After season-best individual and team finishes at the VertCross Invitational Oct. 14, the Blue Devils are looking for a similar performance at their first postseason meet this weekend.
Duke will compete at the ACC championships Friday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The women will run 6,000 meters beginning at 10:03 a.m., and the men will toe the line for their 8K race at 10:45 a.m.
The conference championships will provide the Blue Devils an opportunity to face new competition with Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech and N.C. State the only ACC squads Duke has already competed against this season.
“Being young and going into the situation where we haven’t really faced this much competition, it will be a great experience for this young squad," women's head coach Rhonda Riley said. "We’re not treating this meet likes it’s any different than we’ve been doing all season. If we run just like what we’re capable of and what we’ve been training at, I think we can do fairly well and surprise some people."
The Duke women's unit is coming off a first-place finish at the VertCross Invitational. With freshman star Sophia Parvizi-Wayne sitting out to rest, sophomore Gabrielle Richichi led the way for the Blue Devils with a fourth-place finish and was immediately followed by classmate Sheridan Wilbur and freshman Lindsay Billings.
Duke will get an additional boost with Parvizi-Wayne set to return with fresh legs. In her only outing as a Blue Devil this year at the Roy Griak Invitational in September, the London native—who placed first at the 2013 London Youth Games—led the Blue Devils with an 18th-place finish in a stacked field featuring 34 teams.
“Sophia’s at the talent level where she can go out with the lead pack and be able to be with them, to compete with them," Riley said. "I expect her to be a low number for us."
On the men's side, the Blue Devils will face some of the best competition in the country. The race is highlighted by sixth-ranked and reigning ACC and NCAA champions Syracuse. No. 16 Virginia and Virginia Tech have also had strong seasons and are expected to push the Orange.
After struggling earlier in their campaign, Duke's men have recently shown improvement. The Blue Devils recorded one of their best showings of the season at the VertCross Invitational with three runners placing in the top-20 thanks to their pack-running strategy.
Fourth-year junior captain Alec Kunzweiler led the team with an 11th-place finish with sophomore Stephen Garrett and Nikhil Pulimood following closely behind in 15th and 17th, respectively. Freshmen Cole Hoff and junior Josiah Hanko rounded out Duke's top five.
Now the Blue Devils are hoping to continue that momentum and peak as they begin their postseason.
“We had a tough fall, we lost a couple of our veterans to injury, Stephen Shine and Daniel Moore," men's head coach Norm Ogilvie said. "But our freshmen have been outstanding—they've improved a lot. Our sophomores have gotten better, and some of the juniors are having their best seasons ever.... We feel if we run like we’re capable, we’ll be right in the middle of the fray.”
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