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Duke Women Picked to Finish 6th, Men 9th in ACC Preseason Poll
8/25/2026 7:34:00 PM | Cross Country
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the results from its 2026 Preseason Cross Country Poll of the league's 18 head coaches Tuesday afternoon and the Duke women were picked to finish sixth, while the men are slated to take ninth.
NC State topped the list for the women, and Syracuse and Wake Forest tied for first on the men's side. The Blue Devil women earned 219 points to edge out Boston College. The Duke men garnered 152 points, besting NC State by 19 points for the No. 9 slot.
The preseason selections mirror Duke's finishes at last year's ACC Championships. Victoria Garces and Poppy Craig-McFeely are the two Blue Devil women returning from last year's ACC Championship lineup. Garces turned in an outstanding rookie performance in the race, taking 43rd overall and Craig-McFeely cut 27 seconds off her previous personal-best 6k effort.
Back from the Duke men's lineup are Arthur Graham, Rendon Kuykendall, Nick Falk and Eli Fitchen-Young. The trio finished last season strong with all three crossing the line at ACCs within six places to help Duke take ninth overall. Fitchen-Young improved his season-best time by 40 seconds in the race, while Kuykendall dropped 34 seconds off his fastest time of the campaign.
The Blue Devils open racing Sept. 18 at the Adidas XC Challenge in Cary, N.C.
#GoDuke
NC State topped the list for the women, and Syracuse and Wake Forest tied for first on the men's side. The Blue Devil women earned 219 points to edge out Boston College. The Duke men garnered 152 points, besting NC State by 19 points for the No. 9 slot.
The preseason selections mirror Duke's finishes at last year's ACC Championships. Victoria Garces and Poppy Craig-McFeely are the two Blue Devil women returning from last year's ACC Championship lineup. Garces turned in an outstanding rookie performance in the race, taking 43rd overall and Craig-McFeely cut 27 seconds off her previous personal-best 6k effort.
Back from the Duke men's lineup are Arthur Graham, Rendon Kuykendall, Nick Falk and Eli Fitchen-Young. The trio finished last season strong with all three crossing the line at ACCs within six places to help Duke take ninth overall. Fitchen-Young improved his season-best time by 40 seconds in the race, while Kuykendall dropped 34 seconds off his fastest time of the campaign.
The Blue Devils open racing Sept. 18 at the Adidas XC Challenge in Cary, N.C.
#GoDuke
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