Sept. 24, 2003

Chapel Hill, N.C. - The North Carolina men's and women's cross country teams will see action for the second time this season on Fri., Sept. 26, at the Nike Race of Champions, part of the annual Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, N.C. Shalane Flanagan, competing in her first race of the season, will defend her title as the 2002 Great American individual champion of the women's race.

The women's cross country team, ranked 11th nationally heading into the season, moved up to a 9th place ranking after last week's UNC Challenge Meet. The women's team will compete against 10 other nationally ranked teams out of the 19 participating in the Great American, including top-ranked Brigham Young (BYU). BYU is currently on a two-time winning streak at the Great American.

The men's team, running against 21 other teams, will likewise face tough competition with three of its competitors ranked among the nation's top 10 cross country teams. Northern Arizona will return to defend its 2002 Great American title.

The Tar Heels will especially focus on the other competing ACC teams during the meet. On the women's side, three of the four other ACC teams are ranked: NC State (14th), Duke (16th) and Virginia (28th). On the men's side, NC State is ranked 14th and Duke is ranked 27th.

Despite the tough competition, North Carolina hopes to fare well in its first shot to earn at-large points that will contribute to a bid for the national tournament at the end of the season.

"This should be a good test for us and show us what we can do," said Head Coach Michael Whittlesey. "It should be a good preview of the ACC Championship as well."

The Tar Heels competed for the first time last Saturday at the UNC Challenge Meet, winning both the men's and women's races. Junior Brian McGovern led the men's competition with a time of 25:40.63. Junior Erin Donohue and sophomore Carol Henry led the women's race as a pair, with Donohue crossing the line two-hundredths of a second before Henry.

Saturday's performance gave Coach Whittlesey high hopes for the Great American race as well as for the rest of the season.

"I was very pleased with how we ran as a team, and the freshmen did a great job," he said. "If we stay focused as a team and committed to our team strategies, we should do very well."

North Carolina will compete in the Nike Race of Champions, one of four collegiate-level races on Friday. The women's race will begin at 4:15 p.m. with the men following at 4:40 p.m. The festival will be held at the S.A.S. Soccer Park cross country course in Cary.