Nov. 20, 2006

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Villanova junior cross country runner Frances Koons (Allentown, Pa.) covered the 6K course in a time of 22:02.1 and finished 87th out of 253 entries at the NCAA championship meet on Monday afternoon. The national championship meet was hosted by Indiana State at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, located at the Wabash Family Sports Center.

Koons had an outstanding fall season which included first-place finishes at the Paul Short Invitational, BIG EAST Championships and most recently at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. All of her wins came with other accolades as well. She set a meet record in winning the Paul Short title and ran the eighth-fastest time at the BIG EAST meet since the conference race moved to Franklin Park in 1994. At the NCAA regional meet, her winning time of 20:02 was nearly 30 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

The weather for the national championship on Monday featured temperatures in the mid 40's with winds at 15 miles per hour. Those conditions played a part in each runner's performance.

With the cross country season now complete, Villanova will turn its attention to the beginning of the indoor track & field schedule. Koons placed 10th individually in the 3000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships last season and was a member of the DMR quartet that placed sixth at the national meet. She also claimed three second-place finishes at the indoor BIG EAST Championships in 2006.

The first competition on the winter schedule for Villanova is the Jack Pyrah Invitational, which the team will host on Friday, December 1 at Haverford College.