Upcoming Event: Cross Country versus Upstate Invitational on October 17, 2026
Cross Country
vs Upstate Invitational
Photo by: Ricky Bassman
Blue Devils Garner Top-10 Finishes at Pre-Nationals Invitational
10/16/2026 12:19:00 PM | Cross Country
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Duke cross country teams turned in a pair of outstanding team performances with a pair of top-10 finishes at the prestigious Under Armour Pre-Nationals Invitational. The women took sixth of 43 teams and the men finished the day in ninth place of 44 squads.
Sophomore Victoria Garces led the way for the women, turning in a personal-best time of 19:34.9 for her second top-10 finish of the year. She was the fourth ACC runner across the finish line to lead Duke to the sixth-place showing.
In the men's 8k race, graduate student Finlay Ross-Davie paced the Blue Devils with a time of 23:26.1 to finish 12th of 339 runners. He was the second ACC runner with eight conference schools in the competition.
The Women's 6k
Sophomore Victoria Garces led the way for the women, turning in a personal-best time of 19:34.9 for her second top-10 finish of the year. She was the fourth ACC runner across the finish line to lead Duke to the sixth-place showing.
In the men's 8k race, graduate student Finlay Ross-Davie paced the Blue Devils with a time of 23:26.1 to finish 12th of 339 runners. He was the second ACC runner with eight conference schools in the competition.
The Women's 6k
- Garces got off to a solid start, covering the first 2,000 meters in 6:23 to sit in 19th place. Freshmen Cassidy Armstrong and Sundara Weber were together in the top 50 in the first third of the race.
- Running strong, Garces continued to push the pace moving up five spots to 14th with 2k remaining. She clocked a 6:38 second 2,000 before finishing the final 2k in 6:32 for her top-10 finish. She bested her previous personal best by nine seconds as she clocked in sub-19 minutes for the second time this season.
- Armstrong turned in an equally strong performance, crossing the line in 20:06 in 33rd place. Sitting 48th after the first 2k, Armstrong stayed the course and covered the final third of the race in 6:49 to move up a total of 15 places. The 20:06 was 30 seconds faster than her 6k effort in her first collegiate race.
- Weber, Duke's No. 2 runner at the Meadows Challenge, was the third Blue Devil to hit the tape. She turned in a time of 20:24.8 for 53rd place. The rookie runner was steady throughout the race, staying put with the top 60 runners throughout the 6k.
- Senior Nimrit Ahuja and junior Hattie Reynolds rounded out the top five in 81st and 87th place, respectively. After sitting in 119th place after the first 2k, Ahuja really hit her stride midway through and moved up 42 places over the next 2k en route to a time of 20:47.3. Reynolds kept Ahuja in her sights down the stretch, passing 29 runners in the final 2k for a time of 20:49.6.
- Freshman Sophia Szolosi and seniors Molly Fitzpatrick and Poppy Craig-McFeely completed the Duke lineup in 110th, 140th and 152nd of 322 runners. Szolosi's 21:02.2 was 28 seconds faster than her first race as a Blue Devil.
- Ross-Davie hit the first 3k marker in 36th place. As the crowd started to thin out, the Scotland native picked off 22 runners ahead of him to sit in 14th after 5k. He stayed with the front pack, hitting the tape with a collegiate best time.
- All of Duke's runners followed suit, climbing the standings over the 8,000 meters. Junior Alden Keller came in 50th overall with a personal-record time of 23:58.7. He was in 69th place after 5k and then covered the final 3,000 meters in 8:57 to finish in the top 50.
- Senior Will Purnell was the third Blue Devil to hit the tape, coming in 69th place with a time of 24:08.6. He moved up 102 spots from 171st to his final position over the final 3k.
- Junior Rendon Kuykendall and freshman Braden Lofquest paced each other well, rounding out Duke's top five in 75th and 88th, respectively. Kuykendall's 24:10.5 is a personal-best effort as he moved up 36 positions over the final 3,000 meters. Lofquest hit the tape in 24:14, passing 86 runners down the stretch.
- Junior Aden Bandukwala (24:14.9), senior Zachary Parker (24:38.5) and freshman Hunter Robbie (24:43.8) completed the Duke lineup in 90th, 175th and 189th. All three sat in the bottom third of the crowd after the first 3k and raced well in the final 5k to finish within 29 seconds of each other.
- Following the Upstate Invitational Oct. 17, the Blue Devils begin postseason racing at the ACC Championship Oct. 30 in Blacksburg, Va.
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