The men's cross country team's second-tier runners swept Claflin Saturday to win the Wolfpack Invitational at the SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
Although the team took the top eight official spots to earn a perfect 15-point score, Duke's finishes were interspersed with several unattached runners.
Turning in a second place time of 15:16.87 for the 5-kilometer race, sophomore Mark Buha led Duke. Buha finished 14.03 seconds behind last year's ACC Freshman of the Year, N.C. State's Gavin Coombs, who ran the race unattached and is redshirting the 2005 season.
Sophomore Kyle Kershner finished fourth with a 15:20.88 time, .4 seconds behind N.C. State freshman John Martinez, who also ran unattached.
"These guys are running at a much higher level," head coach Norm Ogilvie said of his top two performers. "They're racing much faster than in high school. Their performances were outstanding."
Ogilvie said the race was used as an opportunity to further develop the Blue Devils' depth. Duke's top five runners in the meet-Buha, Kershner and juniors Alex Reinhart, Patrick Parish and Marco Salmen-will also run in the IC4A Championships Nov. 19 in New York, N.Y.
"We're trying to develop a full team," Ogilvie said. "We just need to continue racing so when they move up, they'll be ready to go."
Although the women's team did not officially compete in the Wolfpack Invitational, eight members of the team's B squad ran the race unattached, including freshman Anna Farias-Eisner who unofficially finished first with a time of 17:36.06.
Both of the Blue Devils' A squads will next compete at the NCAA Southeast Regionals Nov. 12 in Greenville, N.C.
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