The women's cross country team went the distance this weekend, traveling to two separate meets in different areas of the country. Seven runners traveled to South Bend, Ind., on Friday for the Notre Dame Invitational, while seven headed down the road to Campbell on Saturday.
Those at Notre Dame faced stiff competition but emerged with a respectable sixth-place finish in a field of 20 teams, despite injuries to some of the runners. The Blue Devils were led by the 22nd-place finish of freshman Beth O'Donnell, who ran a time of 18:19, just 21 seconds away from a top-10 finish.
"I knew coming in that it was a huge meet... so big that I couldn't quite take it seriously," O'Donnell said. "I came in a little bit more relaxed, feeling like, 'You're just here for experience.' I wasn't nervous like I usually had been in the past."
O'Donnell was joined in the top ranks by senior Kristin Faraguna and juniors Kim Folk and Kim Reynolds. Faraguna earned an 18:48, while Folk and Reynolds shared both a first name and a time of 18:50. Sophomore Camille Wilson wrapped up Duke's scoring team with a time of 18:57.
"Not everybody was healthy; we knew that coming in," O'Donnell said. "For our team to finish sixth overall was really, really good, considering that.... It just shows that we can run with them."
Duke could have shot for an even higher score had all of its runners been present and healthy. Junior Colette Gurtler missed the meet entirely, and Duke's top runner, Megan Sullivan, ran on an ankle she had sprained just a week earlier.
Closer to home, the Blue Devils dominated at the Campbell European Cross Country Invitational. Duke held four top-10 finishes, as Kourtney Gallo, Kim Voyticky, Becky Price and Liz Kane swept fourth through seventh places. Teamed with 13th-place finisher Marybeth Gregorski, they won the meet. Their total of 35 points outdid their nearest rival, East Carolina, by a full 15 points.
Duke will now have nearly two weeks to rest up before the ECAC meet in New York, N.Y.
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