Last year, William & Mary beat the Duke men's cross country team in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships.
Revenge is a beautiful thing.
Both the men and women finished first overall at the Lou Onesty Invitational in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday. The unranked Blue Devil men's squad scored 42 points, edging out 15th-ranked William & Mary which tallied 45 points. Host Virginia finished third with 52 points.
Duke was led by juniors Michael Hatch, who finished second overall with a time of 24:35.8, and Nick Schneider, who crossed the finish line fourth overall in 24:44.40. Sophomore Chas Salmen finished tenth.
The women's team was paced by a trio of underclassmen, all who finished in the top 10. Sophomore Natasha Roetter finished second overall, logging a time of 17:59 in her first meet ever at the collegiate level. Returning sophomore Sally Meyerhoff placed third overall, crossing the finish line in 18:00.3. Freshman Elle Pishny rounded out the top ten for the Blue Devils, claiming seventh place.
Next week, the Blue Devils compete in the Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, N.C. In 2002, the men finished sixth, and the women placed 12th. The conditions were treacherous; muddy tracks inflated course times by around two minutes. This year, regardless of what mother nature has in store for the Blue Devils, Duke's cross country teams will look to establish themselves as ACC contenders Saturday.
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