Nov. 13, 2004

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - SAMFORD BULLDOG MAKES SAMFORD CROSS-COUNTRY HISTORY!!! Sophomore Lauren Blankenship automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships, after her tremendous performance at the NCAA South Regionals on Saturday (Nov. 13). Blankenship finished the competition in fourth-place overall with a time of 21:05.85. The women's team completed the competition in sixth place out of 23 teams with score of 198, while the men's team finished in 12th place out of 20 teams with a score of 338. Tennessee took the women's title with 78 points, while Florida State took the men's crown with 59 points.

With a sixth-place finish and also competing for the Bulldogs on the women's side, Brittany Mensen placed 38th overall with a time of 22:22.34, Jessica Brewer finished 47th overall with a time of 22:27.37, Robin DeBenedet placed 56th overall with a time 22:37.81, Connie Heiskell finished 62nd with a time of 22:47.76, Michelle Brewer placed 65th with a time of 22:49.76 and Britney Almaguer finished 85th with a time 23:10.65.

With a 12th place finish and also competing on the men's side, Bryan Baddorf finished 57th overall with a time of 31:47.91, Drew Anderwald placed 62nd overall with a time of 32:13.92, Michael Hanson finished 72nd overall with a time of 32:34.79, Scott Maurer placed 84th overall with a time of 32:53.09, Ricky McLain finished 89th overall with a time of 33:00.51 and Ben Whitaker placed 118th overall with a time of 34:19.36.

The 2004 NCAA Championships are scheduled for Monday, Nov. 22 in Terra Haute, Indiana.