DURHAM – With the cross country season quickly approaching, Duke director of track & field and cross country Shawn Wilbourn, along with head cross country coach Angela Reckart, announced the schedule ahead of the 2022 campaign.
Duke returns 13 letterwinners from its 2021 men’s and women’s squad that combined for three meet wins and 16 top-10 finishes.
The Blue Devils unwrap the 2022 slate on Sept. 2 as the team travels to Elon for the Elon Opener. Duke will look to defend its 2021 win as both the men’s and women’s teams earned first-place finishes in their respective races to sweep the meet.
“This year’s cross country schedule will provide us with some extremely competitive racing opportunities,” Reckart said. “After opening at Elon, we will preview the ACC Championship course at Virginia and then have two races outside of our region at the Paul Short Invitational and the Nuttycombe Invitational.”
Next, Duke will split up into two groups as several members of the team head to Charlottesville, Va., for the Virginia Invitational, while others head up the road to Raleigh to compete in the Adidas XC Challenge. Both meets are scheduled for Sept. 16. The Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa., closes out the month on Sept. 30.
October features a pair of marquee meets, beginning with a trip up north to Madison, Wisc., as the Blue Devils will take part in the Nuttycombe Invitational on Oct. 14. Duke returns to Charlottesville for the final event of the month at the ACC Championships, hosted by Virginia on Oct. 28.
“These two competitions will allow us to race against teams that could provide us with at-large team points to help us qualify for NCAA’s before we head into championships season,” Reckart added. “Both teams are excited for the season and we are eager to line up again in the Duke uniform.”
Postseason competition wraps up with the NCAA Southeast Regional and the NCAA Championships set for Nov. 11 and Nov. 19, respectively. The regional will be held in Kentucky for the second consecutive season, while the NCAA Championship returns to Stillwater, Okla., after hosting the event in 2020 – the last time both Duke units qualified for the national meet.
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