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Fall Break was an eventful weekend for Duke runners. The No. 27 men and No. 29 women swept all three meets they competed in, defeating a total of 31 different teams between three meets: one in Madison, Wisc. and two in North Carolina.
Despite a waterlogged course at the Roy Griak Invitational Saturday in Minnesota, the Blue Devils brought home third place in both the individual and team competitions. Junior Bo Waggoner ran a 24:53 on the 8K course, finishing third behind All-Americans Hassan Mead of Minnesota and Guor Majak of Iowa State, for Duke’s best individual finish in the history of the meet.
The mental aspect of running is Duke’s focus this fall. “We can be physically fit, but we need the mental preparedness and knowing the dynamic that we’re training for,” head coach Kevin Jermyn said. “We have to train athletes who are used to winning every race they’ve competed in, [or] at least being in the top five, top ten. We’ve got to teach these kids how to run excited, how to run motivated, when they’re in the middle in 110th place and try to move up 10 or 20 spots.” This year’s freshman class fits Jermyn’s description perfectly. Ashley Brasovan won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in high school, and Madeline Morgan won the Nike Cross Country Nationals. Jermyn hopes to teach them how to stay hungry when they’re not in the lead, but in the middle of the pack. Brasovan, Morgan and other underclassmen are poised to contribute early on in their careers. They might not lead every race, but Jermyn has high expectations for his youngsters in practice. “We need everybody to challenge each other the way they’re going to be challenged when we’re racing the best teams in the country at the ACCs, regionals and nationals,” Jermyn said. “We’ve got to create some of those intense, competitive moments in practice. I think some of our freshmen, more than other years, aren’t going to be shy of sticking in their nose and being top one or two in any workout-- I think that’s going to be an exciting element.” Sophomore Carly Seymour will take a leadership role among the Blue Devils this fall, but recognizes the difficulty for a freshmen to enter the environment of NCAA cross country at a competitive level. Seymour finished in the mid-20s at the ACC Championships and NCAA Southeast Regional last year. “Last year was a little difficult, getting adjusted to the new team setting and the new school setting,” said Seymour. “Everything was different. Coming in and doing well was great; I was really happy with that, but it was a little bit of a challenge. I’m very excited this year to have more freshmen come in, to have more challenging practices, and to have them push me a little harder.” Besides helping the freshmen class aclimate to a higher level of intensity, Seymour hopes to shine individually this fall. “Overall, I just want to do better than I did last year,” Seymour said. “I’m more focused toward the championship races, so hopefully I’ll do better at ACCs and Regionals and be a top contender at Nationals.” Jermyn is confident that mental toughness will make the difference for the younger runners, Seymour included. “Our sport is a lot about suffering, and focus, and in a lot of workouts that’s going to be the goal of the day. But there’s no way we can do that every day without sustaining some overstress injury, so it’s definitely a balanced approach. Last year, we erred perhaps on the side of overtraining.... This year we’re worried more about training to get fit, [and preparing] what I think is the most important muscle, the one in between your two ears in your head.”
The mental aspect of running is Duke's focus this fall.
Unlike in previous seasons, Duke's freshman class will have its work cut out to even make the starting squad.
Four new Blue Devils and three returning team leaders give Duke strong prospects for the 2009-10 season, even after graduating All-Americans Amanda Blumenherst and Jennie Lee. Lindy Duncan, who made it to the final 16 of the US Amateur this August, joins Courtney Ellenbogen and Stacey Kim in a freshman class that will form half of the team's six-player roster. On the coaching staff, Emily Bastel replaces Jan Dowling as assistant coach after Dowling's move to the head coaching position at the University of Florida.
The best athlete in Duke's incoming freshman class doesn't stand out in a crowd. At 6 feet and 165 pounds he doesn't have the size of a football or basketball player. But when he steps onto a track, Curtis Beach is instantly recognizable, because he's winning everything in sight.
For almost her whole life, Amy Fryt has had lofty ambitions. The sophomore pole vaulter has dreamed of going to the Olympics since she first stepped onto a gymnastics mat as a child.
Despite many of the Blue Devils' top athletes taking the weekend off, the Blue Devils put together a strong showing this weekend at the Joe Hilton UNC Invitational.
Bo Waggoner won the men's 5,000-meter Friday, and the Blue Devils never looked back. By Saturday afternoon, Duke had run away with the competition, posting eight NCAA regional qualifying times.
After a slow start Wednesday, Duke managed to put together pieces to outlast its Tobacco Road rival.
No one won steak Tuesday by hitting the giant bull in left field at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Connecticut, the No. 1 seed in the West Region, has everything it takes to win a national title: size, shooting touch and experience.
After losing 75-60 to North Carolina Monday, No. 4 Duke knows what parts of its game need to improve before Friday's 8:30 p.m. matchup against Clemson in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Senior night did not go the way Duke planned.
During halftime of the men's basketball game against Virginia Union Saturday, Abby Waner and the rest of the Blue Devils were introduced. Waner, the senior captain, guaranteed a Duke victory in her team's Blue-White game Sunday-and she delivered.
The No. 25 Blue Devils knew they would learn something about themselves by playing No. 4 Maryland in College Park, Md. before a crowd of more than 6,000 spectators.
Coming off an unexpected third-place finish in the 2008 NCAA championship, Duke is hoping to finish this season where it is used to being: back on top, where the Blue Devils reigned from 2005 to 2007.
