Oct. 26, 2006

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton men's and women's cross country teams are set to compete in the 2006 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday.

The 29th annual Men's Cross Country Championship will begin at 10:45am on an 8,000-meter course. UD's own Mike Andersen, who garnered Most Outstanding Rookie honors at last year's Championship after finishing ninth overall will look to edge out top competitors to take home first place honors. The Michigan native has led the Flyers in each race this year. Andersen has also captured A-10 Performer of the Week honors three times for his performances at the Flyer 5K, the National Catholic Invite and the Spiked Shoe Invitational. He has broken UD's 8K record time twice this season, recording his best time at the Spiked Shoe Invite where he crossed the 8K split in a time of 24:45. The sophomore runner has finished fourth or better overall in every meet this year, including two first and two second place finishes.

Consistent senior Eric Contreras, who is coming off his best race of the year at the Falcon Invite (26:12), will look to place second for the Flyers for the sixth time this year.

Other Flyers to make an impact on scoring include junior Daniel Sammons who has improved his time in each race this season. Joining Sammons will be sophomores Tommy Middleton and Matt and Mike Peters, all of which have scored for the Flyers this year. In addition, Michael Connolly, Brian Gilchrist, Derek Henderson, Tony Holtvoigt, Tim Kaelin, and Robby Strock will also be among the 12 Flyers to race on Saturday.

"For being in the championship part of the season, I'm happy to say our team is very healthy and running very strong as a pack," said head men's cross country coach Rich Davis.

The 18th annual Women's Cross Country Championship will begin at 10:00am and will be contested on a five-kilometer course. Looking to lead the women will be underclassmen Kristin Terry and Alex Miles. Terry, who recorded her best time of the season at the Falcon Invite (19:17), has finished in the top two spots in four meets this season. Freshman Alex Miles, who has led the Flyers in two meets this year and earned A-10 Rookie of the Week honors for her performance at the All-Ohio Championship race, will also look to lead her teammates to a strong finish.

Ellen Nienhaus, who has scored in every meet this year for the Flyers will look to edge out conference competitors. Nienhaus is also coming off her strongest race of the season having recorded her season-best time at the Falcon Invite running in 19:31. The sophomore has placed third or better in every meet so far this year.

Also running well for the Flyers are Sydney Hubbard, who has score twice for the Flyers squad this year and last year's leader Amy Kempf. In addition, Jacqueline Jaworek, Bridget and Angela Conlon, Emily Haas, Kate Tejkl, Elizabeth Tucker and Anne Oltman are also among those Flyer runners to round out the field.

Head women's cross country coach Ann Alyanak feels good about the lady Flyers potential finish at the upcoming race, "There is a lot of excitement leading into the A-10 Championships for the team. I'm happy to say the squad has looked great in practice the last two weeks," she said.

After the Atlantic 10 Championships the men's and women's cross country teams will head to the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Bowling Green, Ohio.