Nov. 11, 2007

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State University men's and women's cross country teams were both selected to compete in the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships, set for Monday, November 19, at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind., the national governing body announced Sunday night. Both Sun Devil teams were among the 13 at-large selections made for each of the races that will be held to determine national team and individual championships as well as All-America honors.

The women were selected to compete in their 10th-consecutive national appearance, keeping them tied with North Carolina for the sixth-longest active streak in the nation. BYU and Providence lead the way with 19 years in a row and are followed by Colorado (16), Stanford (15) and NC State (13), all of which will compete with the Sun Devils next week. The ASU men are making their fifth appearance in the NCAA meet and their first since 2005.

The Sun Devil women placed third at the NCAA West Region Championships in Springfield, Ore., over the weekend and will be looking to place among the Top 15 for the fifth year in a row after placing 13th last year. ASU also will be competing for its second Top 4 finish after finishing fourth in 2005 to earn a trophy. The Sun Devil men, who placed sixth at the regional meet last weekend, last competed in the national meet in 2005 where they placed 17th overall. The year before that, ASU placed eighth overall for its best finish at the NCAA Championships in program history.

ASU's men will compete in the first race of the day, the 10,000m run, that is set for a 12:08 p.m. EST start with the women's 6,000m championship following at 12:58 p.m. Both races will be televised live on CSTV.

2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships
Men's Automatic Qualifying Teams
Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida State, Georgetown, Iona, Louisville, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Portland, Providence, Texas, UTEP, Villanova, Wisconsin

Men's At-large Teams
Arizona State, Brigham Young, California, Cal Poly, Indiana, Iowa State, Northern Arizona, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Stanford, Tulsa, Virginia, William and Mary

Women's Automatic Qualifying Teams
Arkansas, Colorado State, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, North Carolina State, Northern Arizona, Oregon, Princeton, Providence, Rice, Stanford, Stony Brook, West Virginia

Women's At-large Teams
Arizona State, Baylor, Boston College, Brigham Young, UC Santa Barbara, Colorado, Florida, Georgetown, Iowa, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Washington, Wisconsin