The men's cross-country team produced its best showing of the season in finishing third at the Notre Dame Invitational this weekend, losing only to ACC rival N.C. State and host Notre Dame.
The coaching staff was extremely pleased by the team's showing.
"[This meet was] the best of the season," head coach Norm Ogilvie said. "This is the best Duke team in 25 years."
Duke had its fifth man in by 24:10. In contrast, at last year's Notre Dame Invitational Duke did not have one runner done by that time. The Blue Devils were led Saturday by senior Tom Becker, who finished 10th while running a career-best 23:36 for five miles. Becker, the three-time team MVP and All-ACC runner, had not been the team's top finisher in Duke's previous two races this season.
For the first time ever, three Duke runners broke the 24-minute barrier. Behind Becker were sophomores Terry Brennan (14th at 23:36) and Brendan Fitzgibbon (20th at 23:54). Brennan's time was the fastest ever by a Duke sophomore.
The performance has everyone involved optimistic for the rest of the season. The Blue Devils defeated ACC rival Clemson by 50 points. Beating Clemson places the team in contention for second place, behind powerhouse N.C. State, at the ACC Championship Meet. Duke has never finished higher than fourth.
Perhaps even more important was the team's narrow loss to Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish entered this season ranked No. 11 in the nation, and Ogilvie felt that Duke's loss by only 15 points should go a long way toward impressing the NCAA Selection Committee, potentially helping the Blue Devils earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
The Notre Dame Invitational was also a great success for the Duke women. The Blue Devils finished seventh on the strength of personal bests from all seven varsity runners.
The Blue Devils were led by breakthrough races from sophomore Megan Sullivan and freshman Katie Atlas. Both broke 18:00 for the first time as they ran 17:28 and 17:57, respectively.
Ogilvie felt Sullivan could have run faster but held back somewhat on the second mile after clocking an extremely fast 5:25 first-mile split
Duke's finish was especially impressive for two reasons. First, it was the youngest team in the field with one sophomore and six freshmen. Second, the Blue Devils finished well despite the fact that freshman Annie Wickman and redshirt freshman Ellie Culp raced while suffering from severe head colds.
Ogilvie was not overly concerned about losing to both N.C. State and Clemson. He said that having a healthy squad alone could contribute to a 30- or 40-point swing.
Ogilvie also expressed great optimism for the future.
"I feel that by the time these freshmen are seniors we can win the ACC title," he said. "I also think if not this year, then next, Megan will contend for an individual berth to Nationals."
Duke's finishes at Notre Dame improved the men's team record to 30-2, and the women's team record to 30-6.
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