Oct. 23, 2007

• 2007 ACC Cross Country Championship

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Atlantic Coast Conference kicks off the 2007 Fall Championship schedule on Saturday, October 27 with the Men's and Women's Cross Country Championship held at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Va. The University of Virginia will host this year's competition which starts with the men's 8K race at 10:00 am followed by women's 6K race at 11:00 am.

A year ago, NC State made a clean sweep pocketing league titles in both the men's and women's competition. In the men's championship, the Wolfpack placed all five of its runners in the top ten and out-distanced runner-up Florida State by 48 points en route to claiming its 10th league title in 12 years and 14th overall. On the women's side, NC State, behind individual champion Julia Lucas, totaled 59 points and captured its first ACC title since 2001 and 20th overall. Two-time defending ACC Champion Duke finished in second place with 88 points.

The 2007 men's competition will feature two teams that are currently ranked in the top 30 of the USTFCCCA poll. NC State enters the championship as the highest ranked ACC team at No. 7 nationally. The Wolfpack are coming off a third-place finish in the white division of the NCAA Pre-National Meet two weeks ago. Virginia is 11th nationally and had a fourth-place finish in the blue division of the NCAA Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Ind.

Led by Virginia's Jan Foerster and NC State's Wesley Smith, nine All-ACC honorees from last year return to compete at Panorama Farms this year. A year ago, Foerster finished third in the 8K race with a time of 24:01.0 while Smith was fourth at 24:03.3.

The women's race will feature four schools ranked in the top 30 of the USTFCCCA poll. Florida State, led by sophomore Susan Kuijken, enters the championship as the highest ranked ACC team at No. 3 nationally. The Seminoles are coming off a second-place finish in the Blue Division at the NCAA Pre-National Meet. Florida State is followed by NC State 23rd, Virginia Tech 25th and Boston College 28th.

Led by Kuijken, who is undefeated this season with three first-place victories and owns the ACC's top times in both the 6K (19:56) and 5K (16:32), is one of nine All-ACC honorees from a year ago returning to compete in 2007. NC State sophomore Bona Jones, with a fourth-place finish in 2006 is the league's top returning finisher from a year ago.