Division II Men's Cross Country Championships

Dates and sites: Regional competition will be conducted at various sites November 8. The championships will be November 22 at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina (hosted by St. Augustine's).

Field: A total of 184 runners will compete.

Selection date: The 24 teams of seven individuals each and 16 additional individuals will be determined through regional competition at eight sites November 8 or 9.

2002 team champion: Western State.

2002 individual champion: Alfred Rugema (Abilene Christian).

Top team contenders: Adams State, Western State, Abilene Christian.

Championships notes: Colorado cross-state rivals Adams State and Western State engaged in the first of what promises to be a series of showdowns leading to the championships, with Adams State scoring a solid victory over the defending team titlist October 4 at the Rocky Mountain Shootout. The Grizzlies will be trying to halt Western State's string of titles at four while claiming their first Division II championship since 1998 ... Abilene Christian coach Jon Murray expects his Wildcats to again challenge for the title, despite losing two-time individual titlist Alfred Rugema and 2001 regional champ John Kemboi, the tandem that led the team to three straight runner-up finishes ... Top individual contenders: Matt Levassiur and Celedonio Rodriguez (Adams State), Bernard Manirakiza (Abilene Christian), Will Banks (Western State), and Tyler Graff and Patrick Boivin (Cal State Chico).

Division II Women's Cross Country Championships

Dates and sites: Regional competition will be conducted at various sites November 8. The championships will be November 22 at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina (hosted by St. Augustine's).

Field: A total of 184 runners will compete.

Selection date: The 24 teams of seven individuals each and 16 additional individuals will be determined through regional competition at eight sites November 8 or 9.

2002 team champion: Western State.

2002 individual champion: Amber Klein (Adams State).

Top team contenders: Adams State, Western State, Grand Valley State.

Championships notes: Western State seeks its fourth straight championship, but will have to fend off a strong challenge from cross-state rival Adams State, which won eight straight titles before the Mountaineers began their streak. Western's Alisha Williams placed fourth individually last year and is the top returning individual finisher, while Adams State's Stephanie Bylander leads the relatively young Grizzlies ... Grand Valley State recently ran at this year's championships site in Cary, finishing ninth in a large field of mostly Division I entrants that included powers Brigham Young, North Carolina and North Carolina State ... Top individual contenders: Alisha Williams (Western State), Stephanie Bylander (Adams State), Natalie Ewing (Grand Valley State), Romy Krueger (North Florida).

Division II Field Hockey Championship

Dates and site: The semifinals and final will be played November 7 and 9 on the campus of a participating institution.

Field: Four teams, two from each of the North and South regions.

Selection date: November 2.

2002 team champion: Bloomsburg.

Top team contenders: Shippensburg, Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, Bentley and Massachusetts-Lowell represented the top five teams in the October 7 National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll.

Championship notes: Defending champion Bloomsburg won its first 10 games of the season, including home wins over Shippensburg and Lock Haven, but dropped the return trips to those two schools earlier this month ... Massachusetts-Lowell stood 9-3 through early October, with all three defeats being 1-0 games, including an overtime loss at C.W. Post ... Nikki Sweger of Lock Haven, Kerry Kopec of Bentley, and Shippensburg's Lindsey Knupp and Carli Bordner all had scored a Division II-leading 14 goals through October 6 ... Bloomsburg has won this event more than any other school. The Huskies own seven championships, including five of the last seven contested. Lock Haven has won five times, and Bentley and Pfeiffer have one title apiece.