FSU Headed To NCAA Regional Championships

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the 2010 NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championships on Saturday (Nov. 20) in Louisville, Ky. 

The regional championships will be hosted by Bellarmine University at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park. The men's 10K championship race will begin at 11 a.m. (ET) with the women's 6K event to follow at approximately 12 p.m. (ET).

The Ferris women's cross country team is ranked eighth in the latest United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II National Rankings along with second in the Midwest Regional listing under third-year head coach Steve Picucci.

Last season, the Bulldog women placed third and secured a NCAA-II National Championships berth at the regional meet while the men were eighth in the region (11/7/09) at Kenosha, Wis. 

In addition to finishing third overall at last year's regional, the Bulldog women also had the individual regional champion a a year ago as current senior standout Tina Muir (St. Albans, U.K.) clocked 21:33.2 in finishing nearly 11 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Mary Ballinger of Southern Indiana. The women's field included 134 runners.  Muir figures to be one of the top individual contenders again this campaign.

The Ferris women's cross country team ran to a 11th-place team finish while tying for the second-highest finish in school history during the 2009 NCAA Division II National Championships last fall (Nov. 21) in Evansville, Ind. It marked the second consecutive trip to nationals for the FSU women after they placed third in the regional for the second-straight campaign.

Last year also represented only the fourth time in history the Bulldog women's cross country team had qualified as a team for the national championships as their 2008 berth was the program's first appearance since 1987.

A year ago, Muir took 12th place overall for the second-straight year at the 2009 NCAA Division II National Championships in earning All-America honors for the second consecutive campaign.  Muir was last year's regional champion and GLIAC Runner of the Year.

The NCAA Division II National Championships will also be held in Louisville on Saturday, Dec. 4.

For more information on the NCAA-II Regional Championships, please visit this link:
http://athletics.bellarmine.edu/sports/2010/10/8/MXC_1008104805.aspx?id=19