After six straight top-five finishes, Stanford found the right combination at the Division I Women's Cross Country Championships November 24 and edged top-ranked and two-time defending champion Brigham Young for the team title.

Cardinal juniors Sara Bei and Alicia Craig finished third and sixth, respectively, in individual competition and freshmen Katy Trotter, Arianna Lambie and Amanda Trotter staked out positions less than a couple of minutes behind the leaders to give Stanford an eight-point margin of victory over Brigham Young.

The victory is Stanford's second in women's cross country, with the other coming in 1996. Since then, the Cardinal twice have finished second (including last year), finished third for three straight years beginning in 1998, and finished fifth in 2001.

And the victory clinched a sweep by Stanford of this year's Division I cross country team titles, following the Cardinal men's dominating performance earlier in the day on Northern Iowa's Irv Warren Memorial Golf Course/Byrnes Park course.

"The men's team was a great source of inspiration for us," said Dena Evans, who became head women's coach at Stanford this year after four years as assistant coach. "They are always confident and run as a team. I think the women's team saw the men's performance and believed it was possible to win if they ran as a team."

It turned out to be a two-team race between the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked squads in the country. Brigham Young senior Michaela Mannova finished fourth individually for the Cougars, and Kassi Andersen and Laura Turner finished 13th and 14th, respectively. But the Cougars' fourth and fifth runners couldn't quite outpoint Stanford's freshmen.

Providence finished third, 102 points behind Stanford, while Michigan placed fourth and Colorado finished fifth.

Brigham Young coach Patrick Shane was quick to congratulate the Cardinal.

"Stanford really has been No. 1 all year, despite what the rankings said," Shane said. "They have been knocking at the national-championship door for six years now, and it finally opened for them."

In individual competition, the championships crowned only the third repeat winner in meet history as North Carolina senior Shalane Flanagan crossed the finish line with a time of 19:30.4, 12 seconds ahead of runner-up Kim Smith of Providence.

Despite chilly weather in Waterloo, Flanagan equaled her winning time earlier this season on the same course during the pre-nationals and joined Villanova's Sonia O'Sullivan and Carol Zajac as the only runners to win individual titles in consecutive years. Flanagan becomes the fourth two-time titlist (North Carolina State's Betty Jo Springs won the first Division I race in 1981 and repeated in 1983).

"Being a defending champ, I felt I had something to prove," said Flanagan, who has indicated she will take off the spring semester to prepare for the 2004 United States Olympic Trials before returning to North Carolina for her senior season in track.

"You're only as good as your last race," she said. "The first title I won was more nerve-wracking, but this year I came in more confident and really believing in myself."

Team results

1. Stanford, 120; 2. Brigham Young, 128; 3. Providence, 222; 4. Michigan, 232, 5. Colorado, 269; 6. North Carolina St., 290; 7. UCLA, 293; 8. North Carolina, 294; 9. Princeton, 348; 10. Notre Dame, 352; 11. Villanova, 380; 12. Missouri, 383; 13. Columbia-Barnard, 401; 14. Arizona St., 406; 15. Northern Ariz., 407; 16. Georgetown, 427; 17. Michigan St., 435; 18. Florida St., 455; 19. Washington, 486; 20. Duke, 492; 21. Wake Forest, 496; 22. Marquette, 509; 23. Penn St., 510; 24. Tennessee, 513; 25. Baylor, 516; 26. Wisconsin, 528; 27. Indiana, 571; 28. Colorado St., 574; 29. UC Santa Barb., 586; 30. Nebraska, 593; 31. Texas, 644.

Individual results

1. Shalane Flanagan, North Carolina, 19:30.4; 2. Kim Smith, Providence, 19:42.7; 3. Sara Bei, Stanford, 19:49.1; 4. Michaela Mannova, Brigham Young, 19:52.2; 5. Mary Cullen, Providence, 19:53.0; 6. Alicia Craig, Stanford, 19:55.0; 7. Carol Henry, North Carolina, 19:59.3; 8. Emily Kroshus, Princeton, 20:03.9; 9. Ida Nilsson, Northern Ariz., 20:05.5; 10.Johanna Nilsson, Northern Ariz., 20:07.0.

11. Vicky Gill, Florida St., 20:08.5; 12. Michelle Carson, Michigan St., 20:13.1; 13. Kassi Andersen, Brigham Young, 20:14.5; 14. Laura Turner, Brigham Young, 20:16.0; 15. Renee Metivier, Colorado, 20:21.7; 16. Keira Carlstrom, American, 20:23.5; 17. Marina Muncan, Villanova, 20:24.3; 18. Rebecca Walter, Michigan, 20:24.9; 19. Ioana Parusheva, Villanova, 20:26.0; 20. Valerie Flores, UCLA, 20:28.9.

21. Katy Trotter, Stanford, 20:29.4; 22. Cack Ferrell, Princeton, 20:31.1; 23. Amanda Bales, Missouri, 20:31.2; 24. Arianna Lambie, Stanford, 20;31.6; 25. Amy Hastings, Arizona St., 20:32.9; 26. Jesse Allen-Young, 20:33.2; 27. Caitlin Hickin, Columbia-Barnard, 20:34.6; 28. Lauren King, Notre Dame, 20:35.6; 29. Marlies Overbeeke, Virginia Tech, 20:36.2; 30. Alison Henderson, William & Mary, 20:37.8.

31. Erin Donohue, North Carolina, 20:40.2; 32. Tara Struyk, West Virginia, 20:41.0; 33. Annie Bersagel, Wake Forest, 20:41.1; 34. Jennifer Kramer, Boston College, 20:42.6; 35. Iryna Vashchuk, Southern California, 20:44.9; 36. Ashley Caldwell, UCLA, 20:45.6; 37. Breanne Sandberg, Brigham Young, 20:46.4; 38. Kalin Toedebusch, Colorado, 20:46.7; 39. Emmily Chelanga, Iona, 20:47.5; 40. Angela Homan, Auburn, 20:47.7.

41. Molly Huddle, Notre Dame, 20:48.5; 42. Bridget Duffy, California, 20:49.0; 43. Natalie Hughes, Florida St., 20:50.1; 44. Desi Davilla, Arizona St., 20:50.8; 45. Mary Kinyanjui, TCU, 20:51.5; 46. Mindy Peterson, Indiana, 20:51.6; 47. Jessica Crowder, Indiana St., 20:52.7; 48. AnneMarie Moutsinga, Coastal Caro., 20:53.0; 49. Talis Apud-Martinez, Texas, 20:53.4; 50. Melissa McBain, UCLA, 20:53.6.

51. Serena Ramsey, Missouri, 20:54.0; 52. Sarah Pizzo, Michigan, 20:54.3; 53. Katherine Gorry, Rice, 20:54.9; 54. Deirdre Byrne, Providence, 20:55.2; 55. Kelly Cordell, Georgia, 20:55.3; 56. Molly Landreth, Penn St., 20:55.9; 57. Ami Butler, TCU, 20:56.3; 58. Brooke Novak, Tennessee, 20:56.7; 59. Amanda Pape, Georgetown, 20:57.1; 60. Brianna Dahm, Marquette, 20:57.3.

61. Cara Kiernan, Yale, 20:57.7; 62. Megan Guiney, Wisconsin, 20:59.0; 63. Catherine Wanyioke, Auburn, 21:00.6; 64. Karin Van Rooyen, Southern Methodist, 21:01.9; 65. Hilary Edmondon, Wisconsin, 21:02.5; 66. Christine Bolf, Colorado, 21:02.7; 67. Lucinda Hull, North Carolina St., 21:03.3; 68. Renee Gunning, North Carolina St., 21:03.4; 69. Jodi Jakubek, Marquette, 21:03.9; 70. Megan Metcalfe, West Virginia, 21:04.4.

71. Ann Gaffigan, Nebraska, 21:04.5; 72. Fiona Crombie, Providence, 21:04.9; 73. Jamie Kryzminski, Michigan St., 21:05.0; 74. Melissa Stellato, Columbia-Barnard, 21:05.3; 75. Lindsey Gallo, Michigan, 21:05.5; 76. Kerry Bogner, Montana, 21:05.7; 77. Sheila Klick, La Salle, 21:05.9; 78. Anna Blue, Washington St., 21:06.1; 79. Julia Lucas, North Carolina St., 21:06.6; 80. Paige Miller, Duke, 21:07.4.

81. Alba Garcia, UTEP, 21:08.6; 82. Audrey Giesler, Indiana, 21:09.2; 83. Lauren Christman, UC Santa Barb., 21:09.4; 84. Erin Franklin, Wake Forest, 21:09.6; 85. Lindsey Egerdahl, Washington, 21:10.1; 86. Kristina Roth, North Carolina St., 21:10.5; 87. Anna Masinelli, Arizona St., 21:10.8; 88. Laura Zeigle, Colorado, 21:11.0; 89. Suzanna Larsen, Brigham Young, 21:11.0; 90. Michelle Sikes, Wake Forest, 21:11.5.

91. Heather Lee, Campbell, 21:11.7; 92. Amanda Trotter, Stanford, 21:12.4; 93. Lisa Stublic, Columbia-Barnard, 21:12.4; 94. Jill Petersen, Missouri, 21:12.8; 95. Kristin Price, North Carolina St., 21:13.5; 96. Ingvill Makestad, Washington, 21:14.0; 97. Josi Lauber, North Carolina St., 21:14.0; 98. Megan Johnson, Notre Dame, 21:14.1; 99. Erin Dixon, Baylor, 21:14.5; 100. Lindsay Hyatt, Tennessee, 21:15.9.

101. Casey Owens, Southwest Mo. St., 21:17.0; 102. Jeane Goff, Stanford, 21:17.3; 103. Treniere Clement, Georgetown, 21:17.5; 104. Lisa Cornelius, Baylor, 21:17.8; 105. Maria Sandoval, Oregon, 21:17.8; 106. Nicole Feest, Colorado St., 21:18.4; 107. Sally Meyerhoff, Duke, 21:18.4; 108. Amy Lia, Washington, 21:18.8; 109. Amber Harper, Brigham Young, 21:18.9; 110. Cosette Smith, UC Santa Barb., 21:19.2.

111. Stephanie Madia, Notre Dame, 21:19.3; 112. Natasha Roetter, Duke, 21:19.5; 113. Lisa Antonelli, Brigham Young, 21:19.8; 114. Kathryn Handrup, Nebraska, 21:19.8; 115. Helen Hofstede, Florida St., 21:20.3; 116. Sarah Pepera, Michigan St., 21:20.5; 117. Valerie Lauver, Missouri, 21:20.5; 118. Dallon Williams, Washington, 21:20.9; 119. Nicole Lee, Georgetown, 21:21.2; 120. Katie Erdman, Michigan, 21:21.7.

121. Carmen Winant, UCLA, 21:21.9; 122. Carrie Strickland, Princeton, 21:22.4; 123. Stephanie Rothstein, UC Santa Barb., 21:22.5; 124. Marian Bihrle, Princeton, 21:22.6; 125. Angela Marvin, Baylor, 21:22.8; 126. Bente General, South Fla., 21:23.3; 127. Erika Edwards, Northern Ariz., 21:24.3; 128. Rebecca Mitchell, Villanova, 21:24.9; 129. Ariana Lee, Montana St., 21:25.2; 130. Anita Siraki, Stanford, 21:25.8.

131. Maureen Thomas, Penn St., 21:26.1; 132. Jodee Adams-Moore, Georgetown, 21:27.1; 133. Tiffany McWilliams, Mississippi St., 21:27.2; 134. Michelle Lilienthal, Wisconsin, 21:28.2; 135. Anne Shadle, Nebraska, 21:28.4; 136. Juliette Kenny, Villanova, 21:28.5; 137. Colleen Kelly, Georgetown, 21:28.6; 138. Natalie Florence, Colorado, 21:29.4; 139. Kelly Siefker, Indiana, 21:29.6; 140. Jenna Timinsky, UCLA, 21:30.4.

141. Michelle Carmen, Colorado St., 21:30.7; 142. Amy Arnold, North Carolina St., 21:31.2; 143. Jenny Stevens, Penn St., 21:31.4; 144. Melanie Schorr, Dartmouth, 21:31.5; 145. Micaela Courtney, Marquette, 21:32.0; 146. Ashley Johnson, Utah St., 21:32.1; 147. Michelle Wale, Penn St., 21:32.7; 148. Kristin Walter, Texas, 21:32.8; 149. Katie Yemm, Colorado St., 21:33.2; 150. Kristie Kieffer, Oakland, 21:33.4.

151. Monique Ortega, Baylor, 21:33.6; 152. Andrea Kremer, Miami (Ohio), 21:33.7; 153. Alison Costello, UCLA, 21:34.1; 154. Lisa Cappello, Providence, 21:34.5; 155. Elizabeth McCalley, Tenneseee, 21:34.9; 156. Tenke Zoltani, Columbia-Barnard, 21:35.4; 157. Megan Kaltenbach, North Carolina; 21:36.9; 158. Laura Petrillo, Princeton, 21:37.3; 159. Lindsay Van Alstine, Duke, 21:37.4; 160. Crystal Clark, Colorado St., 21:38.4.

161. Chris Tye, Toledo, 21:38.9; 162. Delilah DiCrescenzo, Columbia-Barnard, 21:39.5; 163. Shiloh Whiting, Arkansas, 21:40.6; 164. Natalie Stein, Michigan St., 21:40.6; 165. Trisha Culbertson, Kansas St., 21:40.6; 166. Megan Cauble, Tennessee, 21:41.8; 167. Audrey Schiltz, Marquette, 21:42.2; 168. Corey Randall, Arizona St., 21:42.5; 169. Kerry Meagher, Notre Dame, 21:42.6; 170. Meghan Owen, North Carolina, 21:43.8.

171. Tara Johnson, Penn St., 21:45.4; 172. Natalie Rogers, Northern Ariz., 21:46.0; 173. Colleen Blair, Colorado St., 21:46.2; 174. Colleen Taylor, Villanova, 21:46.9; 175. Meredith Lambert, Princeton, 21:47.1; 176. Sarah Kolpin, Wisconsin, 21:47.6; 177. Laura Stanley, Duke, 21:49.2; 178. Katie Flaute, Tennessee, 21:50.0; 179. Loretta Kilmer, Columbia-Barnard, 21:50.7; 180. Jessica Eldridge, Oklahoma, 21:51.3.

181. Brittany Brockman, Baylor, 21:51.7; 182. Jill Laurendeau, Georgetown, 21:51.9; 183. Jennifer Kintzley, Colorado St., 21:53.0; 184. Pilar Marin, Princeton, 21:53.4; 185. Jodi Jones, Texas, 21:53.4; 186. Lindsay Christman, UC Santa Barb., 21:53.8; 187. Brittany Ballard, Michigan St., 21:53.9; 188. Liz Lindgren, Arizona St., 21:54.6; 189. Laura McCreesh, Northern Ariz., 21:55.8; 190. Allison Hall, UCLA, 21:56.6.

191. Alex Guerrero, Columbia-Barnard, 21:56.7; 192. Andrea Parker, Michigan, 21:57.7; 193. Rachel Marsh, Florida St., 21:58.0; 194. Kirsty Smith, Villanova, 21:58.4; 195. Kristin Stroupe, North Carolina, 21:59.5; 196. Sarah Ross, Texas, 22:00.1; 197. Kayte Tranel, Nebraska, 22:01.1; 198. Katherine Bonugli, Missouri, 22:01.7; 199. Katie Twarog, Providence, 22:02.4; 200. Mindy Sullivan, Tennessee, 22:03.0.

201. Cassie Hunt, Illinois, 22:03.0; 202. Kendall Grgas-Wheeler, Colorado, 22:04.6; 203. Anne Clinton, Florida St., 22:06.1; 204. Diana Clock, Georgetown, 22:06.5; 205. Susie Emond, Marquette, 22:07.0; 206. Heidi Hullinger, Duke, 22:07.7; 207. Rachel Mistur, Wake Forest, 22:07.8; 208. Selina Sekulic, Wake Forest, 22:08.5; 209. Cynthia Durocher, Michigan St., 22:09.8; 210. Kristin Hansen, Missouri, 22:10.0.

211. Chelsea Lenge, Penn St., 22:10.9; 212. Katie Wales, Notre Dame, 22:11.5; 213. Heidi Lindeman, Marquette, 22:13.7; 214. Jessa Chance, Baylor, 22:14.2; 215. Kristin Whitezell, Indiana, 22:14.5; 216. Brianna McLeod, Washington, 22:15.4; 217. Sarah McKay, Colorado St., 22:16.2; 218. Julie Fisher, Northern Ariz., 22:16.6; 219. Jackie Zeigle, Colorado, 22:17.5; 220. Jenna Wrieden, Arizona St., 22:18.4.

221. Katie Scarlett, Texas, 22:18.8; 222. Ana Gjesdal, Michigan, 22:20.5; 223. Heather Clark, Florida St., 22:20.5; 224. Tracey Brauksieck, Penn St., 22:20.8; 225. Kim Pancoast, Nebraska, 22:20.9; 226. Shannon Rowbury, Duke, 22:21.3; 227. Larra Overton, Indiana, 22:23.0; 228. 'AHavahla Haynes, Wisconsin, 22:27.0; 229. Julie Shields, Indiana, 22:27.4; 230. Erin Rodrigs, Texas, 22:30.4.

231. Kathryn Touran, Washington, 22:32.8; 232. Michelle Rafferty, Michigan St., 22:33.9; 233. Linsey Blaisdell, Wisconsin, 22:34.5; 234. Megan Lewis, UC Santa Barb., 22:35.0; 235. Carre Joyce, Villanova, 22:35.6; 236. Marie Foushee, Washington, 22:37.1; 237. Heidi Crowley, Indiana, 22:38.4; 238. Jamie Haro, Marquette, 22:40.5; 239. Catherine Fortin-Major, Wake Forest, 22:45.1; 240. Jean Marinangeli, Notre Dame, 22:46.6.

241. Ashley Jensen, Providence, 22:49.0; 242. Ariel Latimer, Northern Ariz., 22:54.7; 243. Sonya Yamnitz, Missouri, 22:56.2; 244. Megan McLoin, Baylor, 22:57.6; 245. Seanna Martin, UC Santa Barb., 22:57.8; 246. Desiree Leek, UC Santa Barb., 23:04.5; 247. Brooke Stewart, Texas, 23:19.8; 248. Jessica Perry, North Carolina, 23:22.2; 249. Nicole Cook, Tennessee, 23:24.1; 250. Lindsey Finkner, Nebraska, 23:24.2.

251. Jenny Gomez, Florida St., 23:44.3; 252. Jessica Crate, Arizona St., 24:09.3.