Youth was a key factor for the women's cross country team last weekend at the UNC-Wilmington Invitational in Wilmington.
Half of the 10 runners that participated in the meet were freshmen, and three of these freshmen were able to place in the top five scoring positions. The first freshman to finish was Kim Folk, who crossed the line in seventh place in a time of 18:28. Folk was narrowly edged by junior Raquel Salume, who finished in sixth place, only three seconds ahead in 18:25. Salume was Duke's top runner.
"I felt I had a great race," Salume said. "I enjoyed running with Kim. We worked together and pushed each other throughout the race."
"The team was supportive of everyone and kept the freshmen from getting too nervous," Folk said.
In addition, fellow freshmen Kim Reynolds and Susan Williams placed in 11th and 20th places, respectively, in times of 19:01 and 20:02. Returning sophomore Erin Fleming rounded out the top five by running an 18:44 to finish in eighth place overall.
Sophomores Megan Pash and Lisa Anderson finished within three seconds of each other to take 23rd and 24th places in 20:18 and 20:21.
Freshman Helen Boussious was not far behind as she came through in 26th place with her time of 20:47. Junior Kathy Lockwood and freshman Rachel Cyrus also worked together in finishing in 29th and 30th places with respective times of 21:07 and 21:12.
Out of the four teams attending the meet--host team UNC-W, South Carolina, Winthrop and Duke--the Blue Devils finished in second place with 48 total points. UNC-W won the meet with 32 points.
One problem that the team faces is getting its top five runners closer together. While the top four runners finished within 40 seconds of one another, the next six were over a minute behind.
"It is definitely an advantage to have everyone running together," Salume said. "If anyone gets tired we can help push each other to keep going. We use hand signals to motivate each other during the race so that we don't have to talk and interfere with our breathing rhythms."
"Running together is like a support system," Folk said. "It keeps you from slipping back."
Another problem is the youth of the team. With half of the team comprised of freshmen, there is an obvious lack of experience for running on a college level. There are no seniors on the team and only two juniors who have had much experience running against the higher level of competition.
"I came from a good high school program which definitely helped me [make the transition to running in college]," Folk said. "The coaches understand that people are on different levels though, so they are flexible about the workouts."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.