Nov. 16, 2002

Complete Results

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Florida State women's cross country team will make its first ever NCAA championship appearance this season thanks to a second-place finish at the 2002 NCAA South Region Championship on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn. The Lady Seminoles earned the automatic bid after senior Vicky Gill turned in an All-South Region performance by winning the 6k meet with a time of 21:03.87. FSU ended the meet with 74 points, only two behind team-champion Tennessee.

Joining Gill as all-region honorees was sophomore Natalie Hughes, who finished eighth (22:23.02), and seniors Allison Lind (22:37.06) and Misty Harper (22:53.63), who placed 18th and 22nd, respectively.

Gill, the runner-up at the 2002 ACC Championship, won her second meet of the year, finishing 40 seconds ahead of Tennessee's Sharon Dickie. This is the second year in a row in which Gill and Hughes have earned all-region honors.

In men's action, FSU finished fourth behind team-champion Tennessee, Alabama and Florida. Leading the Seminoles were all-region honorees, sophomore Joep Tigchelaar (fourth place, 32:22.70) and juniors Maarten van den Heuvel (14th, 32:58.66) and Nathan Adams (21st, 33:06.16). Tigchelaar and van den Heuvel earned All-South Region honors for the second-straight season.

In cross country, the NCAA holds nine regional meets prior to its championship meet. The top two teams at each regional meet earn an automatic bid to the championship meet. The NCAA will then select 13 at-large teams to compete, as well.

The men's and women's NCAA Cross Country Championship are scheduled to compete Sunday, Nov. 24, in Terre Haute, Ind.