Despite describing their outlook on the season as low-key, the Blue Devil women proved this past Saturday at the Coastal Carolina Invitational that their running certainly is not.
No. 8 Duke took both the team and individual titles and placed six of the placed runners in the top ten and eight in the top 12. It was senior Suejin Ahn that crossed the finish line first with a time of 17:40, while junior Madeline Morgan and senior Esther Vermeer followed close behind to round out the top three. But it was not just upperclassmen that managed to grab top finishes. In their collegiate debuts, Lindsey Olivere and Julianna Miller came in sixth and seventh, respectively, and their classmate Chloe Maleski followed sophomore Rebecca Cragie’s tenth-place finish to take the 11th spot.
Though the relatively small meet did not contain other top teams, it provided a chance for the Blue Devils to work on their strategy, giving them the opportunity to see where they stand heading into the larger meets of the season. According to head coach Kevin Jermyn, the runners’ goal was to race the course and not worry about their splits during the race or their position relative to other runners.
“In our first [all-out] race [our goal] was [to] practice executing the race strategy that we like to use,” Jermyn said. “We wanted to practice racing the course and navigating our efforts in a smart way.”
The benefits of this individualized strategy are expected to be seen in the larger, more competitive meets near the season’s end. Runners competing in the national championship meet, Jermyn pointed out, are likely to finish much farther back in terms of position in these early competitions. Due to the large number of runners in the most competitive meets, Duke must learn to focus on the course rather than the other runners to be successful.
Even though the aim of the strategy is much further down the road, the team is already seeing the payoff. Not worrying about times or place has allowed Jermyn’s runners to be more at ease during the race. As seen last Saturday, when his runners race with this mindset, results follow close behind.
“When we’re out there, you hear other coaches screaming out times and yelling at their runners if they’re off pace,” Olivere said, “and Coach Jermyn is just out there saying, ‘You look great, you look like you’re feeling good.’”
With their stellar results and more relaxed mindset, the team will be able to face the increased competition at later meets with confidence, or as Olivere put it, build on their success with pride.
“Getting to put on the Duke uniform for the first time was so exciting,” Olivere said. “[I] feel like a part of this great tradition, and I just have a tremendous amount of pride.”
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