Riding high on a No. 1 ranking for the majority of the season in 2005, Duke's seven seniors thought the team's last race together-the 2005 NCAA Championships-would also result in its first national championship title.
The Blue Devils, however, ended their season just short of their goal to win Duke's first cross country title with a third-place team finish at NCAAs. After a season scattered with first place finishes-including NCAA Southeast Regional and ACC titles-six of the seven seniors graduated without seeing the ultimate trophy.
One remains.
Senior captain Laura Stanley, who redshirted the 2004 season because of a broken elbow, will complete her final season of eligibility this year-but she'll have to do it without the six other teammates that helped to establish Duke as a national presence.
In the past two years, the Blue Devils have placed second and third at NCAAs, respectively. But this year, fresh faces litter the roster, and to stay elite, Stanley and the team rest of the team will have to mold young talent.
"We think we have great potential, but it's going to be a different year in that it's going to be a different group," head coach Kevin Jermyn said. "This year, I think we have to do a lot more development, a lot more teaching and development to turn that talent into national success."
In addition to the eight freshmen, sophomores Whitney Anderson-the 2005 ACC Freshman of the Year-and Maddie McKeever will continue to develop as harriers this season.
Stanley, a five-year member of the Duke squad, can sympathize with the difficulties of gaining experience while simultaneously trying to perform at a high level collectively.
"It wasn't easy at the beginning and we struggled a lot," Stanley said. "It takes struggle to get to a high level.. We need to encourage them to feel comfortable in the role of stepping up."
The Blue Devils will need to rise to the occasion this year to meet the high standard set by last year's team. Like Stanley and her old classmates in their early years, Duke has a chance to start building again. With the six seniors gone, Jermyn said he expects his younger squad to step up.
"Last year, when you had so many seniors who have been the best runners year in and year out, sometimes that can be intimidating," Jermyn said. "Whether the [younger runners] like it or not, the door is wide open this year."
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