Duke Set for ACC Championships in South Bend

Friday, October 29

South Bend. Ind.

10 A.M. - Women / 11 A.M. - Men

Duke University

ACC Championships

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Set for ACC Championships in South Bend

10/28/2021 12:37:00 PM | Cross Country

ACC Championships Page

DURHAM – The Duke men's and women's cross country teams are set to travel to South Bend, Ind., for the 2021 ACC Cross Country Championships on Friday morning at the Burke Golf Course, hosted by Notre Dame.

Competition kicks off with the women's 6K race at 10 a.m., followed by the men's 8K championship at 11 a.m. The action will broadcast live via ACC Network, with live results available on theacc.com. Longtime Director of Duke Track & Field, Norm Ogilvie, will be on the call alongside Shawn Kenney.

A Look Back at the 2020 ACC Cross Country Championships:

Duke looks to build off last season's performances at the ACC Championships, which saw both the men's and women's teams earn their highest placements by a Duke squad since 2012. The women (114 points) bested No. 27 North Carolina (116 points) on the way to a fourth-place finish while the men (134 points) finished in fifth place after edging out 17th-ranked Syracuse (135 points).
Michaela Reinhart earned her third All-ACC honor in 2020 after setting a then-best time of 20:19.3 (4th), the best finish by a Blue Devil since Juliet Bottorff's 2013 individual title.
Samantha Schadler garnered all-conference honors in her first ACC Championship appearance. The Tubac, Ariz., native registered a personal best of 20:32.2, finishing second among Duke runners and 10th amongst the field.
Graduate student CJ Ambrosio surpassed his previous PR by 31.5 seconds and finished at 23:35.0 (16th) en route to garnering his first All-ACC recognition.

What to Watch For:

The 2021 ACC Championships feature five of the nation's top-25 women's squads (No. 2 NC State, No. 10 Florida State, No. 13 North Carolina, No. 16 Syracuse and No. 21 Notre Dame), as well as two top-20 teams on the men's side (No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 19 Florida State).
With NCAA Regionals on the horizon, Friday offers another big test for several Duke runners who are angling for personal bests and looking to prepare for the regionals.
The Blue Devils enter the weekend coming off strong performances at Pre-Nationals Invitational and VertCross. In the Pre-Nationals Invitational, the men's team posted their best mark since 2012, placing 13th in the highly competitive field while the women's 15th place finish was their best mark since 2017.
Sophomore Charlotte Tomkinson registered the top time of the day for the Blue Devils and set a PR of 20:17.9 at the Pre-Nationals, crushing 58.5 seconds off her previous time. The San Carlos, Calif., native has been the team's top finisher in all three events she's competed in, with the other top performances coming at the Elon Opener (1st, 13:32.4, 4K) and the Battle in Beantown (5th, 17:14.1, 5K).
Reinhart also had a strong day on the course, checking in at a time of 20:24.2 as the fourth-fastest ACC runner. It was the second-fastest 6K time of her collegiate career, bested only by her fourth-place finish at last season's ACC Championships.
Ambrosio led the way for the men's team with a time of 23:53.1, recording his best 8K time since the 2020 ACC Championship and beating his best on the Florida State course by just under 18 seconds.
The Blue Devil men notched their second win of the season, taking first place at the VertCross with 32 points and recording four of the top-15 individual finishes among the field. Sophomore Jared Kreis led the way with a second-place finish and time of 25:20.9. Junior Connor Wells was the next of four in the top-10, checking in at sixth place with a time 25:43.7. Right behind him were sophomore Jack Kovach (seventh, 25:50.1), junior Rory Cavan (ninth, 25:53.5) and senior Will Dixon (21st, 26:24.5).
The Duke women also received strong performances from the four runners that competed. Sophomore Kelli Wilson led the way with a time of 18:29.9, taking 12th overall. Freshman Katie Hamilton was not far behind, placing 25th with a time of 19:01.7. Freshman Hope Frost was next across the finish line, placing 49th in her first collegiate 5K with a time of 19:46.7. Junior Naima Turbes rounded out the Blue Devil lineup with a time of 20:21.7.
Both Duke cross country teams own top rankings in the USTFCCCA Southeast Regional rankings. The men enter the weekend holding the second spot in the poll while the women's team sits just outside of the top-5 at No. 6.
The Blue Devils have beaten several teams ranked ahead of them during their respective meets, including then-ranked No. 17 Wake Forest, No. 25 Weber State and No. 30 Charlotte (men), along with No. 22 Connecticut, Syracuse and Boston College (women).