GRAD TRANSFER: Ashlyn Ramos to Finish Eligibility at Duke

Earlier this week, Duke announced that Ashlyn Ramos will be joining their program as a graduate transfer. The soon-to-be Blue Devil is expected to join the team next fall.

Despite being listed as a senior in her latest cross country results, The Stride Report believes that Ramos will have one additional season of cross country eligibility remaining. Assuming she races this winter and spring, Ramos is also expected to have one season of eligibility remaining in both indoor track and outdoor track by the time she arrives on Duke's campus.

According to one source familiar with the move, the Oregon Ducks were one of the two finalists (along with Duke) to land the distance standout from Bucknell University.

Ramos has been a proven and underrated distance talent on the east coast. The current Bucknell ace won the Patriot League XC Championships back in March (during the winter cross country season) and later finished runner-up at the same meet this past fall.

The future Duke runner has also earned other quality finishes on the grass. She finished 9th in the Open race at the FSU Pre-Nationals Invitational this past fall, beating Arkansas' Logan Jolly and Texas' Beth Ramos (amongst others) in the process.

Ramos also finished 10th place at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships this past fall. That result was enough to help the eventual grad student earn her second berth to the NCAA XC Championships.

On the track, it is clear that Ramos is at her best when she toes the line for the longer distances. She owns personal bests of 16:23 (5k) and 34:04 (10k).

This is a fairly significant transfer win for the Duke women. On the grass, the Blue Devils have had their fair share of success over the last few seasons. However, the departure of key veterans have left Duke with gaps in their lineup that need to be filled.

The good news for the Blue Devils is that most of their lineup from this past fall is expected to return based on their listed eligibility from TFRRS. In theory, Ramos could step into this program and be the critical piece who bridges together the low-sticks of this varsity lineup to their backend supporting scorers.

And don't be mistaken, Ramos still has tons of potential. There's a very good chance that she emerges as a true low-stick for Duke, offering incredible valuable firepower for a team that needs greater scoring potency.