INDIANAPOLIS – USA Track & Field on Monday announced the Team USA lineups that will compete at the 30th IAAF World Cross Country Championships, March 23-24 in Dublin, Ireland.

Leaders on this year’s U.S. team include 2000 Olympians Deena Drossin, Suzy Favor Hamilton, Elva Dryer, Jennifer Rhines, Amy Rudolph, Abdi Abdirahman, Tony Cosey and Meb Keflezighi.

University of Colorado standout Dathan Ritzenhein, who won the bronze medal in the Junior Men’s competition at the 2001 World Cross Country Championships, will compete in the senior men’s long race in Dublin.

Men’s and women’s 2002 U.S. Junior champions Tim Moore and Maria Cicero also will compete in Dublin.

A total of six races will be held at the World Championships in the following divisions: senior men’s 12K and 4K, senior women’s 8K and 4K, junior men’s 8K and junior women’s 6K.

Athletes earned their places on the U.S. team during a two-day trials competition that mirrored the format used at the World Championships. At the USA Winter Cross Country Nationals February 9-10 in Vancouver, Washington, three championship races were held each day with the top-six finisher in each competition qualifying for the trip to Ireland.

Deena Drossin won her fifth U.S. 8K national cross country title in Vancouver, easily defending her crown by a 15-second margin over runner-up Colleen De Reuck, who will also compete in Dublin. Drossin demonstrated her fitness earlier this month by winning the U.S. 15K Championships at the Gate River Run in Jacksonville, Florida in the new American record time of 48 minutes, 12 seconds, a mark that stood for 12 years. Drossin’s 15K victory was her third consecutive at that event.

Meb Keflezighi will lead the U.S. men’s team in Dublin after edging teammate Abdi Abdirahman for his second straight national 12K cross country title in Vancouver. Both competitors finished the course in 34:45, with Keflezighi winning the title in one of the closest Championships races ever. Keflezighi also shined at the recent U.S. 15K Championships, successfully defending his title in 42:48.

Opting not to compete in Dublin are 4K champions Tim Broe and Regina Jacobs, who are concentrating on preparing for the 2002 outdoor season in the men's and women's steeplechase, respectively.

Saying he has "been traveling too much," Broe will stay home to recover from his successful indoor season and to train for his goal of breaking Henry Marsh's American record in the steeplechase this season. The record could be in serious jeopardy as Broe already has one AR on his resume this year, breaking Steve Scott's mark in the indoor 3,000m in January.

Similary, Jacobs and her husband and coach, Tom Craig, have their eyes on the steeple. After an active indoor season that included indoor world-best times for 2 miles and 3 miles, Jacobs will rest for two weeks before immersing herself in steeplechase training for the first time in her career. "As much as Regina likes to think and act like a 29-year-old, her body is responding like a 39-year-old to the hard training, racing and travel," Craig said. Jacobs currently holds U.S. outdoor records at 1,000 and 5,000 meters.

USATF will release a full preview of the World Cross Country Championships on Wednesday.

2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships USA Team Roster (Alphabetical by event)

Senior Men 12K, Place at U.S. Champs, Affiliation, Residence: Abdi Abdirahman 2nd – 35:45, Nike, Tucson, Ariz.; Matt Downin 4th – 36:00, Unattached, Madison, Wisc.; Greg Jimmerson 6th – 36:27, Nike Farm Team, Los Altos Hills, Calif.; Meb Keflezighi 1st – 35:45, Nike, Chula Vista, Calif.; Dathan Ritzenhein 5th – 36:19, Univ. of Colorado, Rockford, Mich.; Clint Wells 7th – 36:40, New York AC, Boulder, Colo.;

Senior Men 4K: Jared Cordes 11th – 11:43, Wisconsin Runner, Madison, Wisc.; Tony Cosey 3rd – 11:28, adidas, Knoxville, Tenn.; Dave Davis 4th – 11:29, Nike, Portland, Ore.; Matt Lane 5th – 11:30, Nike, Williamsburg, Va.; Jonathon Riley 8th – 11:37, Unattached, Palo Alto, Calif.; Jorge Torres 2nd – 11:27, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, Colo.;

Junior Men 8K: Rod Koborsi 2nd – 24:55, Georgetown University, Houston, Texas; Yong-Sung Leal 6th – 25:18 Arroyo HS ’03 San Leandro, Calif. Bobby Lockhart 5th – 25:18, Handley HS ’02, Winchester, Virginia; Tim Moore 1st – 24:48, Novi HS ’02; Novi, Michigan; William Nelson 3rd – 25:04, Taft Union HS ’02, Bakersfield, Calif.; Zachary Sabatino 4th – 25:16; West Virginia University, Charleston, W.V.;

Senior Women 8K: Colleen De Reuck 2nd – 26:46, Nike, Boulder, Colo.; Deena Drossin 1st – 26:31, Asics, Mammoth Lake, Calif; Elva Dryer 3rd – 26:51, Nike, Albuquerque, N.M.; Milena Glusac 5th – 27:12, adidas, Fallbrook, Calif.; Jennifer Rhines 4th – 27:04, adidas, Saint Davids, Pa.; Amy Rudolph 6th – 27:18, adidas, Providence, R.I.;

Senior Women 4K: Suzy Favor Hamilton 3rd – 13:11, Nike, New Glarus, Wisc., Sarah Hann 4th – 13:20, New Balance, Winchester, N.H.; Mary Jayne Harrelson 6th – 13:27, Nike, Blacksburg, Va.; Sarah Toland 7th – 13:32, Unattached, Boulder, Colo.; Carrie Tollefson 2nd – 13:01, adidas, Edina, Minn.; Janet Trujillo 5th – 13:22, Nike, Superior, Colo.;

Junior Women 6K Kathryn Andersen 6th – 21:41, Brigham Young Univ., Provo, Utah; Sara Bei 3rd – 21:26; Stanford Univ.; Palo Alto, Calif.; Maria Nicole Cicero 1st – 21:05, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass.; Valerie Lauver 5th – 21:40, Allen (TX) HS ‘02, Allen, Texas; Nicole Lee 4th – 21:33, Georgetown Univ., Washington, D.C.; Erika Odlaug 2nd – 21:19, Deerfield (IL) HS ’02, Bannockburn, Illinois.

2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships Schedule of Events

March 23, 2002 March 24, 2002 11:05 Junior Women’s 6K 12:30 Junior Men’s 8K 11:45 Senior Men’s 4K 1:20 Senior Women’s 4K 12:15 Senior Women’s 8K 2:00 Senior Men’s 12K

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