Nov. 12, 2004

Winston-Salem, N.C. - East Carolina will host the NCAA Cross Country Southeast Regional Championships at Lake Kristi on Saturday. The women's 6K race will begin at approximately 11 a.m., followed by the men's 10K race at 12:15 p.m. Teams from across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia will each compete with the hopes of advancing to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.

The regional, which has produced the NCAA women's individual champion each of the past two seasons, features some of the nation's top teams, including four Top 25 ranked women's teams: No. 5 Duke, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 10 NC State and No. 21 Wake Forest. The top two teams will automatically advance to the NCAA National Championships to be held on the campus of Indiana State University on Monday, Nov. 22.

"We're excited about this weekend," said Deacon head coach Annie Bennett. "On the women's side, Anna Sherman will get back in the line up and add some much needed depth this weekend. For the men, we've really challenged them to come out and execute and to try to get a few individuals to qualify for the national meet."

North Carolina is the defending women's champion and has the potential to repeat, however ACC champion Duke could dethrone the Tar Heels. Both teams will face stiff competition from fellow league members NC State and Wake Forest. The Blue Devils are led by ACC Individual Champion Sally Meyerhoff. NC State, ranked 11th in the latest polls, will look to repeat as men's regional champion and advance to the NCAA Championships for a 10th consecutive season. Colonial Athletic Association champion William & Mary is the only other men's team in the regional to be ranked. The Tribe is No. 30 in the latest rankings.

Consider to be one of the strongest regions in the nation, it features eight individual and team conference champions from nine conferences throughout the southeast.

Individually, the top four runners in each race that are not members of the top two-placing teams will advance to the national finals.