Nationally Ranked College Teams Featured
by Mike Scott
Vice Chair/Secretary, USATF Cross Country Council
Clubs Coordinator, Team USA Distance Running Coordinator, CanAm
High Performance Distance Circuit
WOMEN'S PREVIEW
The 2003 Great American Collegiate Women's field includes eight
teams that qualified for last year's NCAA Division 1 Cross Country
Championships at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, including
the two-time defending NCAA Champions, Brigham Young University.
Headlining a stellar individual field will be North Carolina's Shalane
Flanagan, the 2002 NCAA individual cross country champion.
The top-ranked BYU Cougars will be looking for
their 3rd consecutive and 5th overall NCAA harrier crown -- following
national titles in 1997, 1999, 2001, & 2002 -- on November 24th
at the University of Northern Iowa. Michaela Mannova (5th at the
2002 NCAA cross country meet) and Kassi Andersen (7th), the 2002
and 2003 NCAA steeplechase champions respectively, return to lead
BYU in its quest for a threepeat. Breanne Sandberg (41st) and Laura
Turner (26th '99, 31st '98) return w/ NCAA experience, while Lisa
Antonelli earned All-American honors in the steeplechase.
Tenth-rated Northern Arizona finished top ten
at last year's collegiate championships. NCAA indoor mile champ
Johanna Nilsson (12th) and her older sister Ida Nilsson (8th), a
two-time NCAA runner-up, will lead Northern Arizona's Lumberjacks.
Southeast regional foes North Carolina State (13th),
Duke (17th), Virginia (20th),
North Carolina (21st), and William &
Mary (23rd) are also in the field.
2002 NCAA 10k champ Kristin Price returns to lead NC State's 14th-ranked
Wolfpack, which field a nice mixture of proven
veterans and talented newcomers. In addition to Price, All-American
Megan Coombs, Kristina Roth, Josi Lauber, Diana Henderson, Janelle
Vadnais, Abigail Nelkie, and Julia Lucas all return with NCAA experience,
while Foot Locker finalist Sara Powell and Lehigh transfer Lucinda
Hull highlight the newcomers.
Shannon Rowbury, Sally Meyerhoff, Laura Stanley, former Foot Locker
finalist Natasha Roetter, and All-American Sheila Agrawal should
lead the 16th-ranked Duke's Blue Devils, while
Virginia's Jane Maxwell should be at the front
of the Cavaliers' pack and All-American Ali Henderson will lead
24th-rated William & Mary's Tribe.
UNC's Shalane Flanagan, the 2002 NCAA Cross Country
and 2003 NCAA 3000-meter indoor champion, won last year's Great
American individual title en route to a undefeated harrier campaign.
The ninth-ranked Tar Heels are expected to be greatly improved this
fall, with 2002 NCAA steeplechase bronze medallist Carol Henry returning
from an injury that had her miss the 2002 fall campaign and Foot
Locker finalists Megan Kaltenbach and Meghan Owen joining a strong
squad that also includes two-time NCAA 800 champion Alice Schmidt.
Florida State also qualified for last fall's NCAA
championships, finishing 28th.
MEN'S PREVIEW
The Great American Cross Country Festival is not just a great high
school meet. Since 2000, it's become the place to race for many
of the nation's top collegiate programs. Eight of the teams competing
in the 2003 Great American men's collegiate fields qualified for
last year's NCAA Division 1 Cross Country Championships at Indiana
State University in Terre Haute, including three teams that finished
in the top ten: seventh-place Northern Arizona University, eighth-place
University of Michigan, and ninth-place Central Michigan University.
At last year's Great American Festival, Henrik Ahnstrom and Nurani
Sheihk
(51st) finished one-two individually to lead the third-ranked Northern
Arizona Lumberjacks to an impressive 26-point total; basically,
the Lumberjacks would have outscored the best five runners combined
from all of the other teams that comprised the Great American men's
field! All-American Seth Watkins (18th) led Northern Arizona at
last year's NCAA, with all seven members of the NCAA squad slated
to return this year.
All-Americans Nate Brannen and Nick Willis led the sixth-ranked
Michigan Wolverines last fall, finishing 22nd and
28th respectively at the NCAA championships. Sub-4:00 minute milers
Brannen and Willis lead all seven Michigan athletes back from the
2002 championships squad.
Ninth-rated Central Michigan will be led by All-Americans
Tristen Perlberg (35th) and Jake Flynn (39th). Perlberg and Flynn
will be joined by 4 other returnees from the 2002 Mid-American Conference
championship team.
Villanova University and College of William
& Mary finished 12th and 14th at last year's NCAA championship.
Jonathon Fasulo (52nd) and Ryan Haydon (125th) return to lead the
10th-ranked Villanova's Wildcats; they will be joined at the front
by one of 2003's top prep milers Bobby Curtis. All American Ed Moran
(30th), fifth in the NCAA outdoor 5000, returns from 18th-ranked
William & Mary's Tribe.
Ohio State, ranked 20th in the coaches' poll,
finished 20th at last season's championships. Rob Meyers (123rd)
will be OSU's top returnee.
Fourteenth-ranked North Carolina State is expected
to be greatly improved over their 23rd-place finish from last fall's
NCAA meet. 2001 NCAA All-American Chad Pearson (31st '01), who redshirted
the 2002 harrier season, Devin Swann (50th), and Andy Smith will
be up front for the Wolfpack. Joining this trio will be Foot Locker
finalists Wes Smith (2nd '02 Foot Locker) and Bobby Mark (11th FL).
Michigan State claimed 30th at the 2002 NCAA harrier
championship. Andrew Marsh (46th) and Chris Toloff (96th) return
for the Spartans.
Florida State is expected to improve over last
fall and will be led by Joep Tigchelar (107th), 4th in the 10,000
at the NCAA outdoor meet.
Butler University is ranked 22nd in the coaches
poll. Duke, 27th in the recent coaches poll, just
missed advancing to the NCAA championships by finishing third at
the 20002 Southeast regional. The coaches poll ranks Texas
A&M 30th.
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