Sept. 4, 1997

    PC Women's Cross Country Ranked Fourth Nationally

    PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Providence College women's cross country squad is ranked No. 4 in the country, according to the Preseason NCAA Women's Cross Country Poll released on Tuesday, September 2. The Friars, who finished seventh at the 1996 NCAA Championship, received 191 points in Tuesday's poll.

    Last season, the Friars won their second consecutive BIG EAST Cross Country Championship and their sixth New England title.

    In 1997, the Friars will be led by senior Maria McCambridge of Dublin, Ireland. McCambridge, who finished 14th at the 1996 NCAA Championship (18:06), is one of the top runners in the BIG EAST. In addition to her excellent finish at the NCAA Championship in 1996, McCambridge won the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational (Minneapolis, Minn.) in a course record time of 16:35 and captured the URI Invitational (17:10). She earned All-America honors in cross country in 1995 and 1996.

    Also returning from last year's NCAA squad will be sophomore Dana Ostrander of Ballston Lake, N.Y. and juniors Sarah Dupre of Kingston, Ontario and Gladys Ganiel of Harrington, Maine.

    Although the team lost three-time Cross Country All-American Marie McMahon, Head Coach Ray Treacy has brought in a strong freshman class to fill the void. Highly recruited freshmen Rachel Hixson of Media, Pa., Stephanie O'Reilly of Wicklow, Ireland, Katy Radkewich of Hudson, Ohio and Cory Roos of Manlius, N.Y. will add depth to the strong squad.

    The Friars will open their season on Saturday, September 6 at the Central Connecticut Invitational in New Britain, Conn.

    NCAA Women's Cross Country Poll 

         SCHOOL              POINTS
 1.  Stanford (7)           224
 2.  Brigham Young (1)      208
 3.  Villanova              205
 4.  PROVIDENCE             191
 5.  Colorado               186
 6.  Wisconsin              167
 7.  Arizona                160
 8.  Georgetown             156
 9.  North Carolina State   148
10. Northern Arizona        145
11. Arkansas                131
12. Dartmouth               128
13. Oregon                  104
14. Michigan                100
15. William & Mary           93
16. Penn State               88
17. Florida                  78
18. Boston College           71
19. Weber State              70
20. Nebraska                 59
21. Washington               46
22. Colorado State           43
23. Georgia                  28
24. North Carolina           27
25. Iowa State               18
( ) - first-place votes
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