Nov. 7, 2007

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The George Mason men's cross country team, currently ranked 12th in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Regional Poll, will travel to Louisville, Ky. to compete in the 2007 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships on Saturday. The men's 10k is slated to begin at 11 a.m. at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park.

The meet will be hosted by the University of Louisville for the second consecutive season. At last year's meet, the Patriots finished in 15th place with 428 team points. Returning five of the seven athletes that ran at last year's meet, Mason will aim to improve upon last year's finish and crack the top-10 on Saturday.

"Our big goal is to try to place in the top-10. That would be a significant step for us, but I think it can be done," said Head Coach Andrew Gerard. "In order for us to reach the top-10, we need to have all five of our scorers place in the top 75 or 80 in the race."

Senior John Crain, senior Kris Cruz, senior Ryan Davis, sophomore Andrew Holloway, sophomore Robert Krause, junior Ryan Murphy and sophomore James Snyder are all slated to run for the Patriots. Gerard thinks the team's conditioning is perfect for the 10k distance.

"Typically, you see that our guys are trained well for 10,000 meters," Gerard said. "That ends up being a plus in our favor."

Among the list of participants in the men's race are four nationally ranked schools - No. 9 Virginia, No. 11 North Carolina State, No. 13 Louisville and No. 25 William and Mary. The top-two teams in the region will automatically qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, scheduled for Monday, Nov. 19 at LaVern Gibson Course in Terre Haute, Ind.

A total of 31 teams will run at the national championship meet - the top-two in each of the nine regions, along with 13 schools that will be selected at-large by the NCAA Cross Country Committee on Sunday.