The women’s cross country team breezed by the competition this weekend at the Aztec Invitational. In the Blue Devils’ first ever appearance at the 16-team San Diego, Calif., race, Duke scored 18 points, only three shy of a perfect showing.
Ranked No. 20 going into the meet, the Blue Devils will likely be rated higher when the new polls come out after beating a consistent national powerhouse, No. 15 Northern Arizona, in dominant fashion.
Led by the one-two punch of juniors Shannon Rowbury and Sally Meyerhoff, Duke took six of the top 10 spots in the meet. Rowbury finished the course in 17:03, easily capturing first place and posting the eighth fastest time in the 60-year history of the meet.
“Shannon’s performance was truly spectacular, a real eye-opener for everyone watching,” head coach Kevin Jermyn said. “She’s establishing herself as one of the top runners in the country.”
Rowbury and Meyerhoff ran the majority of the 5-kilometer race together, with Rowbury pulling away after the two-mile marker. Meyerhoff posted one of her best collegiate races, finishing second overall with a time of 17:29, 31 seconds ahead of the third place finisher.
While the two Blue Devil juniors were way ahead of the pack, the rest of the field was more competitive. Going into the final 100 meters, Duke had runners in all of the top five spots. Southern Utah’s Alisha Bezanson spoiled the Blue Devils’ perfect finish when she came from 20 meters behind to outkick junior Natasha Roetter and senior Phoebe Ko. The two placed fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Ali Henderson, Duke’s final scorer in the meet.
“Phoebe Ko had a breakthrough race, the best in her collegiate career,” Jermyn said. “We have a more experienced team this year, and they’re training and racing with a much greater sense of purpose and urgency.”
Sophomore Lindsay Van Alstine rounded out the Blue Devils’ top-10 finishers, crossing the tape in eighth place. During the final leg of the race, she failed to surge ahead of Cal Coast TC’s Brooke Thomas but was able to hold off two other runners.
The Blue Devils have faced some top competition early in the season and the team has proven it belongs in the top 25. Duke accomplished all this without a healthy lineup—last year’s top performer, Paige Miller, did not race because of a sore calf.
“We’re beating teams we’ve never beat in the history of our program, feeling ahead of where we’d hoped [to be] going into the season,” Jermyn said. “We’re in the position to have the best season ever.”
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