The men's and women's cross country teams travel to Clemson, S.C. this weekend to compete in the 2001 ACC Championships. This is the first ACC Championship in any sport this school year, and with that distinction comes the burden of representing Duke against some of its biggest rivals.
There is also pressure from an individual standpoint, as the top 10 runners in each race receive All-ACC recognition, and the top freshman is named ACC Rookie of the Year. Luckily for both Duke teams, its freshmen have been quite competitive throughout this season.
"The freshmen have done a great job this year and they will be a vital cog in our success," men's coach Norm Ogilvie said.
The cross country teams feel up to the challenge, as the men's and women's squads enter this weekend ranked 17th and 20th in the country, respectively. The men's team is the defending ACC champion, and senior captain Sean Kelly is the returning ACC individual champion. The women, meanwhile, are coming off a fourth-place finish last year, and must run without their 2000 All-ACC, runner junior Sheela Agrawal, who has been forced to medically redshirt this season due to an injured foot.
Without Agrawal, the key to the women's team's success will likely follow the trend that it has all season, in depending heavily upon younger runners, especially freshmen. Their top runners this season have included freshmen Paige Miller, Paris Edwards, Meaghan Leon and Phebe Ko, as well as sophomore Allison Hofmann.
Earlier this year, Miller won the Fordham Invitational in the team's first race, and along with Edwards finished as the top two American freshmen at the Great American Cross Country Festival, held in September.
"The women are running better at this time than any Duke team ever has," women's coach Jan Samuelson-Ogilvie said. "We have a strong core of women who are healthy for the first time this season."
The men's performance this season has also been keyed by young runners, especially freshmen Nick Schneider and Robert Smitson, sophomore Chris Williams and junior Jared Moore. Schneider was the U.S. high school champion in the mile this past year, and has continued to run well at a collegiate level.
The results this weekend will depend on how well these runners can support Kelly, their consistent leader. Kelly has been the top Duke runner in every race this season, winning the Fordham Invitational and solidifying his position as a serious All-America contender.
The ACC Championships will be a challenging race for both teams, as the men will face off against sixth-ranked N.C. State, and the women will compete against fourth-ranked N.C. State, ninth-ranked North Carolina and 15th-ranked Virginia, in addition to strong lower ACC competition.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.