Analysis of the 2002 NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Coaches' Poll

by Mike Scott,
University of Rhode Island

Updated: November 19

For the 6th consecutive year, I am analyzing the Women's Division I Coaches' Poll. Teams are listed according to their ranking in the current edition of the FinishLynx/NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL POLL, as conducted by the Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches' Association.

Places listed in parentheses refer to finish at the 2001 NCAA D-1 XC Championships at Furman University, unless otherwise noted. Performances are from the 2001-02 year, unless otherwise noted. Performances at the Foot Locker High School Cross Country Championships are denoted by "FL".

As always, I appreciate additions, corrections, and updates. Please send them to me at miscott@att.net

Weekend Roundup:
Northeast -- The NE region followed form, with Columbia edging Providence 70-75 for the two auto spots. BC finished 3rd, just ahead of Yale and Dartmouth. Yale' s Kate O'Neil edged away from BC's fast-improving Maria Cicero, with Kate's twin Laura claiming 3rd.

Mid-Atlantic -- Georgetown (who held out their top runner, Nicole Lee) and Villanova easily captured the auto qualifiers, with Penn State finishing third and claiming an at-large berth. Megan Metcalfe took the individual title.

Southeast -- Wake Forest edged co-ACC champ NC State 76-83 for the regional title as the ACC pair nailed down the auto berths; Virginia, Duke, UNC, and William & Mary also received invitations to the NCAA meet. UNC's Shalane Flanagan dominated the field, winning by 29 seconds over NC State's Kristin Price.

Great Lakes -- Notre Dame ran away from the field to notch their first-ever regional title, while Michigan nailed down the second auto berth. Michigan State and Indiana claimed 3rd and 4th, while a surprising Ball State team upset a struggling Wisconsin team for 5th and Marquette edged Toledo for 7th. Individually, Toledo's Briana Shook left the region eating her dust as left the field behind early. Notre Dame's Molly Huddle and Lauren King closed best to pick up the individual silver and bronze, while Michigan State's Michelle Carson and Jamie Krzyminski finished 4-5.

Midwest -- The Missouri Tigers easily outdistanced the field to win the regional title, while Northwestern edged Southwest Missouri for the second auto berth. Kansas State's Amy Mortimer beat Depaul's Erin Moffett for the individual crown.

South Central -- Arkansas dominated this regional, scoring 29 points to finish 45 points head of runner-up Texas. SMU's Karin Van Rooyen continued her winning ways, notching a win over Arkansas' Londa Bevins.

Mountain -- Brigham Young geared up for their NCAA title defense by dominating the regional, placing all 5 scorers in the top 10 and all 7 entrants among the first 13 finishers. Colorado appeared to cruise through the meet to claim the 2nd auto berth, while Northern Arizona finished just ahead of Colorado State. NCAA steeple champ Michaela Mannova outsprinted steeple runner-up Ida Nilsson to win the regional.

West -- Stanford prepared for their run at the team title taking 4 of the top 5 places, easily outdistancing the runner-up Arizona State. UCLA claimed 3rd, while Washington held on to edge Oregon for 4th. Alicia Craig downed UCLA's Lena Nilsson, the 1500 champ, for the regional win.

South -- Tennessee edged Florida State, with South Florida and Auburn close behind. Vicky Gill was the run-away winner of this region.

Weekly Preview:
The NCAAs! Is is gonna be Stanford's front-running or Brigham Young's depth that seals the deal in Terre Haute? Is injury-plagued Colorado good enough to hold on to third? Who else is challenging for the final trophy -- Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Georgetown, NC State? Arkansas?

And will North Carolina's Shalane Flanagan, the only undefeated contender for the individual harrier crown, live up to her billing as the individual favorite?

More as I have time this week.

TOP THIRTY TEAMS:

1. Brigham Young
Patrick Shane's BYU Cougars won the 2001 NCAA team title by the largest margin in NCAA history and return 5 of the 7 runners from that championship squad. The Cougars -- national champions in 1997, 1999, and 2001 -- appear strong enough to overcome their "even year" curse but are likely to face a stiff challenge from Stanford. NCAA Steeple champion Michaela Mannova (5th), Jessie Kindschi (7th), Lindsey Thomsen (23rd), Nan Kennard (36th), and Amy Bair (45th) return from the championship team, but runners like USA Junior 1500 champ Kassi Andersen, Katie Martin, 34:32 10k performer Kristen Ogden, 10:28 steepler Breanne Sandberg, and sub-34:00 10k runner Devra Vierkant could also secure a spot amongst the Cougars’ top 7.

Great American showed the BYU can run only half their potential top seven and still dominate one of the deepest early-season fields in recent memory. Surprising Andersen was BYU's top finisher, a mere 9 seconds behind UNC's Shalane Flanagan. Mannova was just behind, with Sandberg and Kennard also finishing in the top 7. Running "B" race winner Katie Martin in the seeded race would have netted the Cougars an individual 8th-place too -- and an amazing 26 points. However, BYU settled for a mere 105-point margin of victory. Among those not racing at Great American were NCAA scorers Kindschi and Thomsen. BYU's "B" team perfect-scored the 10/11 Arizona State Invitational, with Ogden and Bair finishing together in 1st and 2nd, with Lisa Antonelli just behind in 3rd.

BYU looked equally impressive at Pre-NCAAs, using a 26-second 1-5 split to down regional foe Colorado 55 to 143 and take the "Blue" race. Anderson claimed 6th, Mannova 8th, Sandberg 12th, Kennard 14th, and Martin 15th, with Kindschi debuting with a 21st-place effort. In an even more impressive display of the Cougars' depth, BYU's "B" team from the open race women's race would have finished 7th in the combined scoring behind only Stanford, BYU, Colorado, Wake Forest, Georgetown, and NC State!

Although Stanford edged BYU in the unofficial combined scoring, many observers (including 12 of 13 pollsters) think that BYU's incredible depth gives them the edge at the pressure-packed NCAA championships. Although Coach Shane -- who never likes to be ranked #1 -- downplayed his team's effort with me ("There's no way we should be ranked #1 after today."), the BYU mentor let his guard down when talking to the Terre Haute Tribune Star when he told their reporter that his team had trained hard through the meet and added "So we were a little flat."

BYU swept the top 6 spots at the Mountain West conference to score 15 points (they scored 16 points in '00 and 17 points in '01) with a relatively large (for BYU!!) 37-second 1-5 spread. Anderson outdueled Mannova for the win, with Martin 11-seconds back, and Jamie Cottle, Kennard, and Sandberg rounding out the top six; Kindschi claimed 8th for the Cougars 49 secs behind the leaders. Cottle -- who has never run in BYU's top 5 before -- had a major breakthrough at MWC, adding even more to their depth. The Cougars also dominated the regional, placing their five scorers among the top-10 and all 7 among the first 13. Mannova outsprinted Northern Arizona steeple rival Ida Nilsson for the regional crown, while Anderson finished another step back in 3rd. Although BYU's 1-5 spread has increased to 51-seconds, that appears to more a result of Mannova and Anderson running faster rather than the Cougar's 5th running slower. It will be interesting to see whether Mannova and Anderson are ready to challenge Stanford's front-running first three in Terre Haute. Following the regional, Coach Shane said "We have seven women all running well, and we don't have a weakness."
Returnees: Michaela Mannova (5th, 148th '00; 9:18.49i, 9:45.94 s/c; steeplechase champ; 8th ind 3k), Jessie Kindschi (7th, 28th '00 D-2; 34:32.48), Lindsey Thomsen (23rd, 150th '00; 16:16.47; 33:58.20; 8th ind 5k; 16th 10k), Nan (nee Evans) Kennard (36th, 152nd '00; 10:14.16s/c), Amy Bair (45th), Kassi Andersen (WXC, 4:18.04, 1st USA Jr 1500), Devra Vierkant (16:16.97; 33:56.02), Breanne Sandberg (10:28.87s/c), Kristen Ogden (34:32.28), Not returning -- Sarah Taylor (24th, 94th '00, 55th '98),
Newcomer: Shalice Pugmire (4:56.62y)

2. Stanford
The Cardinal, the 1996 NCAA champions, have the best shot at dethroning BYU at next month's NCAAs. Two-time NCAA 5000 champ Lauren Fleshman (3rd), who also won the '02 NCAA indoor 3000, USA Junior 3000 champ Sara Bei (89th), and All-American Alicia Craig (28th) compose one of the nation's top trios and are ably backed up by NCAA indoor mile 4th-place finisher Malindi Elmore. In their season opener at Cal-Fullerton, Craig and Bei tied for the win, while Malindi Elmore and Jeane Goff finished 3-4 about 30 seconds back. Anita Siraki, Erin Sullivan, and Mariel Ettinger finished 9-11-13, about a minute behind the leaders; Fleshman apparently sat out this race. Stanford swept the long and short course titles at its own invitational, with Bei and Craig taking and easy 1-2 over the 6k, while Fleshman finished 2nd to Canadian star Emilie Mondor at 4k, with Mailindi Elmore claiming 4th. The following week at Notre Dame, the Cardinal dominated the field with Bei, Fleshman, and Craig running away from the field to claim the top three finishers and Elmore claiming 5th behind star Irish frosh Molly Huddle. Stanford's 5th at South Bend was a resurging Anita Siraki, as the Cardinal apparently rested Sullivan.

Stanford demonstrated that it has the strongest 1-2-3 in the country at Pre-NCAAs, with Craig, Bei, and Fleshman claiming 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively in the "White" race, while Elmore was only a few seconds behind in 9th. The Cardinal's potential Achilles heel is their 5th runner; currently 10:22 steepler Goff is filling that role. Goff finished 39th at Pre-NCAAs -- 79-seconds behind Craig and 52-seconds behind Elmore. Stanford dominated the Pac-10 meet, with Bei and Fleshman running 1-2, and Craig and Elmore finishing 4-5 behind UCLA's Lena Nilsson, the NCAA 1500 champ. Sullivan ran 5th for the Cardinal at Pac-10s, finishing 1:25 behind Bei; Goff was another 10 seconds behind. As expected, the Cardinal dominated the regional meet -- placing their scorers among the top-11 finishers with a 72-second 1-5 spread. Craig won the event ahead of UCLA's Nilsson, with Fleshman claiming 3rd, Elmore and Bei finishing together in 4-5, and Goff claiming 11th. Siraki finished 17th and Sullivan 25th.

While Stanford edged BYU in the unofficial Pre-NCAA combined scoring, the Cardinal needs to tighten-up the gap between their 4th & 5th runners; Stanford can't do much to improve their score in the 1-2-3-4 positions, so their title hopes rest at their 5th.

Returnees: Lauren Fleshman (3rd, 11th '00, 5th '99; 2nd '98 FL; 4:18.11, 9:07.45i, 15:35.59; '01 & '02 out 5000 champ, ind 3k champ), Alicia Craig (28th; 20th '00 FL), Erin Sullivan (52nd, 25th '00, 7th '99; '97 & '98 FL Champ; '99 USA Jr Champ; 16:30.04, 34:10.32; 10th 10k), Sara Bei (89th; '00 FL Champ; 4:22.98, 16:22.54; 12th out 5k; USA Jr 3k champ), Mariel Ettinger (126th, 96th '00, 217th '99; 2nd '97 FL; 16:47.31), Jeane Goff (10:22.46s/c), Anita Siraki (2nd '00 FL), Malindi Elmore (4:20.12, 4:39.88iy; 4th Mile)
Newcomers: Kristen Cohoon (10:04.77), Yfa Kretzschmar (2:10.05, 5:01.95y); Not running (deferred admission): Julie Allen (11th FL; 4:59.27y, 10:37.75y),

3. Colorado
2000 NCAA team champ Colorado, 8th in '01, looks like a trophy contender again this fall. Colorado returns two top-10 finishers -- Molly Austin claimed 8th last fall, while Sara Gorton's 4th in the outdoor 5k shows that she's returned to the form that garnered her an 8th-place finish in 2000 -- plus 33:40 10k performer Natalie Florence. The Buffs struck it big in the recruiting department this year, signing Foot Locker runner-up Erika Odlaug, '01 USA Junior champ Laura Zeigle, and Laura's twin sister Jackie, 7th at last fall's Foot Locker meet. However, Foot Locker runner up Odlaug, 17th at the World XC championships in March, struggled with posterior tibialis tendonitis for the rest of the spring and skipped the post-season June meets; the Boulder Daily Camera and Colorado Daily note that Odlaug is likely to redshirt this season. The Zeigle twins finished just ahead of the rest of the squad at the 8/31 CU Time Trial, but Laura has since been absent from the Buff's lineup while Jackie returned at Big-12s. The Colorado Daily reports that Jackie Zeigle was recovering from stress fractures in two metatarsals, while sister Laura may redshirt with a forefoot injury.

While Austin and Florence looked strong with an easy 1-2 finish at the 10/5 Rocky Mountain Shootout, Gorton jogged in the last could kilo after reportedly feeling dizzy. This trio led the Buffs at Pre-NCAAs, with Austin and a fast-closing Gorton looking impressive with individual 3-4 finishes to lead the Buffs to runner-up honors in the "Blue" race behind BYU. Florence claimed 19th, while newcomer Christina Bolf finished 43rd and Tera Moody finished 74th. Colorado then ran away with the Big-12 champs, with Austin, Gorton, and Florence finishing 1-2-3, Moody 11th, and Bolf 17th. Jackie Zeigle debuted in 34th. Gorton and Austin finished 4-5 in the regional meet to lead Colorado to the second auto berth while Jackie Zeigle stepped up to finish as the Buffs' fifth runner 84 seconds behind Gorton. The Buffs have a history of peaking well for the NCAA meet, so even without Odlaug and Laura Zeigle Colorado is quite capable of doing some damage at NCAAs.
Returnees: Molly Austin (8th; 16:16.10i, 33:43.11), Sara Gorton (8th '00; 4:21.77, 4:40.35iy; 15:51.55; 6th ind mile, 4th out 5k), Tera Moody (88th, 71st '00, 118th '99), Natalie Florence (100th; 16:21.41, 33:40.46),
Newcomers: Jackie Zeigle (7th FL; 5:02.45y, 9:41.23), Christine Bolf (10:35,.83y); redshirting (recovering from injuries): Erika Odlaug (2nd FL; 17th World XC; 10:35.13y), Laura Zeigle (3rd '00 FL, '01 USA Jr Champ; 4:25.24, 9:39.14, 10:15.25y, 16:29),

4. Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons surprised the nation at Pre-NCAAs, where they claimed 2nd in the "White" race. Individual qualifier Anne Bersagel leads the Wake Forest squad, and is joined up front by Risa Rutland, newcomer Erin Franklin, '02 USA junior 3000 runner-up Jill Miller, and Lafayette transfer Anna Sherman. Bersagel and Miller finished 1-2 at the 8/30 Mountaineer Open, with five other Deacons among the top nine finishers. Miller won the 9/14 Wake Forest Invite and led her teammates to nearly perfect-score the field. At the Iona Meet of Champions, Missouri narrowly upset the Deacons. Bersagel led Wake, with Rutland and Miller running 2-3.

The Deacons stepped into the limelight at Pre-NCAAs with an excellent runner-up performance in the "White" race behind only Stanford and ahead of regional foe NC State. Bersagel led the squad with an excellent 11th-place finish, while Rutland, Franklin, Miller, and Sherman banded together to give the Deacons a 56-second 1-5 spread. Wake continued their outstanding season by claiming a share of the first-ever ACC title; the Deacon's tied perennial champ NC State (although the Wolfpack would get the tie-breaker if used during the regular season) as Bersagel claimed 4th to lead a 64-second 1-5 spread over 6k that included Rutland, Sherman, Miller, and Coon. Wake was able to edge NC State for the regional win (76 to 83) with Bersagel, Sherman, Rutland, Franklin, and Miller combining for a 77-second 1-5 split.
Returnees: Anne Bersagel (57th; 16:40.43), Jill Miller (9:37.72; 2nd USA Jr 3000), Risa Rutland (159th '00), Danielle Coon
Newcomer: Lisa Gibbs (x-fer from Washington; 35th; 34:34.79), Anna Sherman (x-fer from Lafayette College), Erin Franklin (10:03.24, 10:43.77y)

5. Notre Dame
Notre Dame was one of the break through teams in 2001 and, thanks to the addition of two Foot Locker finalists, should contend for a trophy at Indiana State. Lauren King, 27th last fall, is Notre Dame's top returnee, but may be challenged by newcomer Mollie Huddle, 4th at the Foot Locker meet and a 9:21.37-3k / 10:01.08-two mile performer. Foot Locker finalist Stephanie Madia also joins the squad. Notre Dame, running without either Huddle or Madia, downed an understrength NC State and Arizona State at their 9/6 season opener, with King finishing 2nd to the Wolfpack's NCAA title contender Kristen Price. The Fighting Irish won the rain-soaked 9/20 National Catholic Invitational, winning easily without the services of top runners King, Huddle, or Jen Handley. Katie Wales finished 3rd to lead Notre Dame, while Madia debuted with a strong 4th-place effort. Despite the much-anticipated debut of Huddle, the Irish fell to both Stanford and Wisconsin at their own 10/4 Notre Dame Invite. Huddle finished 4th behind a trio of Cardinal runners, while King claimed 6th and Handley 9th. Wisconsin edged the Irish as the hosts were left waiting for Wales and Madia, their 4th and 5th scorers. Notre Dame tied Northern Arizona for 4th in the Pre-NCAA "White" race (and won the tie-breaker), with King and Huddle placing 6-7 to lead Handley, Madia, and Wales. King and Huddle finished 1-2 at Big Easts to lead the Irish to a narrow 1 point win over defending champs Georgetown. At regionals, Notre Dame's 4 and 5 tightened the 1-5 spread to 71-seconds as the Irish won their first-ever regional title and claimed an auto berth for Terre Haute.
Returnees: Lauren King (27th; 4:16.85, 4:44.60iy; 6th 1500), Megan Johnson (130th), Jen Handley (131st; 16:28.55), Jennifer Fibuch (154th), Christi Arnerich (193rd), Muffy Schmidt (222nd), Katie Wales
Newcomers: Molly Huddle (4th FL; 4:27.04, 4:47.24y, 9:21.37, 10:01.08y), Stephanie Madia (23rd FL; 4:58.48y, 10:57.33y)

6. North Carolina State
North Carolina State pulled together an excellent team effort to claim bridesmaid honors at Furman. Individual contender Kristin Price, 4th last year and winner of the 10k during track, will lead the Wolfpack and will be joined up front by All-American Megan Coombs (13th in '01). Josi Lauber, Diana Henderson, and Erin Swain all return with NCAA meet experience, while Villanova transfer Renee Gunning is expected to make a major impact. An understrength Wolfpack squad fell to host Notre Dame (also understrength) at the adidas Invite; although Price won the event and newcomer Julia Lucas finished 3rd, Janelle Vadnais, Henderson, and Swain's efforts were not enough to overcome the Irish and NC State fell 32 to 43. At Great American, the Wolfpack raced without Price and Kraft and were narrowly nipped for runner-up honors by Columbia; Coombs also debuted, but ran subpar. Foot Locker finalist Kris Roth raced unattached in the "B" race and would have scored for the Wolfpack in the seeded section.

At Pre-NCAAs, Price returned to the lineup to lead the Wolfpack to a bronze medal finish in the "White" race behind Stanford and regional foe Wake Forest. Price, who reportedly missed some training time in September, finished 16th to lead the Wolfpack. Frosh Lucas and Roth ran 2-3 for the Wolfpack, while Lauber and newcomer Abigail Nelkie rounded out the scorers; Gunning DNF'd in Terre Haute while Coombs didn't appear. Price, who again looked like a top-10 contender, claimed 3rd at ACCs to lead NC State to a share of the loop title along with upstart Wake Forest. Lauber and Roth finished 6th and 9th for the Wolfpack, while Nelkie and Vadnais rounded out their scorers at ACCs; Lucas ran 6th for the squad while Gunning was NC State's 10th runner. Price claimed runner-up honors at regionals to lead Lauber, Roth, Vadnais, and Nelkie to runner-up honors close behind Wake Forest (76 to 83).
Returnees: Kristin Price (4th; 9:20.11i, 15:35.67, 33:39.66; 10,000 champ), Megan Coombs (13th; 203rd '99; 9:22.98i, 10:12.05s/c, 16:35.38; 9th s/c), Josi Lauber (173rd), Diana Henderson (141st '00), Erin Swain (220th '00), Janelle Vadnais, Jennifer Modliszewski (7th FL '97), Sara Graybill, Kara Price, Ginger Wheeler, Beth Kraft
Newcomers: Renee Gunning (x-fer from Villanova, 103rd, 155th '00), Julia Lucas (5:00.39y, 10:35.23y), Kristina Roth (16th FL), Amy Arnold (Ohio Champ)

7. Georgetown
The Hoyas return their entire squad that claimed team bronze in 2001. Jill Laurendeau, Marni Kruppa, and Erin Sicher return to lead Georgetown, with US Junior national team member Nicole Lee and Amanda Pape also back. The Hoyas' trademark last fall was their very tight pack running. Despite holding out five members of last year's NCAA squad, Georgetown downed visitors Penn State and Yale at a 9/14 Tri-Meet to open the season. The Hoyas could only muster a 6th-place finish at Great American with Laurendeau, Kruppa, and Pape missing from their lineup; Lee had an excellent race to lead Georgetown. Laurendeau and Pape debuted at the 10/5 Cowboy Jamboree; Laurendeau won the race to help her mostly "B" team teammates edge SW Missouri State. The Hoyas raced again without Kruppa at Pre-NCAAs, where they claimed 3rd in the "Blue" race behind BYU and Colorado; Lee led the squad again in Terre Haute, while Laurendeau failed to score for the squad and Pape raced in the Open race. Notre Dame upset the Hoyas at Big Easts by a single point; while Georgetown displayed a solid 36-second 1-5 spread over 6k, the squad's top finisher (Lee) could only muster a 9th-place individual finish. Kruppa finished 16th (4th for G-town) in her seasonal debut, while '01 All-American Laurendeau and NCAA top-50 finisher Pape were again non-factors in the team scoring. Despite resting Lee, Georgetown edged Villanova 50-57 at regionals with the scorers finishing within 20-seconds of each other. The Hoyas need a couple runners to step up and contend for All-American honors in order to challenge for a trophy in Terre Haute.
Returnees: Jill Laurendeau (14th; 4:22.64, 4:4.55iy), Marni Kruppa (37th, 28th '00, 127th '99; 16:10.03; 33:43.72), Erin Sicher (43rd; 4:23.26, 4:44.98iy), Amanda Pape (46th, 98th '00; 16:39.39), Nicole Lee (84th; US World XC Team), Jodee Adams-Moore (112th), Colleen Kelly (145th, 143rd '00)
Newcomers: Kim Malcolm (4:58.46), Meghan O'Neil (2:11.14), Danielle Rodgers (2:10.86)

8. Arkansas
Arkansas finished 17th at last fall's NCAA meet, but returns six runners from last year's squad as well as '99 bronze medallist Lilli Kleinmann, who redshirted last fall. Arkansas downed Northern Arizona at the 9/14 Aztec Invite, with Christin Wurth, Londa Bevins, and Kleinmann finishing 2-3-4 leading the Lady 'Backs to a 32-second 1-5 spread. Arkansas finished 5th at Great American behind BYU, Columbia, NC State, and UNC, but finished without Kleinmann (who started, but dropped out after 1k still not recovered from a bout with bronchitis) and Splichal (recovering from shingles) in the lineup. Andriena Byrd, Bevins, and Wurth finished 1-2-4 at the 10/5 Indiana State Invite to lead Arkansas to an easy win over Michigan, Villanova, and Colorado State; Kleinmann and Splichal also sat out here. Wurth sat out the 10/19 Chili Pepper Festival, but the Lady 'Backs had little winning over Kansas State and SW Missouri behind Bevins and Byrd; Kleinmann returned to the lineup here, but only ran 6th for Arkansas about 75-secs behind Bevins. Wurth and Bevins ran 1-2 at SECs to help the Lady 'Backs defend their loop crown; Byrd returned to the lineup but finished well back of this duo while Kleinmann also continued to struggle. Bevins, Wurth, and Byrd finished 2-4-6 at regionals -- within 10 seconds of each other -- to help the Lady 'Backs dominate the regional meet; Maureen Scott and Erica Sigmont helped the team to a 43-second 1-5 spread while Kleinmann didn't race (and is reportedly done for the season). Arkansas has kept a low profile much of the season, but could be a trophy contender if they can put things together in Terre Haute.
Returnees: Lilli Kleinmann (10th '00, 3rd '99), Andriena Byrd (49th; 4:23.05, 9:23.54i, 16:44.87), Christin Wurth (62nd, 84th '00, 104th '99; 4:16.80; 4:44.95i, 16:30.05), Penny Splichal (75th; 34:33.99), Londa Bevins (178th, 245th '00; 4:18.85, 10:34.21s/c), Michelle Hurn (197th), Alison Zeinner (216th, 231st '00), Erica Sigmont (Australia; 2:06), Laura Jakosky, Shilo Whiting ('02 USA Jr s/c champ)
Newcomers: Maureen Scott (4:56.7y, 10:48y), Jessie Gordon (OK XC champ),

9. Columbia
The Lions return everyone from a team that finished 22nd in 2001 including All-American Caitlin Hickin. Columbia rocketed up the polls after claiming runner-up honors at Great America behind only BYU. The Lions narrowly edged NC State despite an off day by Hickin; instead Trish Nolan stepped up to lead her teammates with a 10th-place individual effort. Columbia held out its top runners at the METs, but still downed Stony Brook the following week to win. Nolan led the Lions again at Pre-NCAAs with a 25th-place finish that led Hickin, Loretta Kilmer, Melissa Stellato, and Tenke Zoltani to a 35-second 1-5 spread and 6th in the "White" race behind Stanford, Wake Forest, NC State, Notre Dame, and Northern Arizona. Columbia used a 21-second 1-5 gap at HEPs to run away with their first-ever Heptagonals title; all five of Columbia's scorers finished under 18:00 at Van Cortlandt Park's oft-run 5k course. Hickin finally stepped up to lead the Lions at HEPs. Hickin, Kilmer, and Nolan finished close together at the NE regional to give the Lions a narrow win over Providence, 70 to 75.
Returnees: Caitlin Hickin (20th, 90th '00; 16:32.66), Melissa Stellato (152nd, 164th '00), Loretta Kilmer (163rd), Trish Nolan (165th; 9:39, 16:45.50), Laurel Gordon (184th), Lauren Harrison (191st, 136th '00)
Newcomers: Hilary Bontz (2:14.29), Elizabeth Carey (4:42.95, 10:03.29), Lisa Stublic (10:58.16y)

10. Northern Arizona
The Lumberjacks finished 12th in 2001. NCAA steeple runner-up Ida Nilsson and her sister, newcomer Johanna Nilsson, lead Northern Arizona. Ida Nilsson won the 9/14 Aztec Invite, but the Lumberjacks fell to Arkansas. Ida led the Lumberjacks again at Great American as they finished 8th against the loaded field. Johanna edged sister Ida at the Pre-NCAAs as the duo led the Lumberjacks to a 4th-place tie with Notre Dame in the "White" race; Erika Edwards and newcomers Estelle Brose and Emille Geneste rounded out Northern Arizona's scorers. The Lumberjacks dominated the Big Sky champs, placing all 5 scorers amongst the top 7 finishers; Ida won the loop title ahead of Johanna as Northern Arizona had a 58-second 1-5 spread over 5k. At regionals, Ida had a replay of the NCAA steeple final (where she lost a footrace to the finish with BYU's Michaela Mannova) when she was outsprinted by Mannova for the regional title. Northern Arizona claimed third behind only BYU and Colorado and advance with at-large berth to the NCAAs.
Returnees: Ida Nilsson (12th; 9:10.48i; 9:49.94s/c, 15:51.71), Jinny Hanfan (63rd; 10:25.23), Erika Edwards (143rd), Jamie Herman (187th)
Newcomers: Johanna Nilsson (4:17), Emille Geneste (France, 17:11), Estelle Brose (France, 2:08, 4:34), Natalie Rogers (49th '01 World Jr XC), Julie Fisher, Jodie Denike

11. Virginia (Southeast)
The Cavaliers, 9th in 2001, are rounding nicely into form as the championship season proceeds. Virginia fell to Duke and William and Mary at the 9/14 Lou Onesty Invite, then parlayed a 39-second 1-5 spread at Great American into an excellent 7th-place finish. Virginia also finished 7th in the Pre-NCAA "White" race, this time with and exceptionally tight 21-sec 1-5 spread behind Foot Locker finalist Kara Scalin. The Cavaliers' pack includes Jane Maxwell, Dawn Cleary, Ashley Seaton, and Megan McGarvey. That same day, Ellen Dwyer led a UVa "B" squad to a win at the Tribe Open. Scanlin, Maxwell, and Dwyer finished 7-10-11 at ACCs to lead the Cavaliers to 3rd behind NC State and Wake Forest, but ahead of Duke. Cleary and Seaton rounded out Virginia's scorers and helped the Cavaliers to a 51-second 1-5 spread. Virginia continued to improve at regionals, finishing 3rd behind Wake Forest and NC State. Scanlin finished 10th to lead Cleary, Maxwell, Seaton, and Dwyer to a 38-second split.
Returnees: Dawn Cleary (10:03s/c), Melanie Matthews (10:13.31s/c, 16:45.54), Megan McGarvey (96th), Jolene Hampson (219th), Ellen Dwyer, Jane Maxwell, Sharon O'Conner
Newcomers: Delany Moje (4:58.21y), Kara Scanlin (15th FL; 10:27.25y), Emily Hampson

12. Providence
Perennial top-10 power Providence returns five from their '01 squad, as well as two more with NCAA experience. Rosin McGettigan and greatly improved Mary Cullen lead the Friars, while former All-American Heather Cappello is running third. McGettigan, Cullen, Cappello, O'Shea, and Tallen finished 1-5 over the field at the 9/6 New Hampshire Invite. McGettigan won again the following week at the 9/14 Dartmouth Invite, leading her Friar teammates to an easy win over host Dartmouth. However despite solid runs by McGettigan and Cullen at Griak, an off day by PC's 3rd runner (Tallen) relegated the Friars to 3rd behind Michigan State and Arizona State. In a schedule change following Griak, the Friars went to the 10/12 National Invite and -- despite a subpar day by #1 McGettigan -- notched a win over Villanova, Penn State, William & Mary, West Virginia, and Tennessee. McGettigan and Cullen finished 5-6 at Big Easts, but despite a good day by Heather Cappello the Friars fell to 4th at the highly competitive Big East Champs. The Friars put together a solid effort at regionals to narrowly miss upsetting Columbia, but still claimed the 2nd auto berth; PC ran a 54-second 1-5 spread at regionals following significant improvements by Lisa Capello and Emer O'Shea.
Returnees: Rosin McGettigan (53rd, 145th '00, 139th '99; 4:42.95iy, 10:08.24s/c; 8th s/c), Deirdre Byrne (114th; 4:18), Emer O'Shea (157th), Lisa Cappello (196th, 180th '00), Mary Cullen (214th; 16:44.73), Emily Tallen (102nd '00, 234th '99), Heather Cappello (29th '99, 154th '98)

13. Villanova
'Nova finished 24th at Furman. The Wildcats return Kalin Toedesbusch, Rebecca Mitchell, Carre Joyce, and Iona Parusheva, but lost Renee Gunning to transfer. 'Nova opened by sweeping Haverford in the 9/20 dual. In their first real test of the season at the 10/5 Indiana State Invite, the Wildcat featured a strong trio of Parusheva, Toedebisch, and Marina Muncan, but without Mitchell they were left waiting for newcomer Liz Gesel and Bridget Akard as they were edged for runner-up honors by a tightly packed Michigan squad. At the 10/12 National Invite, the Wildcats substituted the experienced Mitchell for Muncan to claim 2nd behind Big East rival Providence. 'Nova upset Providence by a razor-thin 1 point at Big Easts to claim third behind Notre Dame and Georgetown; Although Parusheva, Muncan, Toedebisch, and Mitchell all had solid outings at the Big East meet, the real key for the Wildcats was Joyce stepping things up and giving them a solid fifth. Muncan led the Villanova at regionals, with the squad utilizing a 29-second 1-5 spread to claim 2nd place only 7 points behind Georgetown.
Returnees: Kalin Toedesbusch (95th; 16:46.64), Rebecca Mitchell (110th, 140th '00; 4:23.01), Carre Joyce (180th, 202nd '00), Iona Parusheva (209th)
Newcomer: Liz Gesel (19th FL; 4:58.42y), Marina Muncan

14. Duke
Duke was a major winner in the recruiting wars this year, adding Foot Locker finalists Laura Stanley (5th at Foot Locker) and Sally Meyerhoff (12th FL), as well as California prep 3200 champ Clara Horowitz and Cal prep mile champ Shannon Rowbury, and Caroline Bierbaum (9th NE FL). However, Sheila Agrawal, has not appeared in Duke's lineup this autumn after redshirting last fall's harrier season. Another blow to Duke was Foot Locker 3rd-place finisher -- and Duke frosh -- Natasha Roetter's decision to not run in college. Duke won the 9/14 Lou Onesty Invite over Virginia, with newcomers Bierbaum and Horowitz finishing 1-2 and Rowbury, Meyerhoff, and Stanley finishing 6th, 8th, and 12th. Beirbaum appears to have run away with the individual race, beating Horowitz by 33 seconds. Duke split their team on the 9/27-28 weekend, racing Bierbaum, Miller, Stanley, Hullinger, and Wort at Great American and Rowbury, Horowitz, Meyeroff, Edwards, and Ko at Stanford -- both teams are considered "A" teams under NCAA criteria. At Great America, Duke finished 12th behind an outstanding 4th-place effort by Bierbaum, while at Stanford they finished 2nd in the 6k behind Stanford. With the whole squad together at Pre-NCAAs, Duke tied Missouri (but beats them in the tiebreaker) in the "Blue" race. Beirbaum led the Blue Devils with her 13th-place effort, while Horowitz, Meyerhoff, Rowbury, and Stanley rounded out the scorers with a 63-second 1-5 spread. Horowitz led Duke at ACCs with a 5th-place individual effort; however off days by Beirbaum and Stanley (reportedly under the weather) saw the Blue Devils only able to claim 4th in the competitive ACC meet behind NC State, Wake Forest, and Virginia (by 3 points). Meyerhoff, Bierbaum, Rowbury, and Ko rounded out Duke's scorers at ACCs. Beirbaum rebounded at regionals to lead the Blue Devils to 4th behind Wake Forest, NC State, and Virginia. Beirbaum finished 4th, Rowbury 24th, Meyerhoff 30th, Stanley 36th, and Hullinger 41st.
Returnees: Sheila Agrawal (7th '00, 28th '99; '00 USA World XC Team; 16:29.54), Lisa Nagorny (211th '00), Laura Schmid (222nd '00), Allison Hofmann (237th '00), Paige Miller (9:38), Paris Edwards (17:11), Phebo Ko (36:19), Meghan Leon, Heidi Hullinger;
Newcomers: Clara Horowitz (4:52.62y, 9:41.90, 10:34.81y), Sally Meyerhoff (12th FL; 2:13.53, 4:36.22, 10:30.51y), Shannon Rowbury (2:08.74, 4:52.70y, 9:38.41), Laura Stanley (5th FL; 5:00.03y, 10:36.64y), Elizabeth Wort (10:53.63y), Caroline Bierbaum (9th NE FL); Not competing -- Natasha Roetter (3rd FL; 10:24.03iy)

15. Michigan
The Wolverines claimed an automatic berth into this year's NCAA championships after failing to qualify in 2001. Michigan won the 9/7 Detroit Mercy Invitational, with Andrea Parker finishing 3rd to lead the Wolverines, and the 9/14 Mel Brodt Invite, with Lindsey Gallo leading the way. At the 9/21 Sundodger Invite, the Wolverines easily handled host Washington and displayed an excellent 20-second 1-5 spread. Michigan repeated this tight pack running at the 10/5 Indiana State Invite, using their 24-second 1-5 gap to narrowly claim runner-up honors (behind Arkansas) over Villanova despite getting 1-2-3'ed by the Wildcats. The Wolverines stepped things up at the Pre-NCAA "Blue" race to finish 10th off a 44-second 1-5 split before splitting 28-seconds at Big Tens to edge Michigan State for the loop title. At the conference meet, Michigan's championship pack featured Rebecca Walter (5th), Gallo (7th), Andrea Parker (17th), Jane Martineau (20th), and Jeanne Spink (21st). The Wolverines maintained a tight 31-second spread at regionals to finish 2nd behind Notre Dame and qualify automatically for NCAAs.
Returnees: Lindsey Gallo, Jeanne Spink, Katie Easton, Theresa Feldkamp, Chelsea Homan, Edna Kollarits
Newcomer: Jennifer Frudden (Iowa champ), Rebecca Walter

16. Missouri
The Tigers won their season opener at the Missouri Challenge with newcomer Valerie Lauver, a Foot Locker finalist and member of the USA Junior World Cross Country Team, winning the race for Mizzou. The Tigers featured a 42-second 1-5 spread, with all five running 18:00 or faster for 5k on their home course. At the Iona Meet of Champions, MU edged Wake Forest for the title, with frosh Amanda Bales and Lauver leading the Tigers. The Tigers then ran away with the 10/5 Loyola Lakefront Invite. Mizzou tied Duke for 5th in the Pre-NCAA "Blue" race behind newcomers Bales and Lauver, with Chipman, Moore, and Bonugli rounding out the scorers. Missouri claimed runner-up honors at the Big 12 meet, barely holding off an up-and-coming Texas squad. Lauver was the top frosh at the conference meet; finishing 5th individually. Bales, who had an off day at Big 12s, returned to form to finish 3rd and lead the Tigers to an easy win at regionals; Mizzou had a 52-second 1-5 spread at regionals.
Returnees: Serena Ramsey, Amy Chipman (241st '00, 122nd '99), Katherine Bonugli (219th '00), Ashley McLeod (187th '00)
Newcomers: Valerie Lauver (8th FL; USA Jr WXC), Amanda Bales (redshirt), Jackie Pirtle

17. Arizona State
The Sun Devils finished 23rd at Furman, but while hard hit by graduation it hasn't seemed to faze them. Newcomers Jessica Scalzo and Amy Hastings led the Sun Devils at Notre Dame's adidas Invite as ASU fell to both the hosts and NC State. However, at Griak an entirely underclass quintet consisting of four freshman (Scalzo, Hastings, Lindgren, & McLaughlin) and a sophomore (Davila) got up for runner-up honors behind Michigan State. This young team featured a 58-second 1-5 spread over 6k at Griak, then featured a 64-sec gap in the Pre-NCAAs as the Sun Devils claimed 8th in the "White" race. Scalzo finished 17th to lead ASU in Terre Haute and 6th at Pac-10s; at Pac-10s, the Sun Devils tightened their spread to 30 seconds, giving them runner-up honors behind Stanford. Arizona State maintained their tight pack running at the regional meet -- posting a 29-second 1-5 spread enroute to a runner-up finish that netted them an automatic berth.

Returnees: Jen Hurbis (194th), Desiree Davila (205th), Cody Sohn, Amanda Lyon, Liz Lindgren, Mandi Fitz-Gustafson
Newcomers: Jenny Aldridge (4:51.88y, 10:51.43y), Amy Hastings (9:53.1 3k; Ks champ), Jessica Scalzo, McLaughlin

18. North Carolina
Despite individual contender Shalane Flanagan fading from 1st to 22nd over the final half-mile at least year's meet, North Carolina still claimed 7th in the team standings and returns and excellent crew including Flanagan, steeple bronze medallist Carol Henry, outdoor 800 champ Alice Schmidt, and NCAA mile finalist Erin Donohue. However, Henry rolled her ankle during an August training run, had surgery, missed training time, and has not appeared this fall. UNC won the 8/31 Campbell Inv, but then finished 2nd to Coastal Carolina at the 9/14 UNC Challenge running without Flanagan and Donohue. Flanagan won at Great American to lead her team to a surprising 4th-place finish behind BYU, Columbia, and NC State. Flanagan won again in the Pre-NCAA "Blue" race, setting a new course record only to have it broken a 1/2-hour later by ACC-rival Vicky Gill. UNC finished 7th behind BYU, Colorado, Georgetown, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Duke. Flanagan established herself as the clear favorite for the NCAA individual title by downing conference rival Vicky Gill at the ACC champs; however her teammates could only muster 5th in the highly competitive ACC meet. Half-miler Schmidt stepped things up to run second for the Tarheels, while Donohue appeared to have an off day. Flanagan dominated again at the regional, winning by 29-seconds over 10k champ Kristin Price. Behind Flanagan, the Tar Heels claimed 5th to advance to the NCAA meet.
Returnees: Shalane Flanagan (22nd, 4th '00; '00 USA Jr Champ; 4:15.37, 4:38.43iy, 9:16.30i; 3rd ind Mile), Carol Henry (38th; 4:23.32, 9:23.79, 9:51.16s/c; 3rd s/c), Erin Donohue (60th; 4:20.72, 4:43.95iy; 10th ind Mile), Liz Awtrey (185th, 65th '00, 55th '99; 10:29.10s/c, 16:42.41), Alice Schmidt (out 800 Champ)
Newcomers: Jessica Perry (5:00.55y, 10:43.37y)

19. Michigan State
The Spartans finished 11th in South Carolina last year. Michelle Carson and Jamie Kryzminski lead six returning members of last year's NCAA squad. At the non-scoring 9/20 Spartan Open, Carson shattered the course record to lead 4 of her teammates -- Krzyminski, Stein, Durocher, and Pepera - to finish among the top 8. The Spartans continued to roll at Griak, notching an easy win over a solid field behind Cason's individual title. MSU's website reports that Katie Anderson is injured and is expected to redshirt. Carson had an off day in the Pre-NCAA "White" race and could only must an 18th-place finish; between Carson's sub-par run and missing Durocher from the lineup, the Spartans fell to 11th in their race. Durocher returned to the lineup at Big Tens, but the Spartans were edged by archrival Michigan 70-73 despite a 1-2 individual finish by Carson and Krzyminski. Michigan State finished 3rd at the regional, but advanced easily in an at-large berth.
Returnees: Michelle Carson (34th; 16:38.22, 34:11.96), Jamie Kryzminski (106th; 16:38.25, 33:58.89; 7th 10k), Natalie Stein (147th), Cindy Durocher (208th, 62nd '99), Sarah Pepera (10:33.71s/c); Redshirt: Katie Anderson (116th)
Newcomers: Megan Radermacher (2:14.42), Michelle Rafferty (11:00.70y), Brittany Ballard

20. Indiana
Despite Coach Judy Wilson missing the regional meet while in labor to give birth, Indiana finished 4th in the Great Lakes regional to claim an at-large berth to the NCAA meet. Mindy Peterson led the Hoosiers with wins at both the Indiana Open and Indiana Intercollegiates, with newcomers Jessica Gall and Lindsay Hattendorf backing her up. Indiana put together an excellent run at Griak, claiming 5th behind Michigan State, Arizona State, and Marquette. Peterson and Audrey Giesler led the Hoosiers at the 10/5 Notre Dame Invite as Indiana finished 5th behind Stanford, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and Washington, but ahead of Northwestern and Ball State. The Hoosiers had another great day at Pre-NCAAs, using a 36-second 1-5 spread to claim 8th in the "Blue" field. Giesler finished 6th to lead Indiana at Big Tens, where the Hoosiers claimed 3rd behind Michigan and Michigan State but ahead of Penn State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Northwestern. Peterson led the Hoosiers at regionals and combined with Giesler, Gall, Hattendorf, and Obrecht for a 45-second 1-5 spread.
Returnees: Becky Obrecht (34:32), Audrey Giesler (10:29s/c), Mindy Peterson (4:29)
Newcomers: Jessica Gall (21st FL; 10:38y), Lindsay Hattendorf (11:02y), Kelly Siefker (11:04y)

21. UCLA
The Bruins finished 21st at Furman. Lori Mann, Jenna Timinsky, and Alejandra Barrientos led UCLA to a runner-up finish behind Stanford at their season opener, with the trio finishing 45-55 seconds behind Stanford's Craig and Bei. UCLA comfortably won the 9/21 Big Wave Invitational over a bunch of unranked squads, then finished 3rd at the Stanford Invite behind split squads from the hosts and Duke. The Bruins debuted Lena Nilsson in the Pre-NCAA "White" race and benefited from her 8th-place effort as they claimed 9th. Despite a strong individual bronze medal performance by Nilsson at Pac-10s, the Bruins fell to 4th at Pac-10s behind Stanford, Arizona State, and Washington. UCLA rebounded at regionals to claim third and will advance to NCAAs with at at-large berth; Nilsson claimed runner-up honors behind only Stanford's Craig.
Returnees: Carolyn Shea (123rd), Alejandra Barrientos (125th), Valerie Flores (127th; 19th FL '99), Lena Nilsson (135th; 2:03.88, 4:09.89; 4:38.88iy, NCAA 1500 champ), Lori Mann (190th), Tiffany Burgess (2:03.73)
Newcomers: Ashley Caldwell (2:09.49, 4:55.71y), Allison Hall (2:12.44), Jenna Timinsky (2:09.48), Sarah West (5:00.78y, 10:46.83y)

22. Penn State
The Nittany Lions finished 5th at the Mid Atlantic regional in 2001 and return NCAA individual qualifier Michelle Wale. Newcomer Tracey Brauksieck won PSU's 9/7 Spike Shoe Invite, leading her squad to an easy win. Chelsea Lange finished 3rd overall, while Wale finished well behind in 15th. Brauksieck also led PSU to 2nd at the Georgetown Tri-meet behind the Hoyas "B" squad, but ahead of Yale's "A" squad. The Nittany Lions won the Paul Short meet over a field of unranked squads, then claimed 3rd behind Providence and Villanova but ahead of Williams & Mary, West Virginia, and Tennessee at their own National Invite. The Lions finished 14th as a team at Pre-NCAAs before claiming 4th at Big Tens behind Michigan, Michigan State, and Indiana. Brauksieck continues to lead the Lions, claiming 5th at the National Invite, 15th in the Pre-NCAA "White" race, and 10th at Big Tens. At the latter meet, Katy Hillard, Molly Landreth, and Michelle Wale all closely followed Brauksieck (w/ 19 seconds), but had to wait another 15 seconds for their 5th to finish. Brauksieck claimed runner-up honors at regionals to lead Penn State to 3rd place and an at-large berth.

Returnees: Michelle Wale (134th), Chelsea Lange, Katy Hillard, Molly Landreth, Maureen Thomas
Newcomers: Tracey Brauksieck (FL), Tara Johnson (x-fer from Boston Univ)

23. William & Mary
The Tribe opened with a win at its own 9/6 meet. W&M then claimed 2nd behind Duke, but ahead of Virginia at the 9/14 Lou Onesty Invite, finished 9th at Great American, and 4th at the 10/12 National Invite. Ali Henderson, Maura McMahon, Cheryl Bauer, and Emily Halm lead the Tribe. Halm was missing from the lineup at Pre-NCAAs, but William & Mary still managed 9th in the "Blue" race. However, JMU upset the Tribe at the CAA championships; Henderson claimed individual runner-up honors. William & Mary rebounded at regionals to claim 6th behind Wake Forest, NC State, Duke, and UNC and advance to Terre haute with an at-large berth.
Returnees: Cheryl Bauer (9:33.92, 16:37.60), Alison Henderson (10:29.83s/c; 16:53.25, 34:25.77), Maura McMahon (9:51.05, 17:01.25, 34:43.77), Emily Halm (9th '00 SE reg), Laura Toscani (40th '00 SE Reg)
Newcomers: Julia Cathcart (28th FL; 4:32.36, 4:54.71y, 10:51.07y), Lauren Heron (2:13.25, 4:38.73, 4:57.90y), Karen Pulliman ('00 MD XC champ, 10:17 '01, returning from heel surgery), Kristyn Shiring (2nd VA AAA 3200, 10:59)

24. Washington
The Huskies lost All-American Lisa Gibbs to transfer, but return five with NCAA cross experience from a squad that claimed 14th last season. Newcomers Alison Tubbs and Laura Hodgson should strengthen Washington's lineup, although the Huskies are redshirting Tubbs. Newcomer Laura Hodgson won the 9/7 Emerald City Inv to lead the Huskies to an easy team win. Michigan easily handled the Huskies at the 9/21 Sundodger Invite with the Dawgs narrowly edging Idaho and Texas A&M. The Huskies finished 4th at the 10/4 Notre Dame Invitational behind Stanford, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame, but ahead of Indiana, Northwestern, Ball State, and Purdue. Courtney Inman led the Huskies in South Bend, with Bradshaw, Spigel, Egerdahl, and Adsit-Morris rounding out the scorers; Hodgson apparently had an off day and didn't score for the Dawgs. Washington rebounded at Pre-NCAAs and claimed 11th in the "Blue" race off a 52-second 1-5 split. The Huskies upset UCLA for the bronze at Pac-10s behind Stanford and Arizona State, before claiming 3rd at regionals behind Stanford, Arizona State, and UCLA; Washington edged the Great Lake's Toledo for the final at-large berth.
Returnees: Kate Bradshaw (105th, 89th '00, 128th '99; '00 USA World XC Team; 34:20.86), Jamie Gibbs (113th), Courtney Inman (200th; 2:06.46, 4:17.53, 10th 1500), Kate Spigel (202nd, 249th '00), Camille Connelly (235th), Laura Halvorsen
Newcomers: Laura Hodgson (10:49.20y), Molly Wise (x-fer from Colorado); Redshirt: Alison Tubbs (Great Amer champ)

25. Ball State
All American Stacey Ritz and former NCAA qualifier Katie Nowak helped lead Ball State to a major upset as the Cardinals packed in their scoring runners within 14 second to nail down 5th in the Great Lakes region. Although Ball State had no major wins, they were "pushed" into the NCAA champs by 6th-place Wisconsin, which had enough wins to advance. The Cardinals had earlier finished 13th at Griak, then 7th at Notre Dame with Ritz back in 65th. Ritz stepped things up at Pre-NCAAs to claim 34th and lead the Cardinals to 14th in the "Blue" race. Ball edged Miami U by a point for runner-up honors at MAC behind Toledo; Ritz finished 5th to lead the Cardinal.
Returnees: Stacey Ritz (17th), Katie Nowak (10:34.05s/c, 16:15.29), Jill Scully, Sarah Huddleston (17:23.54), Crystal Meeks (36:29.25), Linda Stebbins (17:35.63), Natasha Lothery (2:06.55), Aubrey Gaffer
Newcomers: Nicole Hartford (5:05.70y, 11:11.38y)

26. Boston College (NOT IN NCAA MEET)
Boston College -- 6th in 2001 -- will have the distinction of being the best team in the country not to qualify for the NCAA meet; hindered by injuries and illness this season, BC finally started to put things together at Big Easts and regionals. But by that time, they had lost their opportunity to score those all-important wins over out-of-region competition and were unable to advance to Terre Haute. The Eagles returned an excellent group but had to survive without redshirting standout twins Cate and Maggie Guiney. USA Junior champ Maria Cicero, 16th in her collegiate debut, returned to lead the Eagles after recovering from an early-season bout with mono. Joining Cicero with NCAA experience was Julie Spolidoro, Jennifer Kramer, Jennifer Donovan, and Laura Smith. Three-time Foot Locker qualifier Laura Burdick leads Coach Randy Thomas' newcomers. The Eagles opened with a win at the 9/7 Central Conn Inv, with Spolidoro taking the individual win and Cicero and Kramer sitting out the meet. BC also dominated the 9/13 UNH Invite, with Smith, Donovan, Spolidoro, Cicero, and Burdick sweeping the top five spots as they finished within three seconds of each other. The Eagles skipped the 10/5 Indiana State Invite following some sickness and dings, then debuted Cicero at the 10/11 New Englands as BC notched a comfortable win. Cicero won the NE title with Spolidoro close behind in 2nd. Donovan is running well in 3rd, but BC's 4th and 5th are straggling behind. The Eagles missed Smith and Kramer in Terre Haute and only finished 13th in the Pre-NCAA "Blue" race despite good efforts by Cicero, Spolidoro, and Donovan. Kramer rejoined BC's lineup at Big Easts as the Eagles claimed 5th behind Notre Dame, Georgetown, Villanova, and Providence. BC was very solid through their 4th runner, but needed someone to step things up and close the gap back to fifth.
Returnees: Maria Cicero (16th; USA Jr Champ; 16:13.55i; 33:53.86), Julie Spolidoro (107th, 120th '00; '00 US World XC Team 16:43.01), Jennifer Kramer (119th, 97th '00), Jennifer Donovan (183rd; 10:32.64s/c), Laura Smith; Redshirting: Maggie Guiney (10th, 13th '00, 220th '99), Cate Guiney (34th '00, 167th '99),
Newcomers: Laurel Burdick (22nd FL; 4:43.25, 10:01.49), Anne Hessberg, Alexis Lake

27. Texas
The 'Horns finished 28th at Furman last fall and won their opener at the 9/14 SW Texas Invite and the 10/5 SW Texas Classic; Talis Apud-Martinez won both meets. The Lady Longhorns rose to the occasion in their first real test of the season at Pre-NCAAs and followed Apud-Martinez and 1500 finalist Erin Sims' individual 20th- and 25th-place efforts in the Pre-NCAA "Blue" race to claim 12th as a team. Texas narrowly missed knocking off Missouri at the Big 12 champs and had to settle for bronze 2 points behind the host Tigers. Apud-Martinez and Sims finished 6th and 15th at the conference champs, with all 5 scorers finishing within 67-seconds over 6k. The Longhorns claimed runner-up honors and an all-important auto berth for NCAAs at the regional meet behind Apud-Martinez and Sims, who finished 3rd and 7th respectively.
Returnees: Erin Sims (142nd; 4:20.37), Talis Apud-Martinez (153rd), Justine Boulin (179th), Dawn Domaschk

28. Colorado State (NOT IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS)
The Rams claimed 20th last year at Furman. CSU opened with a win over defending D-II champ Western State at their 9/14 Ram Invite, with Jennifer Kintzley leading the Rams, followed by Kim Leal, Kim Watson, Marget Larson, and Katie Yemm in a tight 20-second 1-5 spread. Earlier, the Rams easily won the 9/6 Wyoming Invite. The Rams finished 10th at Great American and 4th at the 10/5 Indiana State Invite, before claiming 2nd at the Mountain West Conference behind BYU. Kintzley led 23.7-second 1-5 spread at MWC that featured Larson, Yemm, Blair, and Watson. Yemm stepped up to lead the Rams at regionals, leading a 27-second 1-5 spread that saw Colorado State come close to knocking off Northern Arizona for third. However, Colorado State failed to advance to the NCAA meet due to lack of wins over out-of-region teams.
Returnees: Katherine Yemm (80th, 156th '00; 4:44.14iy), Jennifer Kintzley (129th, 127th '00), Kim Leal (141st, 174th '00; 34:55.03), Colleen Blair (150th), Marget Larson (215th, 131st '00; 10:16.67s/c), L. Kwiatkowski (221st)
Newcomers: Michelle Carman (x-fer from Boise St; 16:52), Brittany Saunders (2:14, 5:07, 11:08 at altitude)

29. Wisconsin
Last fall, the Badgers failed to advance to the NCAA harrier meet for the first time ever. Despite seeming to fall apart over the last month of the season, the Badgers had amassed enough wins earlier in the season to advance to the NCAA meet despite a 6th-place regional finish. In their season opener at the 9/14 OZ Memorial, the Badgers went 1-2-3-4 over the host Minnesota squad, with UCLA transfer Elaine Canchola winning, followed by Jackie Mulrooney, Heidi Lane, and Liz Reusser. Michelle Lilienthal and Hilary Edmondson filled out Wisconsin's top 6. At Stanford, Canchola, Mulrooney, Lilienthal, Reusser, and Ingrid Dodge finished 4th in the 6k behind split squads from Stanford and Duke plus UCLA. The Badgers' 4k squad claimed 2nd behind Stanford at 4k, running Edmondson, Heidi Lane, and Linsey Blaisdell. Wisconsin fell to Stanford at the 10/4 Notre Dame Invite, but downed Notre Dame by featuring a tight 27-second 1-5 spread among Canchola, Lilienthal, Reusser, Lane, and Edmondson, with Mulrooney finishing in the same time as Edmondson. Wisconsin repeated their 27-second 1-5 spread at Pre-NCAAs, claiming 4th in the "Blue" race behind BYU, Colorado, and Georgetown. After great races all season long, the Badgers fell apart at the Big Ten meet; Despite an excellent 4th-place effort by Hilary Edmondson, the Badgers tight pack running disintegrated -- Canchola, the team's top runner all season, could only muster a 24th-place finish and their 1-5 gap spread out to 48 seconds. As a result, Wisconsin fell to 5th in the team standings behind Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, and Penn State. The Badgers then confirmed that their meltdown at Big Tens was no fluke when they struggled home 6th in the region; Canchola, Edmondson, and Reusser all continued to run well below what one would predict from early season performances.

Returnees: Liz Reusser (112th '00, 112th '99; 16:42.85), Michelle Lilienthal (113th '00), Hilary Edmondson (161st '00; 4:22.33), Leslie Patterson (193rd '00), Linsey Blaisdell (16th '00 FL), Erin AufderHeide
Newcomer: Elaine Canchola (174th; x-fer from UCLA), Michaela Courtney (2:13.96, 4:52.70y), Ingrid Dodge, Heidi Lane

30. Northwestern
After being beaten up all season, Northwestern put their best race together at regionals to claim the second auto berth behind Missouri. Rachel Evjen leads the Wildcats, which finished 12th at Griak with a 59-second 1-5 spread, 6th at the 10/4 Notre Dame Invite with a 52-second 5k spread, and 13th in the Pre-NCAA "White" race with a 55-second spread. Northwestern then claimed 7th at Big Tens behind Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The key to Northwestern's runner-up performance at regionals appeared to be that Evjen , Laura Evans, and Diana Hossfield stepped things up individually.
Returnees: Rachel Evjen (126th '00)

OTHER TEAMS RECEIVING VOTES:

31. Tennessee
The Lady Vols, 6th at the '01 South Regional, return Sharon Dickie and gain Foot Locker finalists Felicia Guilford and Mindy Sullivan. Dickie won the 9/13 Tennessee Invite to lead the Lady Vols to the team title, with Guilford claiming 5th overall. Dickie won again at the 9/21 adidas Wolfpack Invitational as she led the Lady Vols to victory over a NC State squad composed of redshirt freshman. Tennessee finished 6th at the 10/12 National Invite, with Dickie claiming 7th overall , Guliford 17th, and Novak 25th. The following week, Dickie and Guliford finished 1-2 to lead the Vols to an easy win at the UT-Chattanooga Invite. The Lady Vols showed vulnerability at the SEC meet, finishing 3rd behind Arkansas and unranked Kentucky; Dickie finished 5th and Novak 10th, but Guliford could only muster 30th. Tennessee rebounded at regionals to edge Florida State for the win; Dickie claimed individual runner-up honors, while Novak finished 4th.
Returnees: Sharon Dickie (136th, 74th '98), Brooke Novak, Jessica Southers, Erin Anderson
Newcomers: Felicia Guilford (6th FL; 8th USA Jr; 10:31.95y); Mindy Sullivan (17th FL), Megan Cauble

32. Yale (NOT IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS)
Despite returning six from the squad that finished 13th at last year's NCAA harrier meet -- including top-10 contending twins Kate and Laura O'Neil -- the Bulldogs struggled this season and fell short in a late season bid to qualify for nationals. Kate, 11th last year at Furman, also finished 5th in the outdoor 5k, while Laura claimed 3rd in the 10k. Amanda Brewster, Melissa Wisner, Alexandra Sawicki, and Lindsay Mitchell all return with NCAA experience, while former NE Foot Locker winner Melissa Donais and '00 Foot Locker finalist Julia Pudlin joined the lineup. Despite a 1-2 finish by Kate and Laura O'Neil and only missing Brewster and Wisner from their '01 NCAA lineup, Yale could only muster 3rd behind Georgetown and Penn State at a 9/14 Tri-Meet hosted by the Hoyas. Despite a 1-3 finish by the O'Neil's at Iona and Donais in the lineup, Yale fell to 5th behind Missouri, Wake Forest, Adams State, and Dartmouth. Yale then won the 10/5 Yale-Harvard-Princeton tri-meet, before finishing 16th in the Pre-NCAA "Blue" race behind Kate's runner-up and Laura's 5th-place performances; Yale ran without Pudlin (who will miss the remainder of the season) in Terre Haute. Kate and Laura finished 1-2 at HEPs to lead the Bulldogs to runner-up honors behind Columbia. Yale saved their best for last, stepping things up at regionals and tightening their 1-5 spread from an embarrassing 2:51 at Pre-NCAAs to a respectable 1:22 (off two top-10 contenders) at regionals with the same five athletes.
Returnees: Kate O'Neil (11th, 31st '00; 9:19.10i, 16:01.99; 5th out 5k, 9th ind 3k), Laura O'Neil (26th, 32nd '00; 33:39.14; 3rd 10k), Amanda Brewster (146th, 154th '00), Melissa Wisner (169th), Alexandra Sawicki (171st), Lindsay Mitchell (198th, 107th '00), Rebecca Hunter,
Newcomer: Julia Pudlin (8th FL '00; 10:27.51y), Melissa Donais ('99 FL; '02 Millrose Mile champ), Emily Vince, Hannah Oberman-Breindl, Katie Matlack

33. Marquette
Marquette finished 15th last year at Furman. Susan Barth and sisters Jessie and Jackie Swan return to lead the Golden Eagles. Jessie Swan and Susan Barth finished 1-2 in the same time at the 9/7 Purdue Opener, w/ Jackie Swan claiming 3rd 30 seconds behind. The following week, Barth and Swan shattered the course record at the 9/13 Bradley Invite to lead their teammates to a near sweep of the field. Marquette finished at solid 4th at Griak behind Michigan State and Arizona State, but ahead of regional foes Indiana and Toledo. The Golden Eagles edged Texas A&M at the 10/5 Murray Keating Invite, with Jessie Swan and Susan Barth running 2-3 and leading a 55-second 1-5 spread, then finshed 10th in the Pre-NCAA "White" race. The Golden Eagles dominated the Conference USA meet, running a 54-second 1-5 spread to place 5 scorers among the top 11 finishers, but spread out more at regionals (1:21 1-5 spread) and fell to 7th in the region -- just good enough, however, for at at-large berth.

Returnees: Susan Barth (70th; 68th '00; 16:29.11i, 34:12.72), Jessie Swan (149th, 209th '00), Jackie Swan (151st), Audrey Schlits (201st, 221st '00); Redshirting: Brianna Dahm (51st; 107th '00; 10:01.77s/c)

Newcomers: Tara Hinke (Wisc Div 1 champ), Alli Sauer (5:02, 10:56)

34. Dartmouth (NOT IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS)
Nicole Kelleher and Jesse Allen-Young return to lead Dartmouth. Dartmouth fell to Providence at their own 9/14 Dartmouth Invite, but then claimed 4th at Iona ahead of Ivy powers Yale and Cornell. Kelleher and Allen-Young led Dartmouth at Iona to a 50-second 1-5 spread over 6k. Despite a 55-second 1-5 spread at Pre-NCAAs, Dartmouth claimed 20th in the Pre-NCAA "White" race. At HEPs, Allen-Young's 9th-place finish led her teammates to 5th -- only 15 points behind runner-up Yale. Dartmouth closed on Yale at regionals, totaling a mere two points more than their HEPs rival to finish 4th.
Returnees: Jesse Allen-Young (140th), Nicole Kelleher (182nd), Kristen Ettensohn (199th), Cecily Garber (206th), Kristin Andrews
Newcomer: Megan Olds (2:13.3), Melanie Schorr

35. (tie) Oregon (NOT IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS)
In Coach Tom Heinonen's final hurrah, the Ducks claimed 5th at Pac-10s behind Stanford, Arizona State, Washington, and Oregon. Oregon then nearly caught Washington at regionals, finishing 5th a mere 9 points behind the Huskies. Carrie Zografos led the Ducks with her 6th-place individual effort at regionals to claim an individual berth for NCAA. Earlier this fall, Oregon claimed 8th at Griak and 18th in the Pre-NCAA "White" race.
Returnees: Carrie Zografos, Laura Harmon, Eri Macdonald, Magdalena Sandoval, Erinn Gulbrandsen, Alicia Snyder-Carlson
Newcomers: Nicole Feest

35. (tie) Texas A&M (NOT IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS)
The Aggies return standouts Melissa Gulli, Andrea Bookout, and four others from their 18th-place 2000 NCAA squad; the Aggies finished 4th in their region in '01 despite redshirting three of their top five returnees. Gulli won the 8/31 Aggie Alumni challenge and finished second at the 9/21 Sundodger Invite behind post-eligible Sabrina Monroe in a performance that makes her a solid top-10 contender. However, the Aggies appeared short-handed without Bookout [who hasn't appeared this fall] in the lineup and could only muster 4th behind Michigan, Washington, and Idaho in Seattle. Texas A&M narrowly fell to Marquette at the 10/5 Murray Keating Invite, with Gulli taking an easy individual win. The Aggies then claimed 16th in the Pre-NCAA "White" race, 4th at Big 12s, and 3rd at regionals.
Returnees: Melissa Gulli (22nd '00; 9:24.96i, 16:13.75i; 2nd ind 5k), Andrea Bookout (26th '00), Jennifer Whatley (190th '00; 9:50), Sarah Steadman (191st '00), Kayci Waters (213th '00), Tamara Budija (9:50)
Newcomers: Meredith Crane (4:42.48, 10:58.27y), Landra Stewardson (10:58.59y)

37. West Virginia (NOT IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS)
Megan Metcalfe leads West Virginia, notching individual wins at the 10/28 Paul Short and 10/12 National Invites to lead her teammates to a runner-up performance at Lehigh and a 4th-place finish at Penn State. Metcalfe continued to sizzle, with an individual 5th in the Pre-NCAA "White" race to lead her team to 17th in the team standings. Metcalf's 3rd-place effort helped her teammates to claim 6th at Big Easts. Metcalfe then won the regional meet as her team finished 4th.
Returnees: Megan Metcalfe

38. Florida State
Scotland's Vicky Gill leads the Seminoles, who claimed 13th at Great American 1 point ahead of regional foe South Florida. Sub-34:00 10k runner Gill established herself as a serious contender for the individual crown by winning the Pre-NCAA "white" race in a course record -- beating ACC rival Shalane Flanagan's time by about 2 seconds. At ACCs however, Gill fell to 0-2 versus Flanagan in head-to-head races as the Tarheel outdistanced Gill by 12-seconds to win the loop crown. The Seminoles finished 19th in the Pre-NCAA "White" race, sixth at ACCs, and 2nd to Tennessee (by only 2 points) at regionals. At regionals, Gill ran away from the field to win by 40 seconds.
Returnees: Vicky Gill (Scotland; 122nd; 33:59.67; 11th 10k), Ann Clinton, Natalie Hughes (4:18; 8th 1500), Allison Lind (23rd D-2 '00; 16:40; 2nd D-2 ind 5000 '01)
Newcomer: Jenny Gomez (former Fl state champ), Suzanne Shepard

39. Weber State (NOT IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS)
Weber finished 5th in the competitive Mountain Region last fall and return their entire squad, plus regained the services of 2001 steeple runner-up Rachel Bennion. Weber finished 2nd at the 9/14 BYU Autumn Classic, with '01 NCAA qualifier Cynthia Losee and Jessica Winters leading the way. Bennion returned to their lineup at Griak to lead her teammates to 7th behind Michigan State, Arizona State, Providence, Marquette, Indiana, and Toledo. Weber then perfect-scored Montana and Montana State on 10/5 before finishing 15th in the Pre-NCAA "White" race. The Wildcats earned runner-up honors behind Northern Arizona at the Big Sky championships, then finished 5th at regionals.
Returnees: Rebecca Bennion (33rd '01; 4:21 '01, 9:54 s/c '01, 16:07 '01; 2nd '01 s/c), Rachel Bennion (167th '01; 4:34, 10:39 s/c), Heida Bouwhuis (4:41, 10:42 s/c), Janae Johnson (201st '01; 17:30), Cynthia Losee (207th; 168th '01; 17:05, 36:47), Genny Minnoch (105th '01), Caroline Pebley (4:38, 10:41 s/c), Ashley Winter (16:51), Jessica Winters (17:20)
Newcomer: Jenny Packer (5:14y, 11:30y)

40. Toledo (NOT IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS)
Toledo fell short again in their quest for their first ever team appearance at the NCAA meet. Steepler Briana Shook led the squad again this fall, and is a top-5 contender. An understrength Rocket squad finished 3rd at the 9/7 Detroit Mercy Invite behind Michigan and Eastern Michigan, despite Shook's individual win. Shook claimed runner-up honors at the non-scoring 9/20 Spartan Open, with newcomer Erica Moriarty finishing 3rd. If scored, Toledo would have finished 2nd to Michigan State, 25 to 51. The Rockets claimed 6th at Griak close behind regional foes Marquette and Indiana in what's shaping up to be an excellent battle for the first bubble spot in the Great Lakes region. Individually, Shook again stepped up to claim runner-up honors behind MSU's Carson.  </