Nov. 16, 2002

DAVIS, W.Va. - On Saturday, Nov. 16 at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships held at the Canaan Valley Golf Course in Davis, W.Va., the Villanova men's cross country team won the regional title, while the Wildcat women ran to a second place finish.

The Villanova men finished with 40 points to win the men's competition with Georgetown (45), Princeton (108), La Salle (119), and Pennsylvania (184) also finishing in the top three.

Georgetown's Mike Smith won the men's individual title with a time of 30:28.9.

The Wildcats placed three runners in the top five and four in the top 10 in the race. Adrian Blincoe finished second in 30:31.4, Jonathan Fasulo placed third in 30:39.6, Ryan Hayden finished fourth in 30:44.4, and Tom Parlapiano crossed the finish line in 10th place with a time of 30:58.9.

Other scorers for Villanova were Patrick Dunn (31:29.2) who finished in 23rd place, Timothy Styler (31:41.9) who placed 31st, and Marc Pelerin (31:42.2) who finished in 32nd place.

In the women's race, Georgetown (50) took the team title with Villanova (57), Penn State (111), West Virginia (131), and Princeton (144) rounding out the top five.

West Virginia's Megan Metcalfe won the individual NCAA Mid Atlantic Regional championship.

Marina Muncan was the top finisher for the Villanova women, placing fourth overall with a time of 20:52.1. The Wildcats also had six other runners finish in the top 20, with Kalin Toedebusch placing 10th (21:08.6), Ioana Parusheva placing 14th (21:24.9), Rebecca Mitchell in 16th, Carre Joyce finishing 17th (21:32.6), and Elizabeth Gesel placing 18th (21:35.2). Kirsty Smith also scored for Villanova, finishing in 64th place with a time of 23:04.0.

West Virginia hosted the event for the first time in its school history. One hundred and eighty eight women from 27 schools and 179 men from 31 schools competed in the race.

The Georgetown and Villanova men and women along with the top four individuals automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships on November 25, in Terre Haute, Ind. The remainder of the teams will be considered for at large bids which will be announced Monday, November 18, at 5:00 p.m.