The NCAA News - News and Features

December 1, 1997

Stanford edges Arkansas again for second straight title

In 1996, Stanford surprised the Division I men's cross country community by outdistancing eight-time champion Arkansas to win its first team title.

If there were any doubts about the validity of that Cardinal victory, they were dispelled at this year's championships.

Displaying balance and depth again this year, the Cardinal placed five runners among the top 25 individual finishers to again edge Arkansas and win the team title November 24 at Furman.

Stanford registered 53 points, three fewer than the Razorbacks, to become the eighth school in the championships' 59-year history to win consecutive crowns.

Arkansas finished as runner-up for the fourth time overall.

Colorado, Michigan and Wisconsin claimed third, fourth and fifth place, respectively. The Wolverines' fourth-place showing was their best ever.

Mebrahtom Keflezighi of UCLA won the individual crown, completing the 10,000-meter course in 28 minutes, 54 seconds.

"Our athletes prepared well and performed well," said Vin Lananna, Stanford director of track and cross country. "Arkansas went out hard and it could've been a nightmare at two miles when we were back. But we held tough and ran with composure.

"Arkansas looked great and it could've been easy to fall apart. But we wanted to put ourselves in the right position, and to look for each other. I knew if we did that, we would have a good shot at winning."

Stanford's successful title defense was led by Nathan Nutter and Brad Hauser, each of whom garnered top-10 individual finishes.

Finishing in 29:34, Nutter was Stanford's top performer, finishing eighth individually. Hauser finished 10th overall with a time of 29:42.

Jason Balkman, Brent Hauser and Jonathan Riley placed 14th, 17th and 23rd, respectively, to account for the remainder of Stanford's team points.

Keflezighi, the only competitor to break the 29-minute barrier, gave UCLA its first individual title by holding off Michigan's Kevin Sullivan.