Duke capped off a successful season with a 24th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. Monday.
Junior Maddie McKeever once again led the way for the Blue Devils, finishing the 6k race 21st overall in a time of 20:45.5. With her top-30 finish, McKeever earned All-American honors for the second year in a row.
"[McKeever] is a tremendous competitor and one of our hardest-working athletes," head coach Kevin Jermyn said. "Every time she competed this fall she left it all out on the course with no regrets."
Sophomore Kate Van Buskirk followed McKeever, finishing 67th overall in a time of 21:19.5.
"Kate had her best race of the season," Jermyn said. "She missed the whole summer training and was on and off during the fall [battling various injuries]. We were really pleased with how she ran today and in all three championship meets."
Sophomore Shelley Forbes also had a standout performance for the Blue Devils, crossing the finish line in a time of 21:59.6, good for 160th place.
McKeever, Van Buskirk, and Forbes were the only members of the young squad to have raced in the NCAA Championships last year. Sophomore Emily Sherrard (22:01.4, 164th place), freshman Christy Adamyk (22:31.0, 206th), junior Molly Lehman (22:36.4, 216th) and freshman Emily Schwitzer (22:49.2, 225th) all competed in the national meet for the first time.
"We have a young group, and we came into the meet looking to get more experience," Jermyn said. "[The national championship meet] is a very challenging, intimidating competition that takes a couple tries before you learn how to race it best."
The team's efforts in Indiana ended an up-and-down season for the Blue Devils on a positive note. After first-place finishes in two early-season meets, the team struggled in October before rebounding at the ACC Championships at the end of that month. Duke finally broke through at the NCAA Southeast Regionals, finishing second overall and earning its sixth consecutive NCAA Championship berth.
"Overall I was really happy to see the girls pull together," Jermyn said. "In the future I'd like to see the team stay stronger throughout the season so we'll have more confidence going into the championship meets."
If history is any indication of future success, this young Blue Devil squad has a lot to look forward to.
"This team is similar to our team in 2003, which was made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores," Jermyn said. "We finished 20th in the NCAA Championships that year and the following year placed second with a more experienced and mature group."
For now, the women will shift focus to the indoor track season and begin preparation for their first meet Jan. 11.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.