Nov. 16, 2007

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After earning the program's first ever automatic bid to the national championships with a second-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional, the University of Louisville men's cross country will look to finish off another historic season with a record-setting finish at Monday's NCAA Championships at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind.

The event, hosted at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center, is scheduled to begin at 12:08 p.m. ET with the men's 10-kilometer race followed by the women's 6-kilometer race at 12:58 p.m., and the event will conclude with the presentation of awards at 1:50 p.m. For the first time ever, the championship races will be televised live on CSTV.

The Cards, ranked 15th in this week's USTFCCCA Top 30 poll, enter the event following their second-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional on Nov. 10 at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park in Louisville, where they fell only one-point shy of regional champion North Carolina State. With the runner-up finish, the Cards, who also won their first ever BIG EAST title in 2007, earned their first ever automatic bid to the NCAA Championships and their second consecutive bid overall. Last year, the Cards earned an at-large bid and finished an impressive 15th in the nation in the program's first ever appearance at the national championships.

"We've been carrying a lot of momentum in our program over the last couple of years and we're ready for the challenges at the NCAA Championships," said Cards' head coach Ron Mann. "Last year's finish at the this event really propelled our program to some great things in 2007 in both track and field and in cross country and our goal is finish the calendar year with another strong team finish."

After last year's strong finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, the Cardinals transitioned into 2007 with a 10th-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, including a pair of event national champions, and a record-setting seventh-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Mann and the Cards would love to add a third top 10 team finish to close a record-setting 2007 for the program.

"It's a pretty rare feat for any program to finish in the top 10 in all three NCAA track and field and cross country events in one calendar year and it's a pretty lofty goal for our program," Mann said. "For that to happen, we're definitely going to need our best race of the season on Monday and you can always use a break or two as well. I really like where our team's at right now and the way we're running as a group."

Throughout the 2007 season, the Cards have been led by senior Wesley Korir. The three-time All-BIG EAST and All-Region performer has been U of L's top runner in all six events in 2007 and the native of Eldoret, Kenya, has a pair of wins to go along with six top top-five finishes this season. Korir entered his final collegiate cross country season riding the momentum of closing his collegiate track career with a third-place finish and All-America honors in the 5,000-meter run at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June.

"Wesley's been an important part of the climb up the national rankings for the University of Louisville cross country and track and field programs and he's already had a wonderful senior year," Mann said. "He's really matured as a runner and as a leader and I think he's ready to close things out in style on Monday."

Following closely behind Korir all season has been a group of runners determined to make the team more than a one-man show and the results have backed that up. U of L had three other runners - Soimo Kiplagat, Cory Thorne and Michael Eaton -- earn All-BIG EAST and All-Region honors over the last three weeks to solidify the Cards' position as a top 15 program. And the battle for the No. 5 scoring position in the Cards' lineup has led to strong results with sophomores Scott McClain and Matt Smith and senior captain Thad Schroeder all earning scoring finishes this season.

"To be a top level program, it takes more than one or two or even three guys at or near the top," said Mann. "It takes depth through the top five, six and seven spots and this group has done a great job of not only improving with each race, but in pushing one another and saving every second possible in each race. These guys enjoy the competition and the challenges at the top meets in the nation, and those are the kind of people we want in our program."

Following the completion of the cross country season on Monday, the Cards will turn their focus to the indoor track and field season, which will begin on Dec. 7 at the Fast Start Invitational in Carbondale, Ill.