Nov. 13, 2001

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College men's and women's cross country teams will run in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship on Monday, November 19 at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. The men's 10,000-meter race will begin at 11:30 a.m. EST followed by the women's 6,000-meter race at 12:15 p.m.

The men's team, which is ranked ninth in the nation, qualified for the NCAA Championship by winning the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship on November 10 at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass. The Friars were led by senior Hamish Thorpe (Auckland, New Zealand) who finished second in a time of 29:45. Thorpe and the Friars have won four of the six races the team has competed in this season, including the NCAA Northeast Regional, New England Championship, Boston College Invitational and the University of New Hampshire Invitational. PC will be making its seventh-consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championship. In 2000, the Friars finished third at the NCAA Championship as Keith Kelly captured the programs' first-ever cross-country individual championship.

The women's team, which is ranked 11th in the country, qualified for the NCAA Championship with a second-place finish at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship on November 10 at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass. The top-two teams at the regionals earn and automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championship on November 19. Boston College earned the other automatic invitation as the winner of the Northeast Regional. The Friars were led by senior Claire Shearman (Portsmouth, N.H.) who finished seventh in a time of 21:03. The Providence women will be making their 13th-consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championship. Last year PC finished ninth, which marked the 11th time in the last 12 years that the Friars finished in the top 10 at the NCAA's. In 1995, the women's team captured the NCAA Championship at Ames, Iowa.