Nov. 10, 2007

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Led by seniors John Kress (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and John Olsen (Staten Island, N.Y.), the Navy men's cross country team turned in a fifth-place finish among 28 teams at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Championship Saturday morning at Lehigh's Goodman Campus course on the campus of Lehigh University. Navy entered the competition ranked eighth in the region by the U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association.

Georgetown, ranked 14th in the country, won the regional (42 pts) after two runners finished among the top three and four others earned top-15 finishes. Villanova just edged out 29th-ranked Princeton to join Georgetown with an automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Championship at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 19. Villanova senior Robert Curtis captured the individual crown by covering the 10k course in 30:08 and helped lead the Wildcats to a four-point advantage over Princeton, 70-74.

American, who just clipped the Mids two weeks ago at the Patriot League Championship, finished eight points ahead of the Mids in fourth with 176 points. Navy, meanwhile, owned 184 points in fifth, just a point ahead of La Salle.

Kress paved the way for the Midshipmen, who placed fifth for the second straight year, by crossing the finish line just 00:01 ahead of Olsen. Kress earned a 16th-place finish with his 30:44, while Olsen fell in at 17th with a 30:45. By virtue of their top-25 finish, both Kress and Olsen earned All-Mid-Atlantic Region recognition. Junior Bill Prom (New Berlin, Wis.) placed 37th with a 31:19, followed by junior Andrew Grant (Athens, Ga.) in 54th (31:32), senior Lucas Burke (Bakersfield, Calif.) in 60th (31:46), rookie Andrew Hanko (Montville, N.J.) in 73rd (32:00) and sophomore Chris Horel (Belford, N.J.) in 104th (32:35).

Thirteen additionall at-large teams and two individual at-large runners will be selected by the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track & Field Committee on Sunday night at 7:00 pm.

NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Team Standings (top 10 out of 28)
1 - Georgetown    42
2 - Villanova     70
3 - Princeton     74
4 - American     176
5 - Navy         184
6 - La Salle     185
7 - Duquesne     204
8 - Penn State   232
9 - Maryland     235
10 - Penn        257