The men's cross country team logged a strong second place finish Saturday on the strength of three top-10 individual finishers at the Atlantic Coast Conference championships in Atlanta. The impressive finish leaves the unranked men's team with high hopes for a spot at the NCAA Championships Nov. 25 at Indiana State.
The women's team did not live up to their high expectations, largely because two of the fastest Blue Devils were a little green around the gills. Freshmen Caroline Bierbaum and Laura Stanley were both coping with illness, but the Duke harriers were able to pull out a fourth-place finish, thanks to both a strong team performance and a brilliant individual race by ACC Freshman of the Year Clara Horowitz.
The Georgia Tech home course was described by coaches and runners alike as "challenging."
The Duke men's team met that challenge, finishing the race with 69 points, second only to the dominant performance of 21st-rated N.C. State, who netted a mere 17 points.
The first three Duke men to finish the 8K-meter course did so within four seconds of one another. Sophomores Michael Hatch and Nick Schneider and junior Chris Williams were the top Blue Devils, with times ranging from 24:51 to 24:55. Their eighth, ninth, and tenth place finishes earned all three spots on the All-Conference Team. Sophomore Ian Cronin placed fourth amongst the Duke squad and 19th overall, clocking in at 25:28.
"We had two career performances Saturday: Nick Schneider and Ian Cronin," head coach Norm Ogilvie said. "They've never had finishes like that in their time here at Duke."
Jared Moore's 25:32 time and 23rd-place finish made him the fifth and final Duke scorer.
The women's team, ranked 13th nationally, came away just fourth in the ACC.
The knowledge that a healthier team might have fared better somewhat softened the Blue Devils' disappointment.
"We could have won it with some more of our team running at 100 percent," said Horowitz, who finished fifth individually, making her the only Blue Devil on the All-Conference Team.
Horowitz covered the 5K-meter course in only 21:11, less than five seconds away from overall winner Shalene Flanagan of North Carolina.
Freshman Sally Meyerhoff finished 13th overall, and Bierbaum and Shannon Rowbury finished 17th and 18th, respectively. Sophomore Phebe Ko was 28th overall and Duke's lone non-freshman scorer. The Blue Devils finished with 81 points.
N.C. State and Wake Forest shared conference title honors, tying for first with 61 points.
Next weekend, both teams head to the Cavalier open in Charlottesville, Va. In order for the teams to be invited to nationals, they need to be one of the top two teams at the regional qualifier on Nov.16.
"We hope to improve our finish," Horowitz said, "because we'll be facing pretty much the same competition."
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