November 17, 1998

DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke mens cross country team received an at-large bid on Monday for the 1998 NCAA Championship meet scheduled for Monday, November 23, in Lawrence, Kansas. Dukes appearance at this years meet marks its first team appearance in the championships since 1971. Dukes Megan Sullivan also qualified for the womens championship as an individual, the first-ever Blue Devil female participant in the NCAA field.

The Duke men made the field of 31 teams with a third-place finish at Saturdays NCAA Region III qualifying meet in Greenville, S.C., behind James Madison and N.C. State.

"The kids earned it being by good racers," said head coach Al Buehler. "We did not out muscle people. These guys banded together and they are a team the in true sense in that they care about each other. This shows that it can be done without scholarships and that you can be a bona fide student-athlete and race with the big guys."

Senior Tom Becker (Los Altos, Calif.) along with juniors Charlie Kelly (Marshalltown, Iowa) and Tim Schaefer (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) and sophomores Terry Brennan (Lake Forest, Ill.) and Brendan Fitzgibbon (San Francisco, Calif.) make up the Blue Devils top five runners. Becker was an ACC All-Conference selection with an eighth-place finish (25:01.5) at this years conference championships on Nov. 2 in Charlottesville, Va.

"I think the leadership has matured tremendously," said Buehler, "especially Tom Becker because we have somebody that speaks and people hear what hes saying."

The Blue Devils capped the season with their best ACC finish since 1977, when they captured the ACC crown, with a second place showing. Duke also placed in the top five in every meet in which it ran this season, including wins at the Fordham Invitational and over Liberty in dual meet competition, third at the Notre Dame Invitational and third at the IC4A Championships.

Duke was one of 13 teams to receive an at-large bid and will represent the ACC along with N.C. State.

Sullivan was Dukes top female harrier throughout the season, leading the Blue Devils to wins at the Fordham Invitational and over Liberty. She also helped Duke to top-10 finishes at the Notre Dame Invitational (seventh), ECAC Championships (fourth) and an eighth-place showing at the ACC Championships.

Sullivan, sophomore from Williamsburg, Va., also garnered ACC All-Conference honors with an eighth-place finish (7:52.1) at this years conference meet. At the Region III meet, Sullivan ran 17:48, an 11th-place time to qualfy for the championship meet.

"Megan has earned this trip by all her hard work," said womens head coach Jan Oglivie. "She gives 110 percent everyday. Megan is the start of what we hope will be a nationally competitive program at Duke."