Oct. 18, 2003

WATERLOO, Iowa - The Terps faced their toughest competition yet at the 2003 NCAA Pre-Nationals in Waterloo, Iowa. Allison Carney (Las Vegas, Nev.) finished in the top 50 in the Gold Race to guide the Terps to a 29th-place finish. The ACC Performer of the Week finished at No. 34, with a time of 21:57, in the field of 222 runners. The men's team finished the Purple Race in 30th place, with junior Adam Ambrus (Shamong, N.J.) leading the way for the Terps. Ambrus knocked out the 8,000-meter race in 24:43 to finish in 77th place.

Men and women were divided alphabetically into two groups, purple and gold, with roughly 32 teams and 220 runners in each.

The annual meet is continually the largest Division I cross country competition in the country and this year was no exception. No. 1 Stanford swept the men's and women's team titles in their respective races. To further illustrate the caliber of the teams: on the men's side, 18 of the nation's top 25 teams participated, including ACC foes Virginia and NC State, who are currently ranked No. 16 and 21, respectively. The women faced an equally tough field with 14 of the top 25 teams, including conference rivals NC State, Virginia and Wake Forest. NC State and Wake Forest are currently at No. 6 and 15 in the country.

The Pre-National meet serves as a testing ground for the NCAA Championships, which will also be held at the Irv Warren Memorial Golf Course in Waterloo, Iowa. Automatic bids are given to the top two teams in each of the nine regions. From there, 13 at-large teams will be invited, as well as 38 individual runners. Pre-Nationals gives officials the chance to study the potential field.

Women's Individual Results

     Finish    Runner                 Time 
1       34    Allison Carney         21:17
2      123    Kim Smith              22:33
3      151    Danielle Siebert       22:59
4      178    Courtney Fiorovanti    23:24
5      190    Becca Funk             23:38
6     (201)   Cori Koch              23:59
7     (216)   Laurel Jefferson       24:55

Men's Individual Results

     Finish    Runner                 Time 
1       77    Adam Ambrus            24:43
2      129    Peter Hess             25:14
3      185    Mike Fleg              25:48
4      196    Michael Porter         26:00
5      212    Florent Groberg        26:26
6     (216)   Mike Prada             26:36
7     (220)   Natty Zola             26:43

For complete individual and team results, please visit Northern Iowa's Athletic Site.