For head coach Norm Ogilvie, the three-team Covered Bridge Open was not a time to show the nation the strength of the Duke cross country programs. Instead, Ogilvie used the season's opening meet to test his respective teams' depth and give some of his younger runners a chance to gain collegiate experience.
Despite that, the women's squad finished in first place, sweeping the podium, and the men placed second at Friday's races hosted by Appalachian State University.
Laura Stanley took the gold medal in the race after finishing the 5k course in 18:06. Fellow sophomore Shannon Rowbury placed third, hitting the tape in just under 19 minutes.
But Ogilvie was elated with the performance of junior Paige Miller, who after missing the entire 2002 season due to injury, finished second in the women's race.
"Paige was our number one runner two years ago," Ogilvie said. "That is huge news for us. Since she is back and healthy it will make our team much better."
While the performances of Stanley, Miller and Rowbury were somewhat expected, Ogilvie was pleasantly surprised with the strong races run by senior Jan Faraguna and junior Alyssa Mathe. Faraguna finished the race in 19:16, good for fifth place, and Mathe clocked in at 19:53, also finishing in the top 10.
"Both had great races Friday night," Ogilvie said. "They ran their best cross country races so far in their Duke careers." On the men's side, the coaches really reserved the teams firepower, sitting their top 10-runners. Yet, Morgan Clark was able to muster a second-place finish to lead the Blue Devils.
"I was very happy for our senior Morgan Clark," Ogilvie said. "He ran a pretty conservative race. He hung back early in the race and moved up in the last couple of miles. He ran really smart and had plenty left in the end."
Clark will get a chance to see where he stands among the team's top runners next weekend.
Casey Reardon and Cameron Bell also finished the race in the top 10 for the Blue Devils.
Host school Appalachian State won the meet, led by individual winner Mark Maddox. Six other Mountaineers finished in the top 10. The Blue Devils will race again Saturday in Charlottesville, Va., where Duke will roll out most of its top runners on the men's side. Most of the women who raced Friday will be given next weekend off as the coaches will give other runners a chance to compete.
Although Ogilvie will have to wait until next week to get a true measure of the strength of his respective teams, he was very pleased with his runners and is feeling more confident about the depth of the program.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.