Upcoming Event: Cross Country versus Meadows Challenge on September 26, 2026 at M: 9:30 a.m./W: 10:15 a.m.
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M: 9:30 a.m./W: 10:15 a.m.
Cross Country
vs Meadows Challenge
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Men's Cross Country Looks to Blend Youth and Experience
9/21/2026 2:29:00 PM | Cross Country
The stable for Duke men's cross country is full. The Blue Devils have a deep roster of talented runners heading into the 2026 campaign, including the addition of Boise State transfer All-American Meshack Kuyo.
Meshack is the most experienced Blue Devil at running cross country, taking 27th at last year's NCAA Championship and third at the 2025 Mountain West Cross Country Championship. His time of 29:25.6 in the 10k NCAA West Region Championship would have placed third in the Southeast Region and was over 60 seconds faster than Duke's top finisher at 30:27.
Head coach Kevin Jermyn liked his depth last season and the ability of the Blue Devils to run together, but they lacked a literal frontrunner. At the ACC Championship, Duke had six runners finish within 15 places. Two weeks later, five runners crossed the line within 17 places. Jermyn believes Meshack can help fill that lead runner role and buoy a squad that had a strong spring on the track.
"I would say our strength last year was we had pretty good depth, but we lacked an upfront presence,' said Jermyn. "[Meshack] will certainly help with that, but also our team developed and was way better in the spring than we were in the fall. So, our overall roster developed, and we're hoping this will be the next evolution from the development we had from fall to spring. We need to carry that spring to this fall. [I think] that depth of that pack is just going to be a little closer up [in the races this season]."
The returning leader of that pack is Luke Thompson, who shaved 44 seconds off his regional championship time from freshman to sophomore season. The native of Brentwood, Tennessee, also had a personal-best 5,000 on the track at the 2026 Penn Relay, crossing the line in 14:13.88. It was 15 seconds faster than his best time as a Blue Devil rookie.
Also, back from last year's ACC Championship and Southeast Regional Championship lineup are veterans Nick Falk, Eli Fitchen-Young, Arthur Graham and Rendon Kuykendall.
While not as young as the Duke women's squad, Jermyn loves what the incoming group of four first-year runners bring to the program. He believes on any given day one of them or a burgeoning sophomore could vie for a spot in the top five or top seven come November.
"I think we have every single person on our roster who could make that top seven," Jermyn said. "We have really, really good depth and I can see some of our first years and some of our sophomores, even over a 10,000-meter cross country race, vying for top five or top seven positions by November."
Fitchen-Young is one of those sophomores who has the potential to be an impact runner for the Blue Devils. As a freshman he raced four times and clocked a personal-best 24:17 at the ACC Championships, dropping over a minute off his 8k time at the Nuttycombe Invitational two weeks prior. Fitchen-Young won the 3,000-meter steeplechase title at this summer's USATF U20 Outdoor Championships, qualifying him for the World Athletics U20 Championships.
Additionally, Soheib Dissa is back after a strong spring and summer of racing. The Newtown, Connecticut, native, who took ninth in the steeplechase at this summer's U20 World Athletics Championships while competing for Algeria, will look to find a spot in the lineup.
"I don't think there's only one way a team can become competitive and win," Jermyn said. "So, if Meshack or somebody else is fortunate to lead us at a high level, it takes pressure off the power of the pack. But I would also love to see everyone just be 20 to 25 seconds better. I would say one can never rely upon one person to be great at cross country. So, we have to have multiple ways we can become good, and hopefully keep everybody healthy, and we'll be good up front and depth-wise. I think we can do it both ways."
Cross country, like all sports, has a major mental component and Jermyn believes the ability of the team to stay composed and resilient on race day will be instrumental in the team's success. That is the progress he is looking for from last season where the consistency fell off at times.
"The growth of this program will be 'can our depth run well when they're buried in a pack?', Jermyn said. "But that pack is [filled] with superstars at an NCAA or pre-national type race, and can they run some of their fastest and mentally most composed races in that situation. And if it can't be great, can you be good? We've got to develop that sort of resilience on race day, as opposed to being great or discouraged and losing composure and falling off. I think as [the team] gets a little bit older and more experienced, that's a natural thing to happen."
Jermyn is excited to see what the Blue Devils bring to the cross country courses this season. He is hopeful the growth he witnessed throughout his first year at the helm will continue into the 2026 campaign.
"We've made a lot of progress last spring in doing that, and we just got to keep on growing every semester towards that direction. But our depth is fantastic. I literally have no idea all the different iterations of who could be in our top lineup."
Racing season starts Saturday, Sept. 26 with the Meadows Challenge at Princeton. Stay tuned to see who will be in the lineup come November.
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Meshack is the most experienced Blue Devil at running cross country, taking 27th at last year's NCAA Championship and third at the 2025 Mountain West Cross Country Championship. His time of 29:25.6 in the 10k NCAA West Region Championship would have placed third in the Southeast Region and was over 60 seconds faster than Duke's top finisher at 30:27.
Head coach Kevin Jermyn liked his depth last season and the ability of the Blue Devils to run together, but they lacked a literal frontrunner. At the ACC Championship, Duke had six runners finish within 15 places. Two weeks later, five runners crossed the line within 17 places. Jermyn believes Meshack can help fill that lead runner role and buoy a squad that had a strong spring on the track.
"I would say our strength last year was we had pretty good depth, but we lacked an upfront presence,' said Jermyn. "[Meshack] will certainly help with that, but also our team developed and was way better in the spring than we were in the fall. So, our overall roster developed, and we're hoping this will be the next evolution from the development we had from fall to spring. We need to carry that spring to this fall. [I think] that depth of that pack is just going to be a little closer up [in the races this season]."
The returning leader of that pack is Luke Thompson, who shaved 44 seconds off his regional championship time from freshman to sophomore season. The native of Brentwood, Tennessee, also had a personal-best 5,000 on the track at the 2026 Penn Relay, crossing the line in 14:13.88. It was 15 seconds faster than his best time as a Blue Devil rookie.
Also, back from last year's ACC Championship and Southeast Regional Championship lineup are veterans Nick Falk, Eli Fitchen-Young, Arthur Graham and Rendon Kuykendall.
While not as young as the Duke women's squad, Jermyn loves what the incoming group of four first-year runners bring to the program. He believes on any given day one of them or a burgeoning sophomore could vie for a spot in the top five or top seven come November.
"I think we have every single person on our roster who could make that top seven," Jermyn said. "We have really, really good depth and I can see some of our first years and some of our sophomores, even over a 10,000-meter cross country race, vying for top five or top seven positions by November."
Fitchen-Young is one of those sophomores who has the potential to be an impact runner for the Blue Devils. As a freshman he raced four times and clocked a personal-best 24:17 at the ACC Championships, dropping over a minute off his 8k time at the Nuttycombe Invitational two weeks prior. Fitchen-Young won the 3,000-meter steeplechase title at this summer's USATF U20 Outdoor Championships, qualifying him for the World Athletics U20 Championships.
Additionally, Soheib Dissa is back after a strong spring and summer of racing. The Newtown, Connecticut, native, who took ninth in the steeplechase at this summer's U20 World Athletics Championships while competing for Algeria, will look to find a spot in the lineup.
"I don't think there's only one way a team can become competitive and win," Jermyn said. "So, if Meshack or somebody else is fortunate to lead us at a high level, it takes pressure off the power of the pack. But I would also love to see everyone just be 20 to 25 seconds better. I would say one can never rely upon one person to be great at cross country. So, we have to have multiple ways we can become good, and hopefully keep everybody healthy, and we'll be good up front and depth-wise. I think we can do it both ways."
Cross country, like all sports, has a major mental component and Jermyn believes the ability of the team to stay composed and resilient on race day will be instrumental in the team's success. That is the progress he is looking for from last season where the consistency fell off at times.
"The growth of this program will be 'can our depth run well when they're buried in a pack?', Jermyn said. "But that pack is [filled] with superstars at an NCAA or pre-national type race, and can they run some of their fastest and mentally most composed races in that situation. And if it can't be great, can you be good? We've got to develop that sort of resilience on race day, as opposed to being great or discouraged and losing composure and falling off. I think as [the team] gets a little bit older and more experienced, that's a natural thing to happen."
Jermyn is excited to see what the Blue Devils bring to the cross country courses this season. He is hopeful the growth he witnessed throughout his first year at the helm will continue into the 2026 campaign.
"We've made a lot of progress last spring in doing that, and we just got to keep on growing every semester towards that direction. But our depth is fantastic. I literally have no idea all the different iterations of who could be in our top lineup."
Racing season starts Saturday, Sept. 26 with the Meadows Challenge at Princeton. Stay tuned to see who will be in the lineup come November.
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