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Saturday, November 13th, 2004 Men's Race at 11:00 a.m. ST. LAWRENCE HOSTS The best NCAA Division III cross country runners from the states of New York and New Jersey will converge on Canton this weekend with an eye on capturing either a team or individual spot in the 2004 NCAA Division III National Championship race as St. Lawrence University hosts the 2004 NCAA Division III Atlantic Cross Country Regional Championship. Three teams and five individual runners who are not members of the qualifying teams will advance from among 32 men’s teams and two individual competitors in the 8 kilometer men’s championship race which will start at 11 a.m. and two teams and seven individuals will qualify from among 28 women’s teams and 15 individual competitors in the 6 kilometer women’s championship race which will start at noon. A total of 557 athletes will compete in the event with the qualifiers advancing to the NCAA Division III Championship meet Nov. 20 at Eau Claire, WI. The College of New Jersey and Geneseo are among the pre-meet favorites to nail down qualifying spots in both the men’s and women’s races. TCNJ has a slight lead on Geneseo in the region’s men’s poll while Geneseo is slightly ahead of TCNJ in the women’s poll. Other teams to watch in the men’s competition include New York University, RIT, Cortland, Brockport and the host Saints, who will try to qualify on their home course against a tough field. Saint junior Jon French, who has run in two straight NCAA championships, once as part of a team and once as an individual, will be out to earn his third consecutive individual qualification. The Saint women, coming off their best-ever performance in the New York State Collegiate Track Conference cross country championship last weekend where they were second, will also be a contender for team qualification against tough competition. The Saints were third in the region behind Geneseo and TCNJ and will need to bump one of the favorites out to gain the team qualification. Saint senior Tora Olafsen, who was second in the NYSCTC championship and has six top three finishes in seven races this season, will lead the Saint women into this weekend’s meet. |