Infused with new talent, the Blue Devils are preparing to make a run at the regional and national cross country championships this fall.
Although the Blue Devils lost five of their top seven runners to graduation last year, expectations are high for the team that has finished second, third and 10th in the past three national championships.
"Our goal is to develop a team that will continue to contend for ACC championships and go after our first national title," head coach Kevin Jermyn said.
Junior Maddie McKeever returns as one of the Blue Devils strongest runners. She finished 17th at the 2006 NCAA Cross Country Championships, earned All-American honors amd was the only Blue Devil to attain All-American status in all three running seasons.
Junior Patricia Loughlin and sophomore Kate Van Buskirk will captain the young team, which welcomes six new runners.
"This group is a little bit inexperienced," Jermyn said. "We're going to work hard to develop a mentality to make sure we're capable of putting together our best performance in the biggest competitions."
Duke has consistently performed better than its ranking at important meets in recent years and hope to continue the trend.
"This group will do as well as they decide they want to do," Jermyn said.
In addition, Liz Wort, who finished her Duke running career last season, will join to the team as an assistant coach. She will help with communication, team building, and recruiting.
The women will begin the season at the Wake Forest Cross Country Relay next Friday in Winston-Salem, N.C. After that they will compete at the Western Carolina Open September 15 in Cullowhee, N.C. and the Murray Keatinge Invitational September 29 in Orono, Maine.
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