Nov. 24, 2003

WATERLOO, Iowa - NC State's men's and women's cross country squad achieved the goal of finishing in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships on Monday in Waterloo, Iowa. The men's squad, paced by All-American Chad Pearson, finished 10th overall with a score of 346. The women's team captured sixth-place honors by successfully packing its runners together. The team's first and fifth scorers were just 10.2 seconds a part, led by seniors Lucinda Hull and Renee Gunning. Both teams made their ninth consecutive appearances in the race.

The temperature at the time of the races was below freezing, at approximately 20 degrees with a wind chill near zero. Conditions were the coldest that any of the women's squad had experienced.

The men's race was dominated by Stanford. Its five scorers all placed in the top 10, giving the team a total score of 24 points. Stanford won by a 150-point margin over Wisconsin (174).

Pearson, who was also named an All-American in 2001, finished 28th overall and scored in 22nd with a time of 30:12.0. Freshman Bobby Mack had his best race of the season with a time of 30:26.8. He scored in 42nd.

Brothers Andy Smith and Wesley Smith were the Pack's third and fourth scorers, and Devin Swann finished as the team's fifth runner. Allen Bader finished 181st.

For the men, this is eighth top-10 finish since 1984, and third in the last five years.

The women's race was tight, with only eight points separating first-place Stanford (120) and runner-up Brigham Young University (128).

The women's team maintained a close pack throughout the race. Only 10.2 seconds separated the team's scorers. Hull and Gunning crossed the finish line together with times of 21:03.03 and 21:03.4. The pair were scored 49th and 50th, actually crossing as the number 67 and 68 runners. Julia Lucas was 57th, Kristina Roth 63rd and Kristin Price 71st. The race was the first for Price since the Great American Festival.

Josianne Lauber finished a half second behind Price and Amy Arnold was 142nd overall.

This is the women's 11th top-10 performance in the NCAA Championship. The team also has two national championships and a runner-up finish to its credit as a part of the AIAW.