Nov. 25, 2002
Complete Results
Terre Haute, Ind. - The Stanford men's cross country team finished its storybook season by winning its third NCAA Championship and first since 1997 on Monday at the Laverne Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. The Cardinal, ranked No. 1 for nearly the entire season, dominated the 10,000 meter race by placing four runners in the top 10 and cumulating only 47 points to finish 60 points ahead of second-place Wisconsin (107). The Stanford women's team finished second in the 6000 meter race with 113 points, 28 points behind defending national champion Brigham Young (85).
"This was a fantastic performance by our men's team," said Stanford director of Track And Field/Cross Country Vin Lananna. "This NCAA title brought our entire season into focus. We put all the individual stuff aside all year and ran as a team, just like we did today."
Grant Robison's third-place finish in a time of 29:36.7 led the Cardinal pack, the Cardinal's highest individual men's finisher since Gary Stolz placed second in 1992. Louis Luchini (5th, 29:41.0), Donald Sage (6th, 29:44.4) and Ian Dobson (9th, 29:47.2) also had top 10 showings. Adam Tenforde (29th, 30:25.2) completed the Cardinal scoring and Ryan Hall (37th, 30:31.0) joined the five scorers to give the Cardinal a total of six All-Americans. Peter Meindl (99th, 31:07.4) also competed for Stanford.
"I haven't seen a team dominate like this at this level in quite a while," said Lananna.
"We had high expectations going into the season, but this was amazing for us," added Robison. "Having such a strong team took a lot of individual pressure off me."
Alicia Craig (3rd, 19:48) and Lauren Fleshman (4th, 19:48.3) gave Stanford two of the top four runners in the women's race. Malindi Elmore finished 11th (20:01.8) to give the Cardinal three All-Americans. Sara Bei (57th, 20:54.2) and Erin Sullivan (79th, 21:06.0) completed Stanford's scoring. Anita Siraki (110th, 21:22.8) and Jeane Goff (128th, 21:30.1 also competed for the Cardinal.
"Our women's team also did an outstanding job and finished right were they were expected to," said Lananna.
"We ran with integrity and left it all out on the course," added Fleshman after her final collegiate cross country race. "We had a wonderful team dynamic this year. It's hard to explain how much I enjoyed this season."
"I'm so glad our men's team won," continued Fleshman. "They worked so hard and deserve this victory. I never doubted them."
Jorge Torres (Colorado) pulled away from a tight the men's pack to win the individual title in 29:04.7, while North Carolina's Shalane Flanagan captured the women's competition in 19:36.0.
COMPLETE TEAM RESULTS, TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS AND ALL STANFORD RUNNERS
WOMEN'S 6000 METERS
Complete Team Results - 1. Brigham Young 85; 2. Stanford 113; 3. Notre Dame 170; 4. Georgetown 214; 5. Colorado 220; 6. Providence 235; 7. Arkansas 251; 8. Villanova 256; 9. Wake Forest 328; 10. Northern Arizona 333; 11. Columbia 341; 12. Michigan State 365; 13. North Carolina State 404; 14. Indiana 423; 15. Michigan 430; 16. Missouri 437; 17. Duke 475; 18. Marquette 485; 19. Wisconsin 488; 20. Virginia 510; 21. North Carolina 517; 22. Texas 529; 23. William & Mary 549; 23. Arizona State 549; 25. UCLA 568; 25. Penn State 568; 27. Ball State 612; 28. Florida State 657; 28. Tennessee 657; 30. Northwestern 661; 31. Washington 699.
Top 10 Individuals - 1. Shalane Flanagan (North Carolina) 19:36.0; 2. Kate O'Neill (Yale) 19:45.9; 3. Alicia Craig (Stanford) 19:48.0; 4. Lauren Fleshman (Stanford) 19:48.3; 5. Michaela Manova 19:49.5; 6. Molly Huddle (Notre Dame) 19:55.7; 7. Kassie Anderson (Brigham Young) 19:56.1; 8. Ida Nilsson 19:57.7; 9. Megan Metcalfe (West Virginia) 20:01.0; 10. Sara Gorton (Colorado) 20:01.4.
Other Stanford Runners - 11. Malindi Elmore 20:01.8; 57. Sara Bei 20:54.2; 79. Erin Sullivan 21:06.0; 110. Anita Siraki 21:22.8; 128. Jeane Goff 21:30.1.
MEN'S 10000 METERS
Complete Team Results - 1. Stanford 47; 2. Wisconsin 107; 3. Eastern Michigan 165; 4. Colorado 190; 5. Oregon 210; 6. Arkansas 214; 7. Northern Arizona 247; 8. Michigan 309; 9. Central Michigan 337; 10. Iona 376; 11. Montana State 392; 12. Villanova 398; 13. Providence 406; 14. William & Mary 407; 15. Weber State 436; 16. Brigham Young 443; 17. Minnesota 449; 18. Georgetown 458; 19. Butler 496; 20. Ohio State 499; 21. Southern Methodist 526; 22. Notre Dame 527; 23. North Carolina State 552; 23. Texas 552; 25. Indiana 565; 26. Texas A&M 569; 27. Colorado State 592; 28. Alabama 598; 29. Iowa 617; 30. Michigan State 646; 31. Tennessee 647.
Top 10 Individuals - 1. Jorge Torres (Colorado) 29:04.7; 2. Alistair Craig (Arkansas) 29:06.0; 3. Grant Robison (Stanford) 29:36.7; 4. Mark Tucker (Butler) 29:37.5; 5. Louis Luchini (Stanford) 29:41.0; 6. Donald Sage (Stanford) 29:44.4; 7. Boaz Cheboiywo (Eastern Michigan) 29:46.3; 8. Tom McArdle (Dartmouth) 29:46.3; 9. Ian Dobson (Stanford) 29:47.2; 10. Edwardo Torres (Colorado) 29:47.7.
Other Stanford Runners - 29. Adam Tenforde 30:25.2; 37. Ryan Hall 30:31.0; 99. Peter Meindl 31:07.4.