November 16, 2006 CARDINAL SEEK FOURTH NCAA WOMEN’S HARRIER CROWN TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The top 31 women’s teams and 256 athletes contend for team and individual honors at the 2006 NCAA Women’s Division I Cross Country Championships conducted at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center, Terre Haute, Indiana. Stanford University’s women’s cross country runners won their third NCAA team title in 10 years during an upset victory at the 2005 NCAA Championships. Arianna Lambie (8th), Katy Trotter (20th), Lindsay Flacks (25th), Lauren Centrowitz (47th), Teresa McWalters (92nd), Katie Harrington (120th), and Amanda Trotter (129th) all return from the 2005 championship squad, with Lambie, the Trotters, Flacks, Centrowitz, and McWalters all past All-Americans. The top-ranked Cardinal women have dominated so far this season, with wins at the Pre-Nationals Blue Race, Pac-10s, and the West Regionals. The second-rated University of Arkansas women are undefeated this fall, with notable wins at the Bill Dellinger Invite, Chili Pepper Festival, SEC Champions, and the South Central Regional. The key to the Lady Razorbacks’ success this season is their tight back running: at the South Central Regional, Christine Kalmer, Dacia Barr, Brooke Upshaw, Denise Bargiachi, and Miranda Walker split 9-seconds for the top five, while Dani Parry and Jennifer Harper combined with the top five to give a 16-sec 1-7 spread! Kalmer (102nd), Barr (134th), and Bargiachi (162nd) all return from the 2005 NCAA squad that claimed 19th. North Carolina State, ranked third in the final coaches’ poll, has been rated as high as second following their win at the Pre-Nationals White race. Subsequently, the Wolfpack won the ACC and Southeast Regional titles. Back from the ’05 NCAA squad that claimed 14th is Jemissa Hess (68th), Angelina Blackmon (106th), Brittany Tinsley (133rd), and Sara Powell (159th), while standout Julia Lucas (55th ’04, 79th ’03) and Anna Wheatley return after redshirt years. NC State also features the welcome addition of ACC freshman of the year Bona Jones. Although only currently ranked 10th after a sub par weekend at the Great Lakes Regional, the Michigan Wolverines have the talent to claim a podium spot. Michigan claimed sixth last fall and returns Alyson Kohlmeier (59th), Nicole Edwards (72nd), Arianne Field (145th), Erin Webster (172nd), Claire Otwell and gains NCAA All-American Katie Gwyther (12th), a grad transfer from Quinnipiac. The Wolverines have won team titles at the Sundodger and Notre Dame Invitationals, as well as the Big Ten Championships. Michigan fell to third at the Great Lakes Regional behind Michigan State and Wisconsin following off days by its top two runners. Also contending for places on the NCAA awards stand and top-10 finishes are Michigan State (ranked 4th), Illinois (5th), Colorado (6th), UC Santa Barbara (7th), Wisconsin (8th), Minnesota (9th), Arizona State (11th), Duke (12th), and dark horse Providence (21st). Michigan State, which finished fourth at the Big Ten meet, won the competitive Great Lakes Regional, while the University of Wisconsin claimed runner-up honors at both the Big Ten and Great Lakes meets. Illinois, fifth at last fall’s championships, claimed only fifth at the Big Ten Championships, but rebounded with a win at the Midwest Regional over Minnesota; the Gophers had earlier claimed second at the Pre-Nationals Blue race and third at the Big Ten Championships (only a single point behind runner-up Wisconsin) before placing second at the Midwest Regional. Colorado earned NCAA runner-up honors last fall and the Buffalos are always a contender at the NCAA championships; the Buffs enter the NCAA finals with wins at the Big 12 and Mountain Regionals. UC Santa Barbara redshirted almost their entire squad in 2005, a move that has paid off this fall with a win at the Roy Griak Invitational, fourth at the Pre-Nationals White Race, and runner-up honors at the West Regional behind NCAA favorite Stanford. Arizona State, fourth last fall in Terre Haute, claimed second at Roy Griak, third in the Pre-Nationals Blue race, second at the Pac-10 championships, and third at the West Regional. Duke University, which was ranked #1 all last fall before finishing third at the NCAA Finals, has taken a different approach this season and appears to be getting stronger each meet, most recently a runner-up performance (by a mere 9 points) to second-ranked NC State at the Southeast Regional. Always strong Providence College demonstrated top-ten potential with a dominating win at the Big East Championships, but struggled at the Northeast Regional with a sub par performance and narrowly qualified. The University of Georgia and Boston College ran their best races at the right time of the season to win the South and Northeast Regionals respectively, while Princeton looked strong taking the Mid-Atlantic Regional. Individually, Texas Tech's Sally Kipyego enters the NCAA Championships as one of the only undefeated runners in the NCAA. Kipyego -- a sophomore transfer from South Plains, where she won last fall's NJCAA cross country title -- has dominated all five races she has entered this season, including record performances at both the Chili Pepper Festival and the Big 12 Championships. Kipyego's top challenger is expected to be NC State's Julia Lucas, who has won the Pre-Nationals White Race (with the fastest time of the day), the ACC Championship, and the Southeast Regional title. Wake Forest's Michelle Sikes won the Pre-Nationals Blue Race and then claimed runner-up honors to Lucas at both the ACC and Southeast Regional meets. Pac-10 and West Regional champion Ari Lambie (Stanford) is the top returnee from the 2005 NCAA Championships where she finished eighth. Earlier this fall, Lambie finished second to Sikes in the Pre-Nationals Blue Race. Mid-Atlantic Regional winner Francis Koon (Villanova) claimed runner-up honors behind Lucas in the Pre-Nationals White race before winning the Big East championship and her regional. NCAA Steeplechase champion Jenny Barringer claimed third in the Pre-Nationals White Race behind Lucas and Coon, then went on to place second to Kipyego at both the Big 12 and Mountain Regional races. BYU's Kassi Anderson, a former NCAA steeplechase champion, won the Bill Dellinger Invitational and the Mountain West Conference, and also claimed a pair of thirds at the Pre-National Blue Race (behind Sikes and Lambie) and at the Mountain Regional (behind Kipyego and Barringer). Michigan's Erin Webster won the Sundodger and Notre Dame Invitationals as well as the Big Ten title, but struggled at the Great Lakes Regional. In her absence, teammate Nicole Edwards stepped up for the regional win. Iowa's Diane Nukuri, the Midwest Regional champ, is another former NJCAA champion who has recorded fast times this year, including a blazing 16:10 over a 5K course at Auburn. However Nukuri struggled at Pre-Nationals and Big 10s before rebounding for the regional win. Southern Medthodist's Rachel Forest won the South Central title, while Florida State's Susan Kuijken took the South Regional and Iona's Salome Kosgei took the Northeast Regional. # # # |