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Ten Big Ten Men's And Women's Cross Country Teams Bound For NCAA Championships
Nov. 18, 2003 Park Ridge, IL - Ten Big Ten men's and women's cross country programs will compete in the 2003 NCAA Cross Country Championships, which are set to take place on Monday, November 24, at the Irv Warren Memorial Golf Course in Waterloo, Iowa. The races will be hosted by the University of Northern Iowa. The men's event will begin at 11 a.m. CT, while the women's race will get underway at 12:15 p.m. On the men's side, Big Ten champion Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana went 1-2-3-5, respectively, at the Great Lakes Region qualifying meet on Saturday, November 15, to earn spots in the NCAA Championship. The Badgers and Wolverines received automatic berths, while Ohio State and Indiana were awarded at-large berths. Minnesota took second in last Saturday's Midwest Regional to earn an automatic team berth, while Iowa runner Brian Raye captured seventh in that race to earn an automatic individual selection. Penn State freshman Dan Mazzocco raced to the individual title at the Middle Atlantic Regional to earn his ticket to Waterloo, becoming the first Nittany Lion since 1988 to win a regional race.
On the women's side, Big Ten champion Michigan was the only team to receive an automatic berth after capturing second in the Great Lakes Regional. However, Michigan State, Indiana and Wisconsin finished third, fourth and sixth, respectively, in the meet and earned at-large invitations to the NCAA Championships. Additionally, Penn State earned an at-large berth after taking fourth in the Middle Atlantic Regional, while Illinois' Cassie Hunt raced to an individual automatic invitation by taking fifth overall at the Midwest Regional.
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