September 7, 2002

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech women's cross country team started off its season with a victory in the eleventh annual Alumni Meet, while the men finished third behind Eastern Kentucky and Cumberland College.

The Tech women, who had five of the top six finishes, completed the meet with 18 points. They were followed in the standings by Eastern Kentucky (41) and Cumberland (80).

Newcomer Marlies Overbeeke (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) took the top spot for the Hokies, followed by Jessica Morris (Coatesville, Pa.) in second place. Junior college transfer Kristy VanCour (Evans Mills, N.Y.) came in fourth place, with Stacey Vidt (Allison Park, Pa.) and Katie Danyko (Sterling Heights, Mich.) rounding out the top six. Eastern Kentucky's Tiffany Cartwright finished third.

The men's race was much tighter, as Eastern Kentucky claimed first place with a team score of 39. Cumberland, with a score of 42, just edged out Tech (43 points) for second place in the team standings. VMI finished fourth with a score of 111.

Casey Frazier (Woodbridge, Va.) was the Hokies' top performer, finishing in fourth place. Michael Lawson (Foster, R.I.), David Atkiss (Hatfield, Pa.) and Justin Skaare (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) also landed in the top ten for Tech.

The Hokies continue their seasons at home on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Virginia Tech Invitational.