INDIANAPOLIS – Top U.S. distance runners Deena Drossin, Regina Jacobs, Meb Keflezighi and Tim Broe lead the list of entries for the 2002 USA Winter Cross Country Championships, February 9-10 at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash.

The Winter Cross Country Nationals serves as the U.S. National Championships, and is also the selection event for the U.S. team that will compete at the 2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, March 23-24 in Dublin, Ireland.

The Championships will be aired on Fox Sports Net as part of its “New Balance Elite Racing” television series. The men’s races will air on February 20, with the women’s competitions televised on March 8. Both telecasts will air at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Six championship races will be conducted in Vancouver over a two-day period, featuring more than 500 athletes. The top six finishers in the Senior and Junior competitions qualify for the U.S. team that will travel to Dublin for the World Championships. In addition, the U.S. Masters Men and Women National 6K Cross Country Championships will take place on Saturday, February 9.

The Fort Vancouver course is a 2000-meter, spectator-friendly, international-style championship venue, designed to simulate many of the conditions that the runners will face at the World Cross Country Championships.

Senior athletes returning to defend their U.S. titles include Tim Broe (Men’s 4K), Meb Keflezighi (Men’s 12K), Regina Jacobs (Women’s 4K) and Deena Drossin, who won her fourth career women’s 8K U.S. title last year in Vancouver.

2001 U.S. junior women’s champ Laura Zeigle of South Jordan, Utah, will also defend her title. In the men’s junior race, look for prep standouts Tim Moore of Novi, Michigan (Novi HS) to battle it out with Bobby Lockhart of John Handley High in Winchester, Virginia. Moore defeated Lockhart by 1.14 seconds in winning the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships in Orlando, Florida, on December 8.

Five members of last year’s bronze medal winning men’s 12K team at the World Championships in Belgium are entered in the Championships. They are (with Worlds finish in parenthesis): Meb Keflezighi (13th), Abdi Abdirahman (15th), Nick Rogers (47th), Greg Jimmerson (52nd) and Matt Downin (80th). University of Colorado freshman Dathan Ritzenhein, who won the bronze medal in the junior men’s competition at last year’s World Championships, is entered in the senior men’s 12K race.

Several Oregon athletes will compete, including 2001 World Championship team members Lisa Nye (Bend) and Nick Rogers (Eugene). University of Oregon standouts Seth Pilkington (junior men’s 8K), and Jason Hartmann (men’s 4K) are also entered, along with ex-Ducks Milena Glusac, and Dan Nelson. Former University of Portland runners Tim and Pete Julian will also compete.

In Masters competition, Tim Minor was last year’s fastest finisher and he will defend his men’s title on Saturday. Jennifer Teppo, who placed third last year, is a favorite in the Masters women’s 6K race.

The following is a list of some of the top senior competitors expected to compete this weekend in Vancouver:

Abdi Abdirahman: After finishing third at this event in 2001, Abdirahman looks to win his first U.S. cross country title. He finished 15th at the World Cross Championships last March before winning the 10,000 meters at the USA Outdoor Championships in June. Last summer he finished 10th in the 10K at the Goodwill Games and 19th in that event at the World Outdoor Championships. He ended the 2001 campaign ranked #1 in the U.S. at 10,000 meters by Track & Field News.

Bryan Berryhill: After placing third in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships three straight years, Berryhill finally grabbed the collegiate title in 2001. Berryhill enjoyed a strong season last year, setting new personal bests in the mile (3:54.87) and the 1,500m (3:35.48). He finished eighth at the 2001 Goodwill Games and ended the 2001 season ranked #4 in the U.S. by T&FN.

Tim Broe: After winning his first U.S. 4K cross country title last year, Broe returns to Vancouver ready to defend his crown. Earlier this year on January 27 in Boston, Broe ran 7:39.23 to break Steve Scott’s 3,000 meter American indoor record of 7:39.94, set in 1981. The 2001 U.S. indoor 3,000m champion, Broe finished fourth in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2000 Olympic Trials, and was third at the 2001 USA Outdoor Championships despite hitting the final barrier and falling. He finished last season ranked #1 in the steeplechase and #2 at 3,000m by T &FN.

Tony Cosey: After placing sixth at the Winter Nationals last year, Cosey placed 39th in the 4K competition at the World Cross Country Championships in Oostende, Belgium. A 2000 Olympian in the steeplechase, he finished fourth in that event at the 1998 U.S. Outdoor Championships.

Mark Croghan: A three time Olympian (1992-1996-2000), Croghan is a three-time USA 3000m steeplechase champion, a four-time World Outdoor Championships team member and a two-time NCAA steeple champ. He placed second in the steeple at the 2000 Olympic Trials, and ended the season ranked #5 nationally in that event in the U.S. by T&FN. Croghan was fourth in the short course event at the 2000 USA Winter Cross Country Nationals.

Alan Culpepper: The runner-up in the 10,000 meters at the 2000 Olympic Trials, Culpepper was the U.S. cross country long course champ in 1999, and the top American finisher that year at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships (21st). The 1999 U.S. 10,000 meter champ, Culpepper was second in the 5,000m, and third in the 10,000 meters at the 2001 USA Outdoor Championships. Known for his versatility, Culpepper ended the 2001 campaign ranked #4 at 3,000m, #5 at 5,000m and #3 at 10,000 meters in the U.S. by T&FN.

Deena Drossin: With her five U.S. women’s cross country titles in the last four years, Drossin is known as America’s most dominant cross country runner. Now, after her first outing as a marathoner last year, she’s also considered the nation’s strongest competitor in that event. Drossin won the 2001 U.S. women’s marathon title at the New York City Marathon on November 4 in the fourth-fastest time in history by an American woman of 2 hours, 26 minutes, 58 seconds. Drossin also won the 2001 USA Outdoor 10,000 meter title for the second time in her career. She ended the 2001 season ranked #1 in the U.S. at 10,000 meters after finishing 11th in that event at the World Outdoor Championships. Drossin has enjoyed a layoff from competition since the 2001 New York City Marathon.

Elva Dryer: The runner-up in the 4K women’s competition last year in Vancouver, Dryer is looking for a strong season after setting new personal bests last year in the 3000 meters (8:46.09) and 5000 meters (15:03.56). A seven-time NCAA Division II track and cross country champion while at Western State University, Dryer was an Olympian in 2000 in the 5000 meters after finishing third at the Olympic Trials in 15:11.76. She placed 38th in the women’s 4K at the 2001 World Cross Country Championships.

Anthony Famiglietti: The 2001 World University Games steeplechase champ, Famiglietti was the runner-up in that event at the 2001 USA Outdoor Nationals, and ended the season ranked #2 in the U.S. by T&FN. His victory at the World University Games was the first international title by an American athlete in the steeple since John Gregorek captured the WUG title in 1991.

Suzy Favor Hamilton: Three-time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton is entered in the women’s 4K competition in Vancouver. A three-time U.S. Outdoor 1,500 meter champion, Favor-Hamilton is also a two-time Pan American Games gold medalist and a three-time U.S. Indoor champion. Favor Hamilton was the runner up at the 1986 and 1990 NCAA Cross Country Championships as a senior at the University of Wisconsin. She finished sixth in that event in 1988.

Regina Jacobs: A four-time Olympic qualifier and a two-time World Outdoor Championships 1,500m silver medalist, Jacobs will defend her U.S. women’s 4K cross country title after setting a new world’s best in the indoor women’s two mile last month at the adidas Boston Indoor Games. Jacobs won the race in 9:23.38, bettering the previous standard of 9:28.15 by Lynn Jennings in 1986. Last year Jacobs won her tenth U.S. Outdoor 1,500m title, and she also won the national outdoor crown at 800 meters. The 1995 World Indoor 1,500m champion, Jacobs won the bronze medal in the 3,000 meters at the 1999 World Indoor Championships.

Meb Keflezighi: In a landmark 2001 season, Keflezighi won his first USA 12K cross country title at the Winter Nationals and also set the new American 10,000 meter record of 27:13.98 May 4 in Palo Alto, California. A personal best by almost 40 seconds, his AR performance bettered Mark Nenow’s 1986 standard of 27:20.56. The 2000 Olympic Trials 10,000 meter champion, the four-time NCAA champ placed 13th at the 2001 World Cross Country Championships and 23rd in the 10,000m at last year’s World Outdoor Championships.

Cheri Kenah: Known as a versatile performer, Kenah had a strong 2001 season, finishing third in the women’s 4K at the Winter Cross Country Nationals, and placing second in the 3,000 meters at the USA Indoor Championships. She finished 59th at the World Cross Country Championships, and ended the season ranked #4 at 3000m, #8 at 5000m and #10 at 1500m in the U.S. by T&FN.

Jen Rhines: A three-time NCAA 5000 meter champ while at Villanova, Rhines has emerged as one of America’s bright new stars after placing second in the 10,000 meters at the 2000 Olympic Trials and the 2001 USA Outdoor Nationals. Rhines was second in the 8K at last year’s Winter Nationals and placed 27th at the World Cross Country Championships in Belgium.

Amy Rudolph: A two-time winner of the women’s 4K championship at Winter Nationals (1998-’99), Rudolph hopes to regain her title after finishing fourth in the 5,000 meters at last year’s USA Outdoor Championships. A two-time Olympian, Rudolph is also a three-time World Outdoor Championships team member and the 1998 U.S. 8K Road Racing champion. Rudolph had a strong performance at the 1998 World Cross Country Championship, where she finished ninth.

For more information on the 2002 USA Winter Cross Country Nationals, visit the USATF Web site at: www.usatf.org