Upcoming Event: Cross Country versus NCAA Southeast Regional on November 14, 2025 at All Day
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vs NCAA Southeast Regional
Duke Women Set to Open Season Friday
9/1/2016 4:31:00 PM | Cross Country
DURHAM, N.C. -- The Duke women's cross country team kicks off the 2016 season Friday afternoon, welcoming a number of alumni to campus as a part of the Duke Alumni Meet. The contest, which features current members of the team, as well as five former Duke student-athletes, is slated for a 5:30 p.m. start in Morris Williams Track & Field Stadium. Competitors are set to cover the four-kilometer course along the Al Buehler Trail and Sally Meyerhoff Fitness Loop, before returning to the track for the finish.
The team of former Duke student-athletes includes Gina Daniel, Abby Farley ('15), Gabby Levac ('14), Kim McNally ('98) and Stephanie Skove ('15).
Duke will field a 10-competitor lineup in its season opener, with six freshmen making their collegiate debuts. Sarah Armstrong, Brittany Aveni, Lindsay Billings, Veronica Brtek, Rachel Lau and Sophia Parvizi-Wayne are each scheduled to don a Duke singlet for the first time. Armstrong heads into her first collegiate competition as a four-year Bay State Conference League all-star, while Aveni boasts impressive credentials at the mid-distances on the track, registering personal bests of 56.14 for 400 meters and 2:11.74 for 800. Billings showcases notable high school accomplishments as well, earning a top-20 finish at the 2015 Footlocker National Championships. Brtek, a four-time Pikes Peak Athletic Conference first team honoree, Lau, a two-time Illinois High School Association (IHSA) AAA cross country all-state team member and Parvizi-Wayne, a two-time first-place finisher at the Independent Schools Cross Country Championships, round out the six freshmen set to compete.
Sophomores Olivia Gwynn, Liz Lansing, Gabrielle Richichi and Sheridan Wilbur are also slated to begin the 2016 campaign Friday evening. Wilbur saw a successful freshman campaign in Durham, serving as Duke's second finisher in back-to-back races, while also placing among the Blue Devils' top five in all six of her appearances. Richichi gained a wealth of experience during her first year at Duke as well, competing in six meets during the 2015 season, while Lansing took the start for three meets last season and Gwynn participated in two contests.
Follow @Duke_TF_XC on Twitter for updates throughout the meet.
#GoDuke
Meet the Alumni
Gina Daniel -- Daniel, a three-year member of the Blue Devil cross country and track & field programs, set a variety of personal records both on the track and on the cross country course while competing for Duke. During the 2015 campaign, Daniel clocked a five-kilometer time of 18:46.9 at the Royals Challenge to set a personal best. Daniel continued setting personal records following the cross country season, clocking a personal best mile time of 4:56.63 at the ACC Indoor Championships and a 1,500 time of 4:42.15 during the outdoor campaign.
Abby Farley ('15) -- Farley posted impressive results just a year after her graduation from Duke, qualifying for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials following a personal best effort of 2:02.00 for 800 meters. Farley owns the fifth-fastest outdoor 800 in Duke history (2:06.02) and earned indoor All-ACC honors in 2014 after helping guide Duke's distance medley relay to a first-place finish at the conference championship. During her freshman season, Farley anchored Duke's 4x400 that garnered All-East honors.
Gabby Levac ('14) -- An indoor second team All-America recipient, Levac played an integral role as a member of Duke's school record-setting DMR that went on to place ninth in 2013 at the national championship meet. Earlier in the season, Levac earned All-ACC recognition for a third-place finish in the mile at the conference indoor championship. In addition to her national and conference honors, Levac also received All-East accolades during the 2011 outdoor season as a member of the 4x800 team that placed first at the ECAC Championships.
Kim McNally ('98) -- McNally claimed a number of honors during her time at Duke, including an ACC Outdoor 800-meter title and All-East honors at the same distance in 1998. McNally's strong performances in 1998 carried over to Duke's record books, as she posted the third-fastest outdoor 800 time (2:05.34) in program history as well as anchored Duke's fifth-fastest sprint medley relay (3:58.40).
Stephanie Skove ('15) -- Skove helped bolster Duke's throws during her four-year career in Durham, registering top five marks in both the weight throw and the hammer in her final season. During her 2015 indoor campaign, Skove recorded a distance of 46-8.00 (14.22) in the weight throw at the Hokie Invitational to register the fifth-farthest throw in program history. During the subsequent outdoor campaign, Skove sent the hammer 168-5 (51.35), the program's third-farthest mark, while competing at the Vertklasse Meeting.
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