Two All-American performances propelled the women's cross country team to a 10th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships Monday in Terre Haute, Ind.
Senior Emily McCabe-a transfer from Cornell-and sophomore Maddie McKeever received All-American honors for finishing in 14th and 17th places, respectively. Despite having never competed in the national championship race before, both clocked career times.
"Emily and Maddie had the best finishes they've ever had," head coach Kevin Jermyn said. "This was the first time either of them have been in a national championship in cross country, and they both exceeded their goals."
Additionally, no two Blue Devils have ever received All-American accolades in the same season, Jermyn said.
Fifth-year senior captain Laura Stanley also turned in a strong performance, finishing third for the Blue Devils and 79th overall. Despite a hip injury that had sidelined her for the entirety of last summer and the majority of the fall, Stanley finished within five seconds of her time last year.
Freshman Kate Van Buskirk and senior Elle Pishny rounded out the top five for Duke, finishing in 130th and 166th places. The Blue Devils finished with 320 points, only 20 points behind sixth-place Texas Tech but 125 points behind champion Stanford.
With the win, the Cardinal captured its second-consecutive national title.
Duke progressed with every round of the postseason, and Jermyn said his runners executed everything his staff asked of them and was thrilled with their efforts. After placing second to N.C. State at both the ACC Championships and the Southeast Regional Championships, Duke defeated the Wolfpack for the first time this year.
"We got off to a slow start this year, and every week we got better and better," Jermyn said. "The girls were very coachable and responded well to all the feedback we gave them. Today was the end result of all the development throughout the year."
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