Even as indoor track season is at its peak, distance marvel Clara Horowitz isn't giving up on cross country.
The freshman won the USATF Junior Cross Country Championship in Houston, Texas, Saturday, while many of her teammates competed in the Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York City. The dominating win extended Horowitz' cross country season into late March, when she and five others will represent the United States in Switzerland at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
Horowitz's 23:34 coverage of the six-kilometer course left no doubt to her qualifications. The Berkeley, Calif. native dominated a 41-woman field, besting her nearest competitor, Laura Hodgson of the University of Washington, by 36 seconds over a muddy course.
"Although it was really warm out, the course was torn up," Horowitz said. "It might have been the muddiest course I've ever run."
The race's course was a two-kilometer figure-eight in Houston's Buffalo Bayou Park, repeated three times. The first circuit saw Horowitz take a three-second lead
"I think that the conditions affected different runners differently," Horowitz said. "I've never thought of myself as a great runner in the mud; all I knew was that time was totally irrelevant [in such inclement conditions]."
The hampering conditions are evident when Horowitz' times are compared. Her 23:34 was good enough for a national junior title, but her personal best on a six-kilometer course is a scanty 20:19.
Laura Stanley, a fellow freshman who had been Horowitz' training partner in the fall cross country season, also ran. Her time of 25:41 earned her an 11th-place finish.
The trip to Lausanne, Switzerland, awarded to the meet's top six runners, will go to Horowitz and Hodgson, as well as Amy Hastings, Rebecca Walter, Julia Lucas and Angela Homan.
"The US junior teams place pretty far back at international competitions," Horowitz said. "I'm just glad for the experience, glad to be representing the U.S."
A small contingent consisting of other members of the indoor track and field teams ventured to Manhattan for the Armory Collegiate Invitational. Only bringing a handful of runners, the Blue Devils earned some bang for their buck.
The men's' 4x800 squad garnered a number of accolades for their speedy 7:33.42: First place, season best and second best in Duke history-as well as the meet record.
The squad, consisted of Tom Gianturco, Jon Amt, Donny Fowler and Nick Schneider.
400-meter phenom Jenna Turner also broke her own school record with a 55.85
"If I had to pick a high point, I'd say Jenna's performance in the 400 would be it," women's head coach Jan Ogilvie said.
The women's' distance medley relay crew also earned a Duke record with their 11:20.09 time. Lauren Matic, Janay McKie, Kristen Doody and Shannon Rowbury barely missed qualifying for NCAAs with their fourth-place effort.
"We haven't had too many better weekends on the track," Ogilvie said.
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