Nov. 18, 2003

Grand Valley State's men's and women's cross country teams will be competing at the NCAA DII National Championships again this Saturday in Cary, North Carolina. The women's race starts at 11:00 a.m. with the men to follow at noon. Two weeks ago both teams won the Great Lakes Regional Championship earning them the right to compete at Nationals.

The women will be comepeting at Nationals for the fourth time in five seasons. They are currently ranked #3 in the nation, which is where they finished at Nationals a season ago.

"We are excited to have an opportunity to challenge Adams State and Western State for the NCAA Championship," said head coach Jerry Baltes. "We feel good having raced the course earlier in the year, we will be ready physically and mentally."

Four out of the top five runners from last season will return this year. Natalie Ewing, Krista O'Dell, Kara Egan, and Jeannette Seckinger earned All-American honors last year and will all be returning to lead the Lakers at the championships again this year. Ewing was the individual winner at the Great Lakes Regional Championship with a time of 21:31.3 and was named the 2003 Great Lakes Regional Women's Runner of the Year.

"We return four All-Americans from last year's 3rd place yeam," said Baltes. "Their leadership and experience will help us out this weekend."

"If we race up to our potential we will have a chance to win a National Championship," Baltes added.

The men will be competing at Nationals for the second consecutive year. Last season, the men finished in ninth place, which marked the first time since 1983 the men had been to Nationals. They are currently ranked #6 in the nation.

"We will need to be ready to compete on a very tough course against some tough competition," said Baltes. "The experience we had earlier in the year will help prepare us for this weekend's race.

Last year, Mark Terpstra finished first for the Lakers and 42nd overall and Jeff Vyain placed right behind him in 43rd. Terpstra took third place at the Great Lakes Regional meet, while Vyain finished in fourth place overall. The two sophomores are the only returnees from last season's team.

"Our top two runners from the regional were our top two at the NCAA Championships last year, so we will look to them to set the tone for us this weekend," said Baltes.

Click on the link below for complete National Championship information, including results:
2003 National Championship Information/Results