One at ACC’s

2/26/2026 10:25:00 PM | Track & Field

BOSTON, Mass. – A thrilling gold-medal-winning race by the women's distance medley relay (DMR) and sophomore TJ Rowan's silver medal in the men's pole vault headlined a strong opening day of competition for Duke track and field at the ACC Indoor Championships Thursday.

In addition to the two medals, the Blue Devils totaled eight all-conference honors, logged a pair of top-five program marks and punched two tickets to Saturday's 200-meter finals.

At the conclusion of day one, the Duke women sit in fourth with 18 points while the men (11 points) are seventh.

TOP PERFORMANCES:

Duke capped the first day of ACC competition with a bang as the Blue Devils captured the gold medal and All-ACC First Team honors in the women's DMR. The quartet of graduate student Abby Hassman, sophomore Braelyn Baker, senior Lauren Tolbert and veteran Stephanie Moss hit the tape in 10:52.45, claiming the victory in an exciting photo finish.
Fantastic second and third legs by Baker (51.95) and Tolbert (2:04.05) positioned Duke back among the top of the pack, and Moss used calculated and crafty moves throughout the final 1600 meters of the race to make sure the Blue Devils remained within striking distance. Coming up on the final turn and looking like there was nothing left in the tank, Moss dug down and finished with a furious kick, surging through the line to claim the first-place finish and edge out runner-up NC State (10:52.59) by 0.14 seconds.
Rowan earned the second medal of the weekend for the Blue Devils with the sophomore earning silver in the men's pole vault. After passing on the first bar, Rowan cleared the next three on his first attempt. He concluded the competition tied for second overall, finishing with a mark of 5.25m (17-2.75 feet).
Junior Christian Toro competed in the men's weight throw and garnered All-ACC Second Team status with a sixth-place finish. Toro delivered his best throw on the fourth attempt, launching the weight 21.26m (69-9 feet).
Jette Beermann impressed in the women's 5000m and picked up her first all-conference honor as a Blue Devil. The graduate student turned in a time of 15:54.95 to place fifth overall and earn a spot on the second team.
Sophomore Valerie Jirak garnered All-ACC Second Team honors following a solid performance in the women's pentathlon. Jirak placed sixth overall after totaling 3,743 points, with her best performance of multis coming in via a third-place effort in the 800m.
Graduate student John Fay also competed in the men's weight throw and registered a personal best of 20.67m (67-9.75 feet). The throw improved Fay's No. 4 all-time Duke mark.
The Duke duo of sophomore Maya Collins and junior Mia Edim punched their tickets to Saturday's women's 200m final with strong outings in the preliminary round.
Collins turned in a personal best and the second-fastest time in the field of 23.34 to slot herself No. 2 on the Duke charts. Edim logged a career-best 23.59 – tied for fourth all-time in program lore.

ACC Medalists:

Braelyn Baker – Gold Medalist (DMR)
Abby Hassman – Gold Medalist (DMR)
Stephanie Moss – Gold Medalist (DMR)
Lauren Tolbert – Gold Medalist (DMR)
TJ Rowan – Silver Medalist (Pole Vault)

All-ACC Honors:

Braelyn Baker – All-ACC First Team (DMR)
Abby Hassman – All-ACC First Team (DMR)
Stephanie Moss – All-ACC First Team (DMR)
TJ Rowan – All-ACC First Team (Pole Vault)
Lauren Tolbert – All-ACC First Team (DMR)
Jette Beermann – All-ACC Second Team (5000m)
Christian Toro – All-ACC Second Team (Weight Throw)
Arabella Wilson – All-ACC Second Team (Pentathlon)

UP NEXT:
Day two of the ACC Indoor Championships gets underway with the second half of the men's heptathlon that will be contested Friday morning starting at 11 a.m., The field events will follow at 1 p.m. and running events will resume at 3:15 p.m.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils cross country and track & field, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeTFXC."

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