Dec. 22, 2003

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Despite a number of hardships and setbacks, the University of Maryland men's cross country team put together its best season in recent years. The squad finished seventh at the ACC Championships - its highest team finish since 1991.

While the team was rising in the ranks, a number of single runners put forth extraordinary efforts to achieve personal bests and garner individual honors. Junior Adam Ambrus led the Terp men in four of eight races, finishing the year with All-East honors. Freshman Peter Hess emerged as one of the conferences top runners with a sixth-place finish at the ACC Championships to earn All-ACC and ACC Freshman of the Year accolades.

The year started off on a high note, as the Terps swept the individual and team honors at the Charlotte Cross Country Relays in Charlotte, N.C., on Aug. 30. The Terps' top two relay teams finished almost a minute before the rest of the competition and a Maryland pair placed sixth to easily give the Terrapins the title. Seniors Doug Allen and Mike Prada earned the No. 1 spot with a blazing time of 31:29 for the 5K race. Only six seconds behind were freshman Hess and junior Ambrus. Another pair would not cross the finish line until 32:28.

The Terps continued to stay close to the top at the Mount Invitational on Sept. 13 in Emmitsburg, Md. The men's team finished second in a closely-contested race for the finish with a score of 53, behind American (51). Freshman Michael Porter (26:09.29) led the way for the Terps, finishing third in a three-way sprint to the finish with George Washington's Dave Azari (26.05.60) and American's Pat Burford (26:08.11).

After three weeks of practice, the Terps returned to action in Bethlehem, Pa. The Paul Short Invitational on Oct. 4 was the site of Ambrus' first top finish of the year, as he led the Terps to a 14th-place finish out of 33 highly competitive teams. He finished with a time of 25:07.23 to take 24th place in a field of 233 runners. Also finishing in the top 100 in the 8K-race were Hess, who finished in 50th place and Porter, who came in at No. 83.

The next weekend, Oct. 11, the Terps played host for its sole home meet of the season at the Maryland Invitational. Hess was the top Maryland finisher, placing third in 24:45.6 in his collegiate debut. The Terps finished with 81 points, placing fourth behind American (31), Norfolk State (63) and Syracuse (66). Prada placed seventh overall in his final home appearance as a Terrapin, finishing in 25:12.0. Also for Maryland, Matt Sanders was 21st in 26:05.4, Matt Adami was 24th at 26:17.6, Natty Zola was 28th in 26:29.1 and Patrick Bailey was 33rd in 26:55.1.

The Terps faced their toughest competition of the year at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Oct. 18 in Waterloo, Iowa. The men's team finished the Purple Race in 30th place, with Ambrus leading the way for the Terps. He 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.

After two weeks off from competition, the Terps' quest for improvement culminated at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships on Nov. 1 in Winston-Salem, N.C. The squad placed seventh - its highest team finish since 1991. The men's squad had not finished above eighth place in over 10 years.

"We met our goal of becoming more actively involved in the ACC," Head Coach Trent Sanderson said after the race. "We really had some great performances and met our expectations for the competition."

Hess led the way for the Maryland, finishing in sixth place in the field of 69 runners in his third collegiate 8K competition. The young Terp garnered tremendous praise from Sanderson for his 24:35.1 time, which earned him a spot on the All-ACC team and ACC Freshman of the Year honors.

"Peter Hess was absolutely amazing," Sanderson said. "He made the All-ACC team, which is an incredible accomplishment, especially for a freshman. Peter really came through for us today."

Ambrus and Prada also put in top 30 performances, finishing in 20th and 28th place, respectively.

Two weeks later, the Terps returned to competition, battling the region's finest team to vie for a spot at the NCAA Championships. Ambrus finished in the top 50 to guide the Terrapin men's cross country to a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships in Lock Haven, Pa., on Nov. 15. Ambrus came in at No. 43 in the field of 184 runners with a time of 31:41 in the 10,000-meter competition.

The 2003 season concluded with the IC4A Championships in the Bronx, N.Y., on Nov. 30. Ambrus joined the trio of Allison Carney, Becca Funk and Danielle Siebert by earning All-East accolades for Maryland. The junior led the Terp men for the fourth time this season, coming in at No. 7 in the field of 141 runners with a time of 25:23 in the 5-mile race. Also posting strong performances were Prada and Mike Fleg, who finished in 36th and 70th place, respectively. The men finished in 13th place of 16 highly competitive teams in the IC4A Championships.

Though seniors Prada and Allen will be missed greatly, Sanderson hopes that with the return of a solid group of runners, combined with an incoming set of strong recruits, the Terps can continue to rise in the conference ranks, and eventually into the national scene.