Upcoming Event: Track & Field at Mt. SAC Relays on April 15, 2026
Track & Field
at Mt. SAC Relays
Cross Country Looks to Return to NCAA's
As the Duke women's and men's cross country team enters the new millennium, head coaches Norm and Jan Ogilvie have their eyes set on a return trip to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The women's team advanced to the NCAA meet for the first-time in school history in 1999 and the men qualified for the NCAA meet in 1998.
Head women's coach Jan Ogilvie, whose team is currently ranked No. 16 in the country, returns five of seven runners from the NCAA team of 1999. The Blue Devils offer a one-two punch with senior captain Megan Sullivan (Wausau, Wis.) and sophomore Sheela Agrawal (Swansea, Mass).
Sullivan, an All-ACC and All-East selection a year ago, is the lone senior on the squad and is looking for her third appearance in the NCAA Cross Country Meet. She was an individual qualifier in 1998 and was a member of the 1999 NCAA team a year ago.
Megan has provided a lot of leadership, said fourth-year head coach Jan Ogilvie. Megan is a leader on the field and also by example. She is truly a captain in every way. Agrawal was also an All-ACC and All-East selection a year ago. She was named a 1999 All-America after placing 28th at the NCAA Championship Meet.
Juniors Katie Atlas (Johnson, N.Y.), Annie Wickman (Harvard, Mass.) and Maddy Woodmansee (Auburn, N.Y.) will provide leadership for the Blue Devils while sophomore Sarah Spalding (Prospect Heights, Ill.) has improved greatly in the off-season and has the potential to be a varsity runner.
This year we have a much deeper team than in the past, Jan Ogilvie said. We have five freshmen who could jump into the top seven at anytime in the year.
Those freshmen include Allison Hoffman (Rocky Point, N.Y.), Colleen Howard (Wellesley, Mass.) and Lisa Nagorny (York, Pa.).
Norm Ogilvie begins his first season as the head coach for the men's programs as he takes over for long-time great Al Buehler, who retired after 45 years of service. Last season, the men's team was on the bubble and just missed being invited to the NCAA meet.
Our expectations this year are what it has been for the past several years, to go to the NCAA Championship, said first-year head coach Norm Ogilvie. Last year we were the bubble team and we did not make it.
The men's squad returns a solid nucleus from last year's squad, which placed 2nd in the ACC for the second consecutive year. Senior Terry Brennan (Lake Forest, Ill.) was an All-ACC selection and was named team Most Valuable Player a year ago. Brennan will be looked upon to show leadership during his final campaign.
Terry has showed in the first month of practice that he can be a team leader, said Norm Ogilvie. We expect him to have another MVP like performance this year.
Senior Brendan Fitzgibbon (San Francisco, Ca.) was an All-East performer a year ago and was the ACC 1500-meter champion in track last spring. Junior Sean Kelly (Wickliffe, Ohio) returns for his third season at Duke after moving up the lineup during his freshman and sophomore years.
Seniors Mike McKeever (Garden City, N.Y.) and Peter Muller (Chicago, Ill.), juniors Jeremy Block (Manilus, N.Y.), Jay Champi (Cumberland, R.I.) and Adam Perez (San Caros, Ca.), along with sophomore Neal D'Amato (Berlin, Ct.) will add solid depth to the Blue Devil lineup.
Freshman Chris Williams (Lawrence, Kan.) and Blake Jorgensen (Atlanta, Ga.) will look to make an immediate impact for the Blue Devils.
Both the women's and the men's team opened the season with a first place as they swept the team titles at the 2000 Fordham XC Invitational. The women's team finished first out of 14 teams while the men's team finished first of 12 teams.
The Duke women captured their first title of the 2000 season by earning six of the top 10 spots as Katie Atlas (Johnson, N.Y.) took top honors with a time of 18:58.77. Maddy Woodmansee (Auburn, N.Y.) placed third with a time of 19:16.16 to help the Blue Devils earn the title. Duke finished the meet with 22 points, which were 27 lower than second place Princeton.
In the men's race, Sean Kelly (Wickcliffe, Ohio) took top honors with a time of 25:46.9, with Terry Brennan (Lake Forest, Ill.) earning a second place finish with a time of 25:47.2. Overall, Duke captured eight of the top 10 spots as they dominated the entire field of competitors. Duke finished the meet with 20 points, which was 60 points lower than second place finisher Penn.
