The men's and women's cross country teams raced in two different states, with two very different results Saturday.
In Fayetteville, Ark., the 20th-ranked women's team finished second behind fourth-ranked Arkansas at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival. The men's team finished 26th out of 36 teams at the NCAA Preview Meet in Terre Haute, Ind.
Senior Emily McCabe led the women's team with a fourth-place individual time. The Blue Devils scored 133 points to finish 92 points behind Arkansas, which also won the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Eugene, Ore. Sept. 29. Head coach Kevin Jermyn said Duke significantly closed the gap between the Blue Devils and Arkansas since that race, in which Duke finished fifth.
"We saw a good improvement from competing at Oregon," Jermyn said. "It was definitely one of our bigger progressions that we've made in a race this year."
Sophomore Maddie McKeever was the second Duke harrier to cross the tape, finishing in ninth place overall. Jermyn said McKeever's time-which was closer to McCabe's Saturday than in Oregon-was the "biggest breakthrough" of the meet.
In preparation for the ACC Championships Oct. 28, Duke will continue to build on its previous performances.
"We're definitely hungry for more improvements," Jermyn said. "We're going to have to continue to improve our fitness levels to repeat a win at ACC Championships, but I think that's a realistic goal. We feel positive because we're getting better and better each week."
On the men's side, Duke went into the NCAA Preview Meet hoping to beat teams that usually receive at-large bids to the NCAA Championships. Such an accomplishment would increase the Blue Devils' national respect and their chances of receiving an at-large bid to the meet this year.
Duke, however, did not reach its goal, even though the team felt prepared and confident going into the race, head coach Norm Ogilvie said.
"There were quite a few teams that beat us that we weren't expecting," Ogilvie said. "But we're not throwing up a white flag by any means."
Ogilvie said Duke's performance this weekend puts more pressure on the team to qualify for NCAA Championships at the Southeast Regional meet. To make NCAA Championships, the Blue Devils will have to either place as one of the top two teams at Regionals or receive an at-large bid.
"You like to have options," Ogilvie said. "It limits your options when you're forced to beat those teams."
Senior Keith Krieger led Duke with a 70th-place finish in a field of 243 runners, followed by junior Chris Spooner, who finished in 109th place.
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