March 13, 2002

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Eleven cross-country runners who have competed or still compete for the Providence College men's and women's cross country teams will run at the World Cross Country Championships. The championships are scheduled for March 23-24 in Dublin, Ireland. Among the past and present Providence College runners are five women and six men.

On the men's side, Hamish Thorpe (Auckland, New Zealand), and Paul Reilly (Loughrea, Ireland), who currently compete for Providence, will represent New Zealand and Ireland, respectively, at the championships in the men's four-kilometer race. Joining Thorpe and Reilly in the 4K are former PC athletes, Paul McNamara (Galway, Ireland) and Ben Noad (Bristol, England). While at Providence, Noad earned All-America honors in cross country in 1999. McNamara will represent Ireland, and Noad will run for Great Britain.

Freshman Dylan Wykes (Kingston, Ontario) will represent Canada in the Junior World Cross Country Championships as an under-20 participant in the eight-kilometer race. Mark Carroll (Cork, Ireland), a 2000 Olympian in the 5,000 meters and two-time All-America selection in cross country at Providence, will compete in the 12-kilometer race for Ireland. Carroll also was a BIG EAST Champion in cross country in 1993.

On the women's side, four former Friars who are considered the top female runners to go through the Providence College cross country program, will take to the eight-kilometer course. Marie McMahon (Ennistymon, Ireland), who was a three-time All-American and two-time BIG EAST Champion in cross country, and Geraldine Hendricken (Carlow, Ireland), who earned cross country All-America honors twice, will represent Ireland. Representing the United States at the championship will be Amy Rudolph (Kane, Pa.). Rudolph earned All-America honors twice in the sport and was crowned BIG EAST Champion in 1994. Sarah Dupre (Kingston, Ontario), a 1998 All-American and 1999 BIG EAST Champion, will represent Canada. In the four-kilometer race, Maria McCambridge (Dublin, Ireland) will represent Ireland. McCambridge was a two-time All-America seletion at Providence.