July 11, 2002

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech men's and women's cross country coach Ben Thomas has announced the signing of three runners to a national letter of intent for the 2002-03 academic year. Katie Danyko and Maureen Hagan will join the Hokies as freshman next season while Marlies Overbeeke will be a graduate student.

"This year's recruiting class is a step in the right direction for our team," said Thomas. "Our newcomers are all very motivated and are a competitive group. Combined with a solid group of returnees, this new class will definitely raise the level of our program."

Danyko, from Sterling Heights, Mich., was a four-time all-district and all-region cross country selection at Stevenson High School. She finished fourth in the Michigan State Cross Country Meet and was the state indoor two-mile champion. Danyko has a personal best of 10:50.30 in the two-mile event indoors and a 1500m best of 4:39.56. She placed ninth in the 5,000m at the 2002 USA Junior Championships last month at Stanford.

Hagan, from Springfield, Va., was named to the all-district and all-region cross country teams four times at West Springfield High School. She was a four-time selection to the all-state outdoor team and was named to the all-state indoor team three times. Hagen has a personal best of 5:05.31 in the mile and 2:15.52 in the 800m event.

Overbeeke, from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, attended Erasmus University and will enter graduate school this fall. She is the current Dutch national cross country champion and a member of the Dutch national team. Overbeeke was fourth in the Dutch national 800m indoor and sixth in the 1500m national indoor. She has a 1500m best of 4:23.57 and 2:09.78 in the 800m event.

All three runners will also compete for the Hokies indoor and outdoor track teams. Tech finished sixth at the 2001 BIG EAST women's cross country meet and will open the season on Sept. 7 hosting the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational.