Women's Cross Country Takes Second at NCAA Championship

LAWRENCE, Kansas - In one of the closest 1-2-3 finishes in NCAA Cross Country history, third-ranked Villanova snuck up on the defending national champion BYU women's cross country team to capture the national title 106-110, Monday in Kansas. The Cougars in turn edged out second-ranked Stanford, which finished in third place

with 111 points.

The team defeat is the first the Cougars have experienced since October 1997.

"There was only a four- or five-point difference between first, second and third place in today's race," said BYU head coach Patrick Shane. "And on any given day those placings could change. We ran well today, but somebody else just ran better. Villanova has the best team in the country right now."

BYU's Maggie Chan and Sharolyn Shields earned All-America honors, placing in 7th and 13th place

respectively.

"Maggie did exactly what we expected her to do today," Shane said. "And Sharolyn surprised us by

finishing in the top 15."

Now a four-time All-American, Chan finished the 5K course in a time of 17:14.12 and improved her finish from last year's race by six places. Shields, who finished 69th in the 1997 championships, ran the course in a time of 17:19.25 to win her first All-America citation.

Freshman Laura Heiner made her collegiate national debut by coming in third for the Cougars. She finished in 31st place with a time of 17:35.25. Junior Elizabeth Jackson finished close behind in 36th place in 17:40.26. Five-time All-American Courtney Meldrum rounded out the Cougar scoring by running the course in 17:51.01 to finish 48th.

Junior Kara Ormond and sophomore Tara Haynes also competed for BYU, finishing in 57th (17:55.71) and 77th (18:04.60) respectively.

The Cougars finish their season having won the NCAA District VII Championships, the WAC Championships, the BYU Autumn Classic, the Stanford Invitational, the Mountain West Classic and the Fresno Invitational.

Women

Team Results

1. Villanova 106

2. Brigham Young 110

3. Stanford 111

4. Georgetown 199

5. Wisconsin 233

6. Arkansas 311

7. Colorado 332

8. Baylor 351

9. Washington 363

10. William & Mary 374

11. Michigan 380

12. Oregon 384

13. Kansas State 385

14. Providence 386

15. Wake Forest 388

16. Arizona 397

17. Northern Arizona 423

18. North Carolina 424

19. North Carolina State 455

20. Oklahoma State 462

21. Missouri 493

22. Florida 531

23. Arizona State 534

Nebraska 534

25. Colorado State 535

26. Minnesota 559

27. South Florida 561

28. UCLA 574

29. Texas 584

30. Cornell 590

31. Tennessee 640

Individual Top 10

1. Katie McGregor, Michigan 16:47.21

2. Amy Skieresz, Arizona 16:53.52

3. Amy Yoder, Arkansas 17:03.05

4. Kristen Gordon, Georgetown 17:09.17

5. Sally Glynn, Stanford 17:09.47

6. Julia Stamps, Stanford 17:11.08

7. Maggie Chan, Brigham Young 17:14.12

8. Marie-Elena Calle, Virginia Comm. 17:14.67

9. Marie Davis, Oregon 17:16.06

10. Jessica Koch, Arkansas 17:16.42

BYU Finishes

7. Maggie Chan 7 17:14.12

13. Sharolyn Shields 12 17:19.25

31. Laura Heiner 25 17:14.12

36. Elizabeth Jackson 28 17:40.26

48. Courtney Meldrum 38 17:51.01

57. Kara Ormond (44) 17:55.71

77. Tara Haynes (58) 18:04.60