XC Women Place Fifth, Men Place 10th at Bill Dellinger Invitational

Friday, September 29

Eugene, Ore.

All Day

Duke University

Oregon Invitational

XC Women Place Fifth, Men Place 10th at Bill Dellinger Invitational

9/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke men's and women's cross country teams traveled to Eugene, Ore. on Friday to compete in the Bill Dellinger Invitational, hosted by the University of Oregon. The fifth-ranked women's squad finished fifth while the men's team placed 10th, as both teams saw tough competition.

The Blue Devil women's team notched a point total of 132.6, good enough for fifth place. Duke's top finisher once again was senior Emily McCabe, who placed third overall with a time of 20:32. Sophomore Maddie McKeever was the next-highest Duke finisher, coming in at 19th with a time of 21:10. McCabe and McKeever have combined for a strong one-two punch this season, as they posted Duke's highest finishes for the team's second consecutive race.

Eighth-ranked Arkansas took five of the top 10 places overall to win the women's race with 35 points.

The Duke men, ranked third in the Southeast Region, posted a point total of 243.11 to come away with a 10th-place finish. Nationally ranked No. 17 Oregon, who placed three runners in the top seven overall and all five scorers in the top 20, edged No. 8 Portland for the victory, notching a point total of 47.

The Invitational's 13-team men's field featured seven teams that placed top-30 in the 2005 NCAA Cross Country Championships ? Texas (seventh), Portland (ninth), BYU (13th), Alabama (21st), Butler (25th), Washington (27th) and American (30th). The 11-team women's field featured five top-25 NCAA team finishers from 2005 ? Duke (third), BYU (eighth), Wake Forest (17th), Arkansas (19th) and Butler (24th).

Next up for the Duke men's team will be the Hagan Stone Park XC Classic, held in Greensboro, N.C., on October 7. The women will be in action next at the Chile Pepper Invitational, held in Fayetteville, Ark., on October 14.

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