Aug. 30, 1999

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's cross country team, under the direction of first-year head coach Annie Bennett, opens the 1999 season this Saturday at the Appalachian State Invitational in Blowing Rock, N.C.

The Demon Deacons return five of their top eight runners from a year ago when they placed 15th at the NCAA Championships and were ranked as high as 6th nationally. The Deacs will attempt to capture their first ACC title in women's cross country this fall.

The list of returnees is headlined by senior Janelle Kraus, one of the most decorated harriers in Wake Forest history. The two-time defending ACC Champion, Kraus has won a school-record 10 individual titles in her outstanding career. Other top returnees are seniors Jill Snyder and Alison Anibaldi, and juniors Kelly Brady and Kathleen Kuhnert.

WAKE FOREST WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY QUICK FACTS

Head Coach: Annie Bennett
Year: 1st season
Assistant: Jennifer Rioux Straub
'98 SE Regional Finish: 2nd
1998 NCAA Finish: 15th
Highest 1998 Rank: 6th
Final 1998 Rank: 12th

DEMON DEACONS PLACE 15th AT 1998 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Wake Forest women's cross country team placed 15th at the 1998 NCAA Championships in Lawrence, KS. The Demon Deacons scored 388 points in the meet en route to their third best finish in school history.

Villanova claimed the National Championship with 106 points in the meet, while BYU and Stanford rounded out the top three.

Wake Forest was the top ACC school at the meet, placing ahead of North Carolina (18th) and NC State (19th) -- the two schools that finished ahead of the Deacs at the ACC Championships.

Senior Janelle Kraus led the Deacs to the finish line with a 52nd place run after clearing the 5,000 meter course in a time of 17:52.12 while the departed Amy Wallace placed right behind Kraus in 53rd with a time of 17:52.56.

KRAUS LIGHTS IT UP
For senior Janelle Kraus, the success on the cross country course just keeps on coming.

As a sophomore in 1997, Kraus captured four individual titles, including the ACC Championship, en route to earning All-America honors.

In 1998, Kraus picked up where she left off by capturing her second consecutive ACC Championship as well as individual titles in each of the first four meets of 1998. Most recently she won the title at the NCAA Southeast Regional. Kraus now owns 10 individual titles in her outstanding career - a school record - including six wins this season.

She hopes to duplicate her success from the previous two seasons during the upcoming 1999 campaign.

Janelle Kraus in 1998

Meet                     Place  Time
Appalachian State        1st    17:44
Lou Onesty Invitational  1st    17:34
Iona Meet of Champions   1st    17:35
Wake Forest Invitational 1st    17:02
Wolverine Interregional  2nd    17:42
ACC Championships        1st    17:06
NCAA Southeast Regional  1st    17:04
NCAA Championships       52nd   17:52

DEACONS WIN FOUR TEAM TITLES IN '98
Wake Forest enjoyed one of the top seasons in school history during 1998 with a 15th place finish at the NCAA Championships. Lost in that, however, is four team titles won in each of the Deacs' first four meets of the season (Appalachian State, Lou Onesty, Iona and Wake Forest).

DEACS EARN ACC AND REGIONAL AWARDS IN '98
With her first-place runs at the ACC Championships, senior Janelle Kraus earned All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season.

By placing in the Top 25 at the NCAA Southeast Region Championships, Kraus, senior Jill Snyder and the departed Amy Wallace and Becky Pollock each earned All-Region honors.

KRAUS EARNS ACC WEEKLY HONORS THREE TIMES IN '98
Senior Janelle Kraus is certainly one of the top runners in the Atlantic Coast Conference. And in 1998, she put up the results to prove it, earning the ACC's Performer of the Week award on three occasions this season. The award is nothing new to Kraus, however. She captured the honor a league-high four times in 1997.

DEACS RANKED NATIONALLY
Coming off a strong finish in 1998, the Wake Forest women's cross country was ranked 12th in the Women's Cross Country Coaches Association final 1998 poll. Earlier in the 1998 season the Deacons were ranked as high as No. 6 in the national poll. That ranking ties the highest mark in school history as Wake Forest also earned a No. 6 rank in 1989.

The pre-season 1999 poll has yet to be released.

1999 SCHEDULE & RESULTS

SEPTEMBER
5    Sat.   App. State Invitational (Blowing Rock, NC)

18   Sat.   Pre ACC Meet (Chapel Hill, NC)

25   Sat.   Greensboro Invitational (Greensboro, NC)

OCTOBER
9    Sat.   Lehigh Invitational (Bethlehem, PA)

16   Sat.   Pre NCAA Meet (Bloomington, IN)
     
NOVEMBER
1    Mon.   ACC Championships (Chapel Hill, NC)

13   Sat.   NCAA Regionals (Greenville, SC)

22   Mon.   NCAA Championships (Bloomington, IN)