The men's and women's cross country teams are preparing for the NCAA District III meet in Greenville, S.C. this weekend, and the men hope to run well enough to be the first team in Duke history to make it to the NCAA national meet.
The men hope to do this by placing in the top three at the District meet or by being chosen as an at-large team. A disadvantage for the Blue Devils is that their district is the largest in the country and also one of the most competitive. In addition, only three at-large teams from the eight districts are chosen to go to the national meet.
Despite facing many of the same teams that they ran against at the conference meet two weeks ago, where they placed fourth, the coaches feel that the Blue Devils have a good chance to make it into the top three.
"We have good team depth," Ogilvie said. "That's what makes us a good team."
There is also a chance for individuals to qualify for the NCAA meet, to be held in Tuscon on Nov. 25. The coaches feel that sophomore Tom Becker has a legitimate shot at qualifying as an individual after a strong season and being named to the All-ACC team two weeks ago.
"Our guys will get up for this meet," Ogilvie said. "This is the do-or-die weekend and we feel very good about our preparation."
For the women, the Blue Devils are looking to improve on their 17th place finish of last year. Junior Erin Fleming will likely lead the team, and the coaches feel that if she runs well, she should place in the top 50.
"We're working on getting out faster," head coach Mike Forbes said. "It will be critical with over 300 runners in the race."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.