ORONO – The Duke University women’s cross country team was happy to escape the heat and humidity of Tobacco Road for the cool, tranquil autumn conditions of New England this weekend.

The Blue Devils from Durham, N.C., and the University of New Hampshire men took advantage of a picture-perfect day for running, capturing team championships Saturday morning at the Murray Keatinge Invitational at the University of Maine.

“It was a great morning for running, we were all feeling very lucky to be here and to get to run on these trails,” said Duke junior Maddie McKeever, who won the women’s individual title in 16 minutes, 59.30 seconds over a fast, dry 5,000-meter course.

McKeever’s Blue Devils dominated, tucking all five scorers in the top 10 to finish with 30 points, well ahead of runner-up Yale’s 74. Saint Francis Xavier took third out of nine teams with 92 points.

UMaine was sixth with 152.

The UNH men placed four scorers in the top 10 then held off a late surge by instate rival Dartmouth to win 36-56.

Yale captured third with 71 while Maine was fourth with 122.

In the women’s race, Duke showed why it had placed as high as second at the NCAA Championships over the last three years, clocking an impressive pack time (the difference between a team’s first and fifth runner) of 60 seconds.

“We had a nice pack, a lot of our girls ran their fastest times,” said Blue Devils coach Kevin Jermyn.

“We really have a great pack mentality, we’re up there working together and this was a good environment for us to practice that,” concurred McKeever.

McKeever gradually broke away from a pack that included Yale’s Lindsay Donaldson and Cathy Parker of UNH about halfway through the race, and had an excellent rhythm throughout.

“I felt very under control, I was hoping to push myself pretty hard today,” McKeever said. “It was a great rhythm course.”

The Blue Devils had yet to face any solid competition prior to Saturday’s meet, and Jermyn feels running against solid Ivy League entry Yale will bolster Duke’s confidence in the always-competitive ACC.

“For us, it’s the next step up, it’s a more competitive race,” Jermyn said. “Eight of 12 teams [in the ACC] made nationals last year, we know we’re going to get some fierce competition there and certainly nationally.”

He added competing on a dry, cool course will get the Devils into a cross country mindset heading into colder meets in mid-October and beyond.

“A lot of our kids aren’t from the South. They’re used to cross country [conditions], damp grass, cold weather. We haven’t had that yet,” Jermyn said. “I think this gets us into the heart of cross country a little bit more.”

Katelyn Van Buskirk was fifth for Duke, Patricia Loughlin seventh, Emily Sherrard eighth, Christy Adamyk ninth, Emily Schwitzer 13th and Shelley Forbes 14th.

Jermyn added the Blue Devils planned on staying in Maine through the weekend and going on a training run on Mount Desert Island’s carriage trails.

Former Scarborough High star and UNH frosh Erica Jesseman returned to her native Maine and ran to a solid 16th-place finish in 18:12.20.

“I got sick [Thursday], it wasn’t very good, I was pretty sick,” Jesseman said.

She wasn’t completely satisfied with her performance.

“My race was all right, I was kind of disappointed, I mean I’ve been sick so I just went with the flow today,” Jesseman said.

Jessica Belliveau paced the Black Bears’ effort with a fourth-place finish, clocking a 17:32.20. Classmate Elonnai Hickok was 11th (18:01.30) while Laura Burstolon was 42nd (18:46.60) and Jolene Belanger 59th (19:14.10).

In the men’s race, the Wildcats returned to the Granite State a happy bunch after dethroning defending meet champ Dartmouth and grabbing some New Hampshire bragging rights, at least for now.

“It’s good when it happens,” coach Jim Boulanger said. “That was a really good race, we were very happy.”

Robert Edgerton, Matthew O’Connor, Jordan Horwitz and Josh Kearns went 2-4-5-8 for UNH, but fifth man Wesley Dinnan finished nine slots behind Kearns in 17th, something Boulanger would like to see get better.

“That’s the key to winning in cross country,” he said. “Everybody’s got people up front so you’ve got to improve [positions] 5-6-7. We should get better.”

The Wildcats were more than up for the challenge of going up against the Big Green and perennial Ivy League contender Yale.

“The kids aren’t afraid of anybody. That’s the key, they have to be willing to race and trust their training,” said Boulanger.

Bulldogs junior Jake Gallagher won the individual crown, covering the five-mile course in 24:57.20.

Sophomore Chris Harmon paced UMaine with a 12th-place finish (25:43.10) while junior David Englehutt captured 15th (25:46.70).

Miles Bartlett was 20th for the Black Bears while Charles Therriault in 33rd and Brendan Carr in 50th rounded out UM’s scorers.