March 21, 2004

North Carolina senior Shalane Flanagan led Team USA to a seventh place finish at the IAFF World Cross Country Championships in Brussels, Belgium, Sunday by finishing 14th with a time of 13:34. Flanagan finished 27 seconds behind the winner from Kenya, Masai Edith.

A two-time NCAA Champion and two-time Honda Award winner, Flanagan won a national title at the USA Cross Country Championships on Feb. 8 in Indianapolis, Ind., with a time of 12:26 to qualify for the world championships.

Flanagan is redshirting the indoor and outdoor collegiate track seasons in order to focus on qualifying for the 2004 USA Olympic Trials, held July 9-18.