CROSS-COUNTRY

Top Teams

With stamps out front, Stanford should romp. Rod Searcey

1. STANFORD
Junior Julia Stamps placed sixth at the 1998 NCAAs, one spot behind senior Sally Glynn, and is ready to assert herself on the national scene. Add the nation's top recruiting class (Kathleen Brizgys, Mariel Ettinger, Lindsay Hyatt and Erin Sullivan), and the Cardinal should be flying high.

2. BYU
The '97 champs, who fell short of last year's team title by just four points, have the depth to challenge for the top spot again. Seniors Elizabeth Jackson and Kara Ormond, junior Sharolyn Shields and sophomores Tara Rohatinsky and Laura Heiner are all threats to crack the top 10.

3. ARKANSAS
Two-time SEC cross-country champ Amy Yoder was third in last year's NCAAs, 13.37 seconds ahead of fellow Lady Razorbacks senior Jessica Koch. Coach Lance Harter adds two key transfers to his powerful squad: sophomore Lillie Kleinmann and junior Amy Wiseman.

4. VILLANOVA
Don't discount the defending champion Wildcats, winners of seven of the last 10 NCAA titles, if national coach of the year Marcus O'Sullivan can keep his troops healthy—especially senior Carmen Douma, who won indoor mile and outdoor 1,500-meter titles in '98 despite foot problems.

5. GEORGETOWN
Junior Kristen Gordon, fourth at last year's NCAAs, will challenge for the top spot. Autumn Fogg—a runner, not a weather forecast—rolls in as the Hoyas' top returning senior, joined by classmates Lisa Roder and Janelle Thomas.

6. WISCONSIN
Coach Peter Tegen's Badgers, a national power in the making, will rely on three sophomores: Erica Palmer, Bethany Brewster and Erin AufderHeide will give fans a peek at the 2001 national champs.

7. COLORADO
Kara Wheeler, an injury redshirt in '98, bounced back to place second in the NCAA outdoor 3,000-meter final, in June. She's joined by Anna and Catherine Wright, twins who transferred together from Tennessee-Chattanooga.

8. KANSAS STATE
Junior Annie Wetterhus, sophomores Amanda Crouse and Ekaterini Fotopoulou, and local high school standout Amy Mortimer will lift the Wildcats, who finished 13th at last year's NCAAs, into the top 10.

9. WASHINGTON
Jennifer Smith, an All-America in track, will boost the Huskies, whose star senior, Anna Aoki, won the Pac-10 outdoor 10,000 meters in 1998 as a sophomore.

10. BAYLOR
Swedes Karin Ernstrom and Cecelia Jeverstam give the Bears their bite. Ernstrom was third in March's 5,000-meter indoor final.

Hot Dates

Oct. 16
Invitational Pre-NCAA Meet, Bloomington, Ind.

Nov. 22
NCAA Division I cross-country championships, Bloomington, Ind.

Division II

Adams State has built a dynasty that's barely known outside Colorado; coach Damon Martin's Grizzlies are gunning for their eighth-straight national title.

Division III

Cortland (N.Y.) State placed a disappointing fifth at the 1998 NCAAs, but sophomore Cheryl Smith, the first freshman to win the D-III women's national individual championship, should lead the Red Dragons to their eighth national title in 11 years.

Cybersources

www.usatf.org
USA Track and Field's official site

www.trackandfieldnews.com
Track and Field News's official page

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