Blue Devils Head to Cary for ACC Championships

Friday, October 30

Cary, N.C.

10 A.M.

Duke University

ACC Championships (M & W)

Blue Devils Head to Cary for ACC Championships

10/29/2020 2:25:00 PM | Cross Country

WATCH LIVE RESULTS

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke men's and women's cross country teams are set to make the short trip to Cary, N.C., for the ACC Championships Friday morning at the WakeMed cross country course.

The men's eight-kilometer race will kick off competition at 10 a.m., followed by the women's 6K championship at 11 a.m.

Coming off of an unprecedented regular season that featured just three meets, the Blue Devil men are looking to capture the program's first conference title since 2000. Aiming to lead the way once again for Duke is senior team captain CJ Ambrosio. In the two meets he has competed in this fall, Ambrosio posted a pair of top-10 finishes, including a second-place showing his last time out at the Panorama Farms Invitational in Earlysville, Va. That evening two weeks ago, he set a personal record in the 8K by clocking a time of 23:56.5, which marked the first time in his career he went under 24 minutes at that distance.

Sophomore Zach Kinne has also posted strong results in his two appearances this season, placing ninth overall in both races. His 8K time of 24:20.1 at the Panorama Farms Invitational was also a PR. Making his ACC Championships debut will be freshman Austin Gabay, who improved on his time at the season-opening Virginia Tech Invitational by well over a minute when he clocked a time of 24:26.4 in Earlysville.

On the women's side, several marquee competitors are looking to cap off an outstanding fall campaign and earn Duke's first ACC championship since 2005. The veteran-led group will feature seniors Michaela Reinhart and Amanda Beach, as well as sophomore Samantha Schadler, who has emerged as an elite runner in the conference. Similar to Ambrosio, Reinhart will try to place in the top 10 for a third-consecutive time this season after coming in sixth at Virginia Tech and second at Panorama Farms. The 2017 and 2018 All-ACC honoree has paced the Blue Devil women in three out of her last four meets dating back to last season.

Fellow senior Beach will shoot for another first-overall performance two weeks after leading the field at Panorama Farms with a 5K time of 16:53.0. In her last 6K outing at Virginia Tech, Beach took eighth overall, clocking a finish of 21:20.0. The Melbourne, Fla., native set her PR in the 6K as a freshman at the 2017 conference meet, placing 17th to earn All-ACC status.

In her second season, Schadler has asserted herself as one of the team's top performers with a pair of top-10 finishes. In the season-opener at Virginia Tech, she finished ninth overall with a personal-best 6K time of 21:27.3. She followed that up by taking third at the Panorama Farms Invitational, as her 5K finish of 17:01.5 gave the Duke women a clean sweep in the race. Schadler will be taking part in her first ACC Cross Country Championships.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, spectators will not be admitted to Friday's meet. The action will be carried live via ACC Network Extra, and live results will be available on theACC.com.

Duke Men's 8K Lineup:
CJ Ambrosio, senior
Rory Cavan, sophomore
Paul Dellinger, senior
Austin Gabay, freshman
Zach Kinne, sophomore
Jared Kreis, freshman
Alex Miley, senior
Sam Rivera, sophomore
Josh Romine, senior
Chris Theodore, junior

Duke Women's 6K Lineup:
Amanda Beach, senior
Caroline Howley, sophomore
Victoria Patterson, freshman
Sara Platek, senior
Michaela Reinhart, senior
Clara Savchik, junior
Samantha Schadler, sophomore
Charlotte Tomkinson, freshman
Leigha Torino, senior
Helen Williams, senior

#GoDuke