Nov. 15, 2004

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Providence College women's cross country team, which won the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship on Saturday, November 13, is ranked No. 2 in the latest FinishLynx Division I National Poll, which was released on Monday, November 15.

The Friars, who have been ranked second all season long behind top-ranked Stanford, recorded 54 points to capture their fourth overall NCAA Northeast Regional title and their second consecutive crown. Senior All-American Kim Smith (Auckland, New Zealand) ran the 6K course at Van Cortlandt Park in a time of 20:08 to win the event for the second consecutive season. Smith was followed by junior Fiona Crombie (Christchurch, New Zealand), who finished second in a time of 20:29. Seniors Mary Cullen of Sligo Ireland (11th - 21:12) and Deirdre Byrne of Wicklow, Ireland (19th - 21:35) as well as junior Jane Nalder of Wellington, New Zealand (21st - 21:41) also scored for the Friars.

With the first-place finish, the Friars qualified for the NCAA's for the 16th consecutive season. Providence will compete at the NCAA's on Monday, November 22 in Terre Haute, Ind.

FinishLynx NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S NCAA CROSS COUNTRY POLL
November 15, 2004
Rank    Team (First place votes)        Points
1       Stanford (13)                   390
2       PROVIDENCE                      371
3       Colorado                        364
4       Michigan                        352
5       Duke                            336
6       Notre Dame                      318
7       Arizona State                   315
8       North Carolina State            294
9       Missouri                        270
10      North Carolina                  253
11      Brigham Young                   250
12      Southern Methodist              237
13      Michigan State                  233
14      Tennessee                       217
15      West Virginia                   211
16      Columbia                        185
17      UC Santa Barbara                178
18      Villanova                       172
19      Arkansas                        168
20      Georgia                         150
21      Illinois                        145
22      Princeton                       105
23      Wake Forest                     99
24      Indiana                         84
25      Idaho                           75
26      Colorado State                  64
27      Oklahoma State                  48
28      Baylor                          44
29      Georgetown                      29
30      Washington                      21

Other Teams Also Receiving Votes: Marquette 17, Yale 17, Virginia 10, Utah State 9, Butler 5, William & Mary 3, Minnesota 2.