UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. -- The Georgetown University men's and women's cross country teams, ranked eighth and 13th in the nation, respectively, swept the 2000 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Cross Country Championships for the second-consecutive year on Saturday, November 11, at the Blue/White Golf Course on the campus of Penn State University in University Park, Pa. With the wins, the GU men and women are automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships next week in Ames, Iowa.

The GU men won the regional meet with 41 points, followed by Villanova in second place with 57 points. St. Francis was third with 98 points, Penn State took fourth with 112 points, and Princeton garnered fifth place with 147 points. The Hoyas cruised to victory on the women's side. Georgetown scored 36 points to easily outdistance second-place finisher West Virginia with 94 points. Villanova tallied 96 points to take third place.

Georgetown placed five runners in the top 15 in the men's competition. Senior David Rodriguez (Fremont, Calif./Mission San Jose) earned runner-up honors with a time of 30:25.20 over the 10,000-meter course, just behind race winner Stephen Ondieki of Fairleigh Dickerson with a time of 30:21.06. Sophomore Mike Smith (Princeton, Mass./Wachusetts) and Franklyn Sanchez (Lynn, Mass./Lynn Tech) ran five-six with times of 30:33.49 and 30:33.86. Senior Corey Smith (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack) recorded a mark of 30:56.29 to earn 13th place, while senior Kyle Smits (Bellevue, Wash./Newport) was 15th with a time of 30:56.94.

The GU women also placed five Hoyas in the top 15. Grad student Autumn Fogg (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central), who crossed the finish line of the 6K course in 20:44.10, led the GU women, behind Villanova's Ann McGranahan who had a winning time of 20:32.34. Sophomore Marni Kruppa (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) and senior Emily Enstice (West Potomac, Md./Georgetown Visitation) were fourth and fifth, with times of 20:53.57 and 20:55.26, respectively. Rounding out Hoya point scorers were senior Lorena Adams (Lakehurst, N.J./Manchester Township) and freshman Amanda Pape (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South). Adams was 12th (21:15.98), while Pape took 13th (21:18.55).

Director of Georgetown Track & Field, Ron Helmer, was elated with both teams' performances. He stated, "It's a terrific day for the Georgetown track & field program. Our women came out very aggressive, very tough, while I asked the men to come out somewhat relaxed, but still keep in mind that the goal was to win. Both squads stuck to our game plan and it paid off."