Sept. 28, 2004

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Providence College women's cross country team, coming off its impressive victory at the Roy Griak Invitational on September 25, held the No. 2 ranking in the FinishLynx Division I Women's Cross Country National Poll, which was released on Tuesday, September 28. Providence received 379 points and two first-place votes.

Stanford (386 points, 10 first-place votes), which won the Stanford Invitational on September 26, remained at the No. 1 spot for the third consecutive week. Brigham Young (366 points, one first-place vote), Notre Dame (351 points) and North Carolina State (332 points) are ranked third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

The first-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational was PC's fourth overall Roy Griak crown and its first since 1998. Senior All-American Kim Smith (Auckland, New Zealand) captured the individual title for the second consecutive season as she set a course record (20:10) and became only the second repeat champion in the 19-year event. Providence had three runners finish among the top seven. Senior All-American Mary Cullen (Sligo, Ireland) crossed the finish line in fourth-place in time of 20:48, while junior Fiona Crombie (Christchurch, New Zealand) took seventh-place in a time of 21:12. Seniors Deirdre Byrne (Wicklow, Ireland) and Katie Twarog (Albany, N.Y.) rounded out the list of scorers. Byrne placed 19th (21:49), while Twarog place 27th (21:59).

Providence now has won three consecutive meets to begin the season. The Friars will not return to action until October 16 when they will compete at the Penn State Invitational, an event that they have captured the past two seasons. The race will begin at 10:00 a.m.

FinishLynx NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S NCAA CROSS COUNTRY POLL
September 28, 2004
Rank    Team (First place votes)        Points
1       Stanford (10)                   386
2       PROVIDENCE (2)                  379
3       Brigham Young (1)               366
4       Notre Dame                      351
5       North Carolina State            332
6       Michigan                        317
7       Colorado                        311
8       Arizona State                   296
9       North Carolina                  265
10      Tennessee                       255
11      Villanova                       242
12      UCLA                            234
13      Wake Forest                     232
14      UC Santa Barbara                228
15      Columbia                        206
16      Southern Methodist              202
17      Baylor                          178
18      Duke                            155
19      Arkansas                        148
20      Butler                          143
21      West Virginia                   115
22      Michigan State                  83
23      Missouri                        81
24      William & Mary                  77
25      Idaho                           76
26      Georgetown                      70
27      Oklahoma                        63
28      Texas Tech                      57
29      Marquette                       52
30      Boston College                  36

Other Teams Also Receiving Votes: Penn State 26, Oklahoma State 21, Washington 15, Colorado State 13, Cornell 9, Georgia 8, Virgina 7, Northern Arizona 3, Princeton 3, Buffalo 2, Purdue 2, Indiana 1.