FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BATES MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY HEADED TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Danahy, Twiest, Easter Named All-New England

LEWISTON, Maine -- With a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championships at Dartmouth, Mass., on Nov. 13, the Bates College men's cross country team has earned its first-ever team bid to the NCAA championships, to be held Nov. 20 at the University of Wisconsin-Osh Kosh.

The Bobcats were paced by seniors Mike Danahy of So. Windsor, Conn., and Matt Twiest of Albuquerque, N.M., and first-year runner Justin Easter of Jay, Maine, all of whom earned All-New England honors.

Danahy finished second in the race with a lifetime-best time of 24:22 over five miles, four seconds behind meet-winner Samson Yohannes of Brandeis University. It was only the second time this season that Danahy has finished behind another Division III runner. He also finished fifth in a field composed of 272 runners from all three NCAA divisions at the Open New England championships. The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) champion and two-time state of Maine champion will be making his second straight trip to the NCAA cross country championships. A two-time All-American in track and field, Danahy placed third in the 5,000-meter run in the 1999 indoor track and field championships and fifth in the 10,000-meters outdoors. Danahy's sister Maura, running for Connecticut College, also qualified for the NCAA championships, placing sixth in the women's race.

Twiest earned his fourth straight trip to the NCAA championships by placing fifth at the regional meet with a time of 24:38, also a lifetime best. Twiest has now finished fifth three times at the New England regionals and sixth one other time. Twiest will have a chance to join Mark Hatch, Bates Class of Õ87, as the only three-time All-Americans in Bates cross country history. Twiest placed 17th last year, while his ninth-place finish in 1997 is the second-best performance at nationals in school history. He also earned All-America honors at the 1998 NCAA indoor track and field championships in the 1,500-meter run.

Easter placed 35th overall with a time of 25:46 to earn his first All New England honor. He was seventh among first-year competitors. His improvement of one minute, 41 seconds over his previous lifetime best was especially impressive since he has missed much of the season with an injury.

Rounding out the Bates scorers were seniors Brendan Hahesy of Melrose, Mass., and John McGrath of Londonderry, N.H., who were just behind Easter in 38th and 39th places, respectively. Hahesy and McGrath also posted career-best times of 25:51 and 25:52. First-year runner Malcolm Gray of Bronxville, N.Y. (62nd place, 26:23), and junior Chris Lupo of Portsmouth, R.I. (87th place, 26:53), will complete the Bobcat contingent at the NCAA championships.

Bates placed fourth as a team with 119 points, behind regional champions Keene (N.H.) State College (59 points), Tufts University (102 points) and Williams College (114 points). Fifth-place MIT (131 points) also earned a berth in the NCAAs.

This is Bates' first trip as a team to the national championships since 1977, when the Bobcats finished sixth under the late Walter Slovenski, who passed away in September. The Bobcats have been ranked as high as 15th in the nation this year, their highest ranking under fifth-year head coach Al Fereshetian.

"I couldn't be happier for the team," Fereshetian said. "They went after it with everything they had. For the seniors it amounted to four years of hard work and determination. It was a lot of fun watching them realize their goals."