Nov. 12, 2001

The Duke men's cross country team was awarded a bid to the 2001 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Monday, November 19, at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., as announced by the NCAA Monday morning.

The Blue Devils had a strong showing at the NCAA Southeast Regional on Saturday, finishing fourth, but needed to finish in the top two to earn an automatic bid to the championships. Senior Sean Kelly finished second overall, which would allow him to compete even if his team did not qualify.

Kelly, who earned All-Southeast Region honors for the second consecutive year, will be joined by classmates Jim Martin and Bill Spierdowis, junior Jared Moore, sophomore Chris Williams and freshmen Robert Smitson and Michael Hatch.

At regionals, Kelly ran the fastest Duke time on the Furman course in over 20 years, finishing in 30:21. The Blue Devils set two class records as Williams broke the sophomore mark, finishing in 30:35 and Hatch shattered the freshmen record, covering the course in 31:10.