Oct. 25, 2006

CINCINNATI - The Xavier University men's and women's cross country teams will arrive in Pittsburgh Thursday night in order to prepare for the 2006 Atlantic 10 Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships, which will be held Saturday, October 28 at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh.

"I am anxious to see if our demanding September schedule, in which we faced many of the top programs in the country, pays dividends this Saturday and at the NCAA Regional Championships," said head coach Steve Nester. "I certainly set up our schedule with that in mind."

The XU men's side will take to the 8K course at 10:45 a.m. for the 29th running of the championship. The Musketeers will be led by co-captains, Ben Milroy and Tony Matheus, along with sophomore standout Luke Beuerlein. The trio has been consistent top competitors throughout the season.

"The men's team hopes the karma of their third place finish at Schenley Park two years ago rubs off on this year's team," said Nester.

The women's squad will begin the 18th running of the 5K Women's Cross Country Championship at 10:00 a.m. Senior co-captain, Kelly Sraj, looks to pace the Musketeers as the Dayton, Ohio, native has lead XU in four meets this season including a second place finish at the Flyer 5K Challenge on Sept. 2. Junior Amanda Brown, freshman Danielle Meiners, and sophomore Becky Clark will look to join Sraj in the top-five as they have all fought for the top-four spots this season.

"Our women's program is looking to continue their trend of improving each year," said Nester. "They placed 10th in 2003, seventh in 2004, and fifth last year."

Last season at the A-10 Championships in Philadelphia the men turned in a seventh place finish while the women brought home fifth. Beuerlein led the men's squad with a 20th place finish in a time of 25:35.9 while Brown was the top finisher in the women's race with a time of 18:02.5 earning her runner-up honors.