Duke captured two top-three finishes as a team in a field of more than 50 teams Saturday, but its struggle against brutal conditions and the North Carolina heat left one runner hospitalized.
Overcoming grueling 80-degree temperatures, the Blue Devils captured second place in the men’s race and third place in the women’s race at the Royals Cross Country Challenge in Charlotte, N.C. The outing served as an opportunity for runners to cement their spots on the line for Duke going forward, as both teams sat their top six runners in preparation for pivotal meets next week.
The women’s team—paced by freshman Callie Wynn—finished with an improved 1-5 split. The men’s team looked poised to capture the team title until front-runner William Hague collapsed from heat exhaustion only 700 meters from the finish in his return to competitive racing.
“[Hague] was running a great race—a really courageous race,” director of track & field Norm Ogilvie said. “He would have finished fifth overall, but he just ran himself into the ground.”
When the Winnetka, Ill., native toed-the-line Saturday, he did so with a purpose after missing last season with a knee injury. Saturday’s contest marked Hague’s long anticipated return to competition after months of patience and training. Feet planted in ready position, Hague awaited the gun prepared to make his return and kick off his junior campaign.
And he never looked back.
Hague led the Blue Devils off the line, settling into the lead pack along with freshman teammate Alec Kunzweiler and sophomore Daniel Moore. Reaching the three mile marker in 15:18.4, the junior was on pace to carry his team to victory and solidify himself a spot at pre-nationals when disaster struck.
Falling to his knees in the last kilometer, Hague withdrew from the race. The junior was taken to the hospital to receive treatment for dehydration and hyperthermia. His blood pressure and heart rate soon returned to normal, but Ogilvie believes that it will take time for Hague’s body to recover from its over-exertion.
“The thing is that when you get heat exhaustion like that, getting your body back to normal isn’t the only thing. It takes a lot out of you,” Ogilvie said. “That’s most likely [the end of] his season there.”
Moore crossed the line first for Duke, completing the eight-kilometer course with a time of 25:29.8 to finish fourth. Freshman Josiah Hanko placed second for the Blue Devils and fifth overall, crossing the line in 25:44.4. Sophomores Brian Benesch and Weston Carvalho rounded out Duke’s top four, all of whom will travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for NCAA pre-nationals next Saturday.
Running as an individual Saturday, Duke senior Shaun Thomson captivated onlookers, breaking the course record on his way to win the individual title by 59 seconds. The Baldwinsville, N.Y., native is using his senior year to redshirt in hopes that he can make a bigger impact for the team next year as a graduate student. Ogilvie sees Saturday’s performance as validation that Thomson’s current training program is working and hopes his improvement continues despite a lack of competitive opportunities.
On the women’s side, a 29-second gap between scoring runners gave Duke the edge it needed to come away with a top-three finish. The 1-5 split has been an area of focus of the Blue Devils who decided that an explosive start in last week’s meet in Boston ultimately led to a weaker team performance highlighted by a 49-second gap between scoring runners. Although this Saturday’s group was not the same group that competed in Boston, the team’s performance gives insight into the improvements being made under the guidance of head coach Christine Engel.
“The biggest thing we are working on right now is trying to minimize that gap,” Engel said. “It comes back to being more aggressive in the middle portion of the race and finishing stronger, which we are working on as well.”
Finishing the five-kilometer race in 18:17.0, Wynn notched a personal record on her way to a ninth-place finish as Duke’s first runner. Senior Julianna Miller crossed the line second for the Blue Devils to capture 11th place. Coming in just behind Miller, juniors Madison Granger and Olivia Anderson made up the back half of Duke’s top four. However, Engel has not made up her mind as to which four runners will join the six others already slated to run at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational next Friday.
Regardless of who is in the lineup, Engel believes her team is ready for next week’s test.
We’re excited about Wisconsin,“ Engel said. “The girls have been working hard and really pushing each other in practice. Boston taught us a lot about race strategy and race execution, so we feel like we are in a good place heading into Wisconsin.”
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