The men's and women's cross country team were seeing NC State red and Carolina blue after Saturday's ACC Championship domination by the other Triangle Universities.
The Duke women finished in a respectable fourth place. North Carolina edged out the Wolfpack by four points to take the team title.
Shalane Flanagan of UNC won the 6K race for the fourth consecutive year with a time of 19:23. Flanagan was in command of the entire race, leading at the three-mile mark by 18 seconds. NC State runners placed fourth, fifth and sixth, securing a second-place team finish.
The Blue Devils' top five runners all finished within thirty seconds of each other, good enough for fourth place. Sophomore Natasha Roetter led the team with a time of 21:11, placing 17th. With a 21:31, sophomore Sally Meyerhoff placed 22nd. Rounding out the scoring were Laura Stanley, Shannon Rowbury and Heidi Hullinger finishing 26th, 27th and 29th, respectively.
"The women ran exactly where they were seeded," Oglivie said.
On the other hand, the men's team had a disappointing last-place finish despite running two harriers--senior Chris Williams and junior Nick Schneider--who made last year's All-ACC Team.
Junior Andy Smith of NC State won the 8K race with a time of 24:14. As a team, the Wolfpack dominated the event with five runners finishing in the top 10. This title was the third consecutive for the Wolfpack, and eighth in the last nine years. Second-place Florida State was led by fourth-place finisher Joep Tigchelaar with a time of 24:24, followed by Virginia in third.
The first Blue Devil to cross the tape was Schneider in 25th, running a 25:31. Sophomore Chas Salmen placed 35th with a time of 25:47, and Morgan Clark, a senior, ran a 26:06 for 44th place. Freshman Keith Krieger placed 48th with a time of 26:15, eleventh best for freshman. Williams rounded out the Duke scoring with a 26:49, good for 57th-place finish.
Junior Michael Hatch, who won All-ACC honors last season, did not compete in Saturday's race because of a bone bruise in his ankle. Hatch said that he would be coming back to practice in the next couple of days.
"It was a disaster of a weekend. Everyone right now is refocusing to come back and put something back at regionals," Hatch said. "We're trying to assess on a individual level what the team can do."
Duke head coach Norm Oglivie said that after jogging Saturday's course, Hatch made the correct decision not to run, looking ahead to the NCAA Southeast Regional Meet in Greenville, N.C. on November 15.
"[Hatch] has a very good chance as an individual for NCAA's." Oglivie said. "I didn't expect the team to completely deflate emotionally [without Hatch]."
Now both teams are focusing on the NCAA regional meet, which will determine whether they advance to nationals.
"[The women] have two weeks to get ready." Oglivie said. "If they can beat one of the three in front of them [in the ACC], they will be at nationals."
On the men's side, Oglivie said that the regional meet will come down to having to beat Virginia, which is "entirely doable."
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