Frances Koons graduated from Allentown Central Catholic in 2004 as one of the most highly recruited athletes in the country
Duke senior cross-country athlete Michael Hatch, a 2001 graduate of JL Mann High School concluded his last season as a Blue Devil with a top three finish at the IC4A Cross Country Championships at Van Cortland Park in Bronx, NY Saturday.
Two graduates of Fairfax County schools, American University junior Keira Carlstrom (\'02 Oakton HS) and Brigham Young University senior Laurie Turner (\'98 Centreville HS) earned All-American honors once again at the NCAA Division I National Cross Country Championships. Carlstrom became a two-time All-American with a 17th place finish, while Heiner became only the second athlete in her school\'s history to become a four-time All-American honoree in cross country. Meanwhile, Yale sophomore Cara Kiernan (\'03 The Potomac School) and Wake Forest sophomore Selina Sekulic (\'03 Ocean Lakes HS) received their first All-American honors with finishes of 33rd and 39th places respectively.
Freshman Christo Landry (Falls Church, VA) ran a spectacular race to earn All-America honors in his rookie season as 2004 CAA Champion William and Mary men\'s cross country competed this afternoon at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. For the second-straight season the Tribe suffered hardship at the NCAA Championship as four Tribe harriers succumbed to food poisoning before the meet, including 2004 CAA Champion Matt Keally and sophomore Keith Bechtol, each of whom have run in the No. 1 spot for the Tribe this year and could not start the race.
North Allegheny grad Stephanie Madia led the Notre Dame women to a 4th place finish with 140 points at the Division I NCAA Championships at Indiana State University Monday 11/22. The highest placed PA finisher was Nazareth Academy grad Maureen McCandless, who was 5th in 20:38 for the University of Pittsburgh.
James Madison junior Shannon Saunders (Forest, Va./Jefferson Forest) finished 58th in the NCAA National Women\'s Cross Country Championships Monday. Saunders, who completed the 6,000-meter race in 21 minutes, 29.3 seconds, had the third-best women\'s NCAA national finish in school history. Only Mollie DeFrancesco, who placed 30th in 2002, and Bethany Eigel, who finished 46th in 1996, turned in better finishes
Virginia cross country athletes Emily Harrison and Soeren Lindner both competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships today in rain-soaked Terre Haute, Indiana. The trip to the collegiate national championships was the first for both harriers. The Wabash Family Sports Center had been drenched with a couple days of rain, making for a sloppy, slow course. Harrison, running in her first year, took 109th in a time of 22:02 over the 6K, while Lindner, a second-year, ran 33:45 over 10K and finished 201st.
The state of Virginia will be represented well at the NCAA National Championships this upcoming weekend at the Division I and Division III level by many past great high school harriers. While the William & Mary men are the only in-state college program to have qualified to compete in the national championships, many individuals have qualified from schools in-state and out-of-state on an individual or team basis.