Feb. 12, 2007

BOULDER, COLO. --- Coming on the heels of her American record-setting performance in the 3,000 meters in Boston just a few weeks ago, former Tar Heel Shalane Flanagan continued her remarkable run of recent success with a runner-up finish at the USA Cross Country Championships in Boulder, Colo., this weekend. A two-time USA 4K Cross Country champion, Flanagan's 27:48 time on the 8K course put her in second place behind Deena Kastor and qualified her the Team USA squad that will compete at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, to be held in Mombasa, Kenya on March 24.

Kastor and Flanagan, who won back-to-back NCAA cross country titles while at UNC, separated themselves from the field immediately but Kastor was on her own for the majority of the race after dispatching Flanagan at the first kilometer mark. Kara Goucher rounded out the top three in 28:01. The rest of the qualifiers for the women's Team USA Cross Country squad were Lauren Fleshman (Palo Alto, Calif.), Renee Metivier (Boulder, Colo.) and Elva Dryer (Gunnison, Colo.).