For the first time in 27 years, Al Buehler can finally end the cross-country season today by watching his runners gallop across the premier stage in collegiate cross-country.
The last time Buehler led the Blue Devils to the NCAAs, none of his current runners were born, his top associate, Norm Ogilvie, was in sixth grade, and Richard Nixon was about to run into a heap of trouble.
Then it's understandable why Buehler will feel a little tingle when the Blue Devils make their first appearance in the NCAA Championships since 1971 today in Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan. The men's cross country team joined the 31-team field as one of 13 at-large teams after its third-place finish at last week's Southeast Regionals.
"The kids earned it by being good racers," Buehler said. "We did not outmuscle people. These guys banded together and they are a team in the true sense in that they care about each other. This shows that it can be done without scholarships and that you can be a bonafide student-athlete and race with the big guys."
The men have finished in the top three of every meet they ran in this season, including a win in the season-opening Fordham Invitational and a second-place showing at the ACC Championships. Against the top-flight field of the NCAAs, the Blue Devils will aim for a top-25 finish to validate their standing among the nation's elite.
Sophomore Megan Sullivan will join the Blue Devil men today in the NCAAs after qualifying as an individual with her 11th place finish last week. Sullivan's NCAA appearance, the first ever by a Duke female, caps a season in which she earned All-East, All-ACC and All-Region honors.
Both Sullivan and the Duke men will race on the unique Rim Rock Farm course, the creation of former Kansas track coach Bob Timmons. The home course of the Jayhawks since 1974, Rim Rock Farm is a grass and trail course featuring a distinct covered bridge and its share of hills.
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