Division II Men's Cross Country Championships

Dates and sites: Regional competition will be conducted at eight sites November 5 or 6. The championships will be November 19 at Prado Park in Chino, California (hosted by Cal Poly Pomona).

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.

2004 team champion: Western State.

2004 individual champion: Nicodemus Naimadu (Abilene Christian).

Top team contenders: Adams State, Western State, Abilene Christian, Cal State Chico, Harding, Grand Valley State.

Championships notes: Western State returns last year's second- and third-place individual finishers (Oliver Bodor and Kelly Christensen, respectively), and redshirt freshman Iain Donnan also is a threat to score well for the Mountaineers ... Adams State outpointed Western State (running without Donnan) at the Rocky Mountain Shootout October 1 to claim the top spot in the Division II cross country coaches' rankings entering the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championships October 22. The Grizzlies return 2004 top-10 finisher Jesus Solis ... Defending individual champion Nicodemus Naimadu of Abilene Christian posted the best overall time in the three separate races of the Great American Cross Country Festival and defeated runners from four Atlantic Coast Conference schools and other Division I opponents head-to-head at the North Carolina event September 24 ... Cal Poly Pomona also hosted the 2000 championships at Prado Park, where competitors will run on grass equestrian trails featuring numerous turns through slightly rolling hills.

Division II Women's Cross Country Championships

Dates and sites: Regional competition will be conducted at eight sites November 5 or 6. The championships will be November 19 at Prado Park in Chino, California (hosted by Cal Poly Pomona).

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.

2004 team champion: Adams State.

2004 individual champion: Chelsea Smith (Brigham Young-Hawaii).

Top team contenders: Adams State, Cal State Chico, Grand Valley State, Northern Michigan, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado-Colorado-Springs, Western State.

Championships notes: Though university and college division results were tallied separately, Adams State unofficially outpointed defending Division I champion Colorado at the Rocky Mountain Shootout October 1 by placing four runners in the top seven places in the combined competition. Two key contributors to Adams State's two straight cross country titles, Emily Mortensen and two-time track champion Victoria Martinez, are back for their senior seasons ... The Grizzlies appear ready again to dominate the championships after winning last year's event by 70 points, but the race for second place looks extremely competitive. Six teams -- including 2004 runner-up Edinboro and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rivals Colorado School of Mines and Western State -- have joined Adams State at various times through the season among the top five in the weekly cross country coaches' poll ... Clayton State sophomore Allison Kruetzer, who finished just three seconds short of a win at last year's championships, is the top returning individual finisher.

Division II Field Hockey Championship

Dates and sites: The national semifinals and final are November 11 and 13 on the campus of a participating institution.

Field: Six teams.

Selection date: October 31.

2004 champion: Bloomsburg.

Top contenders: The STX/National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll ranked Shippensburg, Bloomsburg, Kutztown, Bentley and Massachusetts-Lowell in the top five earlier this month.

Championship notes: Three-time defending champion Bloomsburg started the season with a seven-game winning streak before falling to top-ranked Shippensburg -- the Huskies' only loss through early October ... Only four teams have captured the Division II national championship since it began in 1981 -- Pfeiffer and Bentley have one championship each while Lock Haven and Bloomsburg have earned five and nine, respectively ... Shippensburg junior forward Ashley Watt has contributed 21 goals and eight assists in 13 games to lead the division in points and goals ... Massachusetts-Lowell is seeking its fourth overall appearance in the national tournament. The River Hawks finished second in 2003.