October 11, 2001

Release: Upon Receipt

FIELDS SET FOR SATURDAY'S NCAA PRE-MEET RACES

GREENVILLE, South Carolina -- The fields for the four seeded NCAA Pre-Meet cross country races slated for Saturday at Furman have been set, and the competition will be fierce.

The women's Purple 6K race is slated for a 10:45 a.m. start and will feature 37 teams, 12 of whom are ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes in the latest NCAA Division I poll. Top-ranked Colorado will be the favorite in this race, but fourth-ranked Arizona State, eighth-ranked North Carolina, ninth-ranked Arizona and no. 11 Georgetown will be on hand trying to knock the Buffalos out of contention.

In the 11:20 women's Silver 6K, the favored team will be second-ranked Stanford, but a total of 38 teams, 15 that are ranked or receiving votes, will be on hand. Among these are the fourth-ranked Cougars of BYU, who won the National Championship at Furman in 1997. Other teams who will be in the hunt for the Silver Title include third-ranked North Carolina State, sixth-ranked Boston College, and 12th-ranked Colorado State.

The men's 8K competition begins at 11:55 with the Black division. The Black field is composed of 37 teams, 14 that are ranked or receiving votes. Number two Stanford will face eighth-ranked Northern Arizona, ninth-ranked N.C. State, and 11th-ranked Colorado State in this mid-season test. The Stanford men won the 1997 National Championship Title on the Furman course.

The final race of the NCAA Pre-Meet competition begins at 12:35, and has been labeled the Gold divison. This race touts top-ranked Colorado, the fifth-ranked Irish of Notre Dame, and no. 9 Villanova. In total, 37 teams, 12 of which are ranked or receiving votes, will compete.

The Furman Invitational men's 8K and women's 6K will follow these Pre-Meet races. These races will feature the 30 additional men's teams and 30 addition women's teams who registered for this weekend's competition, but were not accepted into the Pre-Meet races. In addition, overflow individuals from the Pre-Meet teams will be allowed to compete in the final two competitions.

A complete list of teams that were accepted into the NCAA Pre-Meet races follows.

Women's Purple Race

Air Force

Alabama

Arizona - 9

Arizona State - 4

Ball State

Boston U - 17

Butler

UCLA - 18

Coastal Carolina

Colorado - 1

Columbia - R.V.

Cornell - 20

Creighton

Duke - R.V.

Eastern Illinois

Georgetown - 11

Georgia

Georgia State

Georgia Tech

Indiana

Kent State

LaSalle

Liberty

Marshall

Michigan State - 13

Misissippi State

Missouri

New Mexico

North Carolina - 8

Northern Arizona - 21

Northwestern

Oregon

Princeton

South Florida

Texas

Virginia Tech

Youngstown State

Women's Silver Race

Baylor - 25

Boston College - 6

Brown

Bucknell

BYU - 4

UC-Santa Barbara

Colorado State - 12

Dartmouth - R.V.

Florida State - R.V.

Kentucky

Loyola (Chicago)

Marquette - 19

Miami (Ohio)

Minnesota - R.V.

Nebraska

North Carolina State - 3

Northern Iowa

Notre Dame - 24

Oakland (Mich.)

Pittsburgh

Portland

Richmond

Samford

South Alabama

St. Francis (Pa.)

Stanford - 2

Tennessee

Texas Tech

Toledo

Villanova - R.V.

Virginia - 15

Wake Forest

Washington - 16

Washington State

Weber State

West Virginia

Western Kentucky

Yale - 22

Men's Black Race

Alabama - 21

Ball State

Baylor

Belmont

Brown

Bucknell

Butler

BYU - 17

Coastal Carolina

Colorado State - 11

Dartmouth - R.V.

Eastern Illinois

Georgetown - 22

Georgia

Kent State

Marquette

Michigan State - 16

Minnesota - R.V.

Missouri

Nebraska - R.V.

New Mexico

North Carolina State - 9

UNC Charlotte

Northern Arizona - 8

Northern Iowa

Ohio State

Oregon - 18

Princeton - R.V.

Samford

South Florida

Stanford - 2

Tennessee

Texas Tech

Virginia

Washington - R.V.

Winthrop

Youngstown State

Men's Gold Race

Air Force - R.V.

Appalachian State

Arizona - 24

Arizona State - 15

UC-Santa Barbara

Central Michigan

Cincinnati

Clemson

Colorado - 1

Columbia

Cornell

Creighton

Duke - 13

Eastern Michigan - 19

Florida

Florida State - R.V.

Georgia Tech

Indiana - R.V.

Iowa

Kentucky

LaSalle

Liberty

Loyola

Marshall

Miami

North Carolina

UNC Asheville

Notre Dame - 5

Oakland

St. Francis (Pa.)

Texas

Villanova - 9

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest - 14

Washington State

Weber State - 20

Western Kentucky