Issued: November 13, 2003

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TO COMPETE IN MIDWEST REGIONAL

EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire women's cross country team will host 42 teams Saturday at the Division III Midwest Regional to be ran at Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax.

The race will include five of the top 25 and three of the top 10 teams in the latest Division III poll. The three teams in the top 10 all hail from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

UW-Stevens Point comes off their win in the WIAC championships ranked third in the nation. UW-Oshkosh comes in ranked sixth while last year's WIAC champion UW-La Crosse comes in ranked ninth. La Crosse finished sixth overall at last year's nationals. Washington University of Missouri and the University of Chicago are other top 25 teams competing.

Melissa Wright (Sr.-Appleton/Kimberly) and Sarah Kasabian (Sr.-East Peoria, IL) come into the event as the top Blugold runners. Wright took first among Blugold competitors in three events with a best time of 22:38 at the St. Olaf Invitational. Kasabian holds the top time in the 5k run for the Blugolds with a time of 19:02.

Other Blugold runners expected to compete are Jeanine Twomey (So.-Blaine, MN/Spring Lake Park), Korah Petrasko (Fr.-Appleton/East), Rachel Anderson (So.-St. Paul, MN/Harding) and Jenny Warmke (So.-Black River Falls).

Warmke took first among Blugold competitors at the Midwest Long Challenge with her time of 23:19.9 while Petrasko took first among Blugold runners in the 5k Big Dawg Invite held in Stevens Point earlier this year with her time of 19:36.82. Twomey brings a top time of 23:30 into the race while Anderson brings a 23:49 top time.

The top four women's teams will advance to the Division III Nationals competition held in Hanover, Ind. with the top seven women not on a qualifying team also advancing to nationals.

The race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.