FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S-102-03-04
Monday, March 22, 2004

Elizabethtown Women's Cross Country Team Posts 16th Highest Team GPA in Nation; Two Blue Jay Women and Four Etown Men Earn NCAA Cross Country Coaches' All-Academic Team Honors

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- The Elizabethtown College women's and men's cross country teams have each been honored by the NCAA cross country coaches for posting team grade point averages higher than 3.1 in the fall 2003 semester. The women's cross country team posted a 3.55 GPA, and the men's cross country team had a 3.15 GPA in the fall 2003 semester. Also, the women's cross country team's 3.55 GPA ranks it 16th in the nation among NCAA Division III women's cross country teams.

Additionally, six Blue Jay harriers, two women and four men, earned spots on the NCAA cross country coaches' All-Academic Team by placing among the top 25% of the finishers at their regional championship while posting a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. Juniors Amanda Santore (Boothwyn, PA/Garnet Valley) and Melissa St. Clair (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg) from the Etown women's team received the honor, as did senior Sean Mulcahy (Towanda, PA/Towanda), juniors Nate Moore (Elverson, PA/Twin Valley) and Steve Sanko (Hazleton, PA/Bishop Hafey), and sophomore Greg Wetzel (Warrington, PA/Central Bucks East) from the Etown men's team.

Santore finished 48th at the 2003 Mideast Regional Championship and earned All-Middle Atlantic Conference honors for the first time in her career, finishing eighth at the MAC Championships to earn a spot on the All-MAC First Team.

St. Clair marked her second year in a row on the NCAA cross country coaches' All-Academic Team, having also received the honor after the 2002 season. In 2003, St. Clair had a breakthrough cross country season, earning All-MAC, All-Mideast Region, and All-America honors for the first time. She finished third at the 2003 MAC Championships, seventh at the Mideast Regional Championships, and 34th at the NCAA Division III cross country championships. St. Clair also earned All-America honors for the first time in track & field March 12, placing third in the nation in the 5000m at the 2004 NCAA Division III indoor track & field championships.

Mulcahy earned a spot on the All-Mideast Region team in 2003, placing 23rd overall at the regional championships. He was also an All-MAC Second Team runner in 2003, finishing 15th overall at the MAC Championships.
Moore finished 12th at the 2003 MAC Championships to earn a spot on the All-MAC second team, and he placed 51st at the Mideast Regional Championships in 2003.

This is the second year in a row Sanko has been on the NCAA cross country coaches' All-Academic Team. In 2003, he finished 90th at the NCAA Division III cross country championships, fourth at the Mideast Regional Championships, and fourth at the MAC Championships, earning spots on the All-Mideast Region team and the All-MAC First Team.

Wetzel has also made the NCAA cross country coaches' All-Academic Team last year, and in 2003 he finished 14th at the Mideast Regional Championships and 11th at the MAC Championships, thereby earning spots on the All-MAC Second Team and the All-Mideast Region team.

The 2003 Elizabethtown College women's cross country team finished third at the MAC Championships and eighth at the Mideast Regional Championships, its best regional finish ever. The Etown men's cross country team won its fifth consecutive MAC title and finished third in the Mideast Region in 2003.