Oct. 5, 2002

Terra Haute, Ind. - Continuing a season of great improvement, the Maryland men's and women's cross country teams kept the momentum rolling with strong team performances against some of the nation's best at Saturday's Indiana State Invitational in Terra Haute, Ind.

The women's team placed seventh out of the 20 teams competing with 220 total points. Arkansas claimed the overall team victory with 45 points, besting second-place Michigan by 29 points. Especially notable for the Terps was their victory over several ranked teams, including Navy, who was ranked seventh in the Mid-Atlantic Region and narrowly won the Navy Invitational over Maryland by two points earlier this season. The Terps also finished in front of Army, Nebraska and host team Indiana State.

"This was probably the biggest performance we have done in years with the cross country program," said a very pleased Terp head coach Trent Sanderson. "I know a lot of people probably thought we did not belong there."

Pacing the Terps was freshman Katie Purcell (Coraopolis, Pa.) who finished 21st overall with a new career-best time of 22:03.4. Purcell has posted the team's top time in each of her three meets this season.

Joining Purcell at the top of the Maryland leader board was freshman Cori Koch (Lutherville, Md.) who finished 39th with a time of 22:31.2 and freshman Allison Carney (Las Vegas, Nev.), who built off a strong performance at last week's Paul Short Invitational to finish 41st with a time of 22:39.1.

On the men's side, the team finished a respectable 11th out of the 20 teams competing with a total of 275 points. The top two spots were grabbed by Colorado State and Indiana, teams that were both ranked in the nation's top 20. Maryland was able to beat out several competitive programs, including host team Indiana State and St. Joseph's, who was ranked tenth in the Mid-Atlantic.

Leading the men were sophomores Adam Ambrus (Shamong, N.J.) and Mike Fleg (Clarksville, Md.) who finished 36th and 37th respectively. Ambrus' time of 25:27.8 marked the third time in the three meets he has competed in this season that he has posted the team's fastest time. Fleg trailed close behind Ambrus posting a time of 25:29.1.

The Terps will have a week off before hosting the Maryland Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 19. It will serve as the final tune-up for the teams before going to Atlanta, Ga. to race in the ACC Championships on Nov. 2.

Click here for complete results of the Indiana State Invitational