Butler Cross Country Teams Earn NCAA Bids

Nov. 15, 2004

Horizon League Team Regional Results
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The Butler men's and women's cross country teams both have earned an at-large bid to the 2004 NCAA Cross Country Championship, which will be hosted by Indiana State University on Monday, Nov. 22. It marks the first time in school history that both Butler distance squads have advanced to the NCAA championship in the same year.

Butler's men all but assured their bid with a third place team finish at the Great Lakes Regional Meet on Saturday, Nov. 13. The Bulldogs had five runners finish among the top 26 individuals. Junior Scott Overall led that quintet with a 15th place finish in 30:30.7. Rounding out Butler's five-man scoring team were senior Andrew Sherman (17th), senior Olly Laws, (20th), senior Nick Goodliffe (24th), and senior Thomas Frazer (26th).

Head coach Joe Franklin guided the Bulldogs to an at-large bid in the 2002 NCAA Championship, while Thomas Frazer earned an individual bid to last year's national meet.

The Butler women earned an at-large bid with a sixth place team finish at the Great Lakes Regional. It's the first NCAA bid for the Bulldogs in women's cross country and the first at-large bid for any women's team at Butler! Junior Ava Hutchinson led the Bulldogs at the Great Lakes Regional with a 14th place individual finish. Butler's other scoring runners were senior Monika Schneider (35th), junior Katie Stuckey (37th), senior Victoria Mitchell (45th) and freshman Genni Gardner (56th).

Story Courtesy of Jim McGrath, Butler Sports Information