Oct. 24, 2007

Chapel Hill, N.C. - The North Carolina cross country teams are wrapping up their preparations for the Atlantic Coast Championship meet on Saturday, Oct. 27 in Charlottesville, Va. The women's team is coming off a 12th place showing at the NCAA Pre-Nationals two weeks ago as Brie Felnagle finished second overall breaking the course record in the process. The men had a fourth place finish at the Blue Ridge Open as Zack Dawson ran an impressive race to finish 16th for the Tar Heels. The men finished eighth and the women took home sixth a year ago.

Brie Felnagle has been the top Tar Heel runner in the pair of races that she has run during the 2007 season finishing fourth overall at the Notre Dame Invite and 2nd at the NCAA Pre-Nationals with a time of 19:57 at the 6K event. Felnagle earned co-ACC Performer of the Week honors for her efforts in Terra Haute, Ind. Megan Kaltenbach also was named the ACC Performer of the Week after her first race of the season at the Mountaineer Open when she took home first place.

Addie Bracy has been a consistent third place runner since the return of Felnagle and Kaltenbach and will provide a solid runner for the Tar Heels in Charlottesville. Morgan Stengel, Courtlin LaReau and Lauren Holesh will all look to close out the scoring for Carolina at the ACC Championships.

On the men's side Alex Ray has finished in the top spot for the Tar Heels all season long and will look to improve on his 28th place finish in 2006. Ray took home 12th at his latest race, the Blue Ridge Open, as he ran the 8K course in 25:02. Not far behind Ray was Zack Dawson who ran his second solid race of the season in Boone, N.C. after he finished fourth in the Mountaineer Open and 16th at the Blue Ridge Open.

Head Coach Michael Whittlesey will also look to Brock Baker, Ian Bracy, Nick Hutchins and Tristram Thomas to take one of the top five spots on the team. Several different runners have battled through injuries this season and are starting to get back on track at the perfect time heading into the ACC Championships this weekend.

The University of Virginia will serve as host for the ACC Championships as the teams will run at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Va. The men's 8K race will begin at 10 a.m. followed by the women's 6K race at 11 a.m.