FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ANHTONY EARNS ALL-NEW ENGLAND HONORS FOR WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

LEWISTON, Maine -- First-year runner Abby Anthony of Kingstown, R.I., has earned All-New England honors in her first season running cross country for the Bobcats.

Anthony placed 19th out of 255 runners at the NCAA Division III New England Regional championships, held Nov. 13 at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Her finish was the best performance by a Bates first year since 1995. Anthony completed the 3.1-mile race in 18:21, a life-time best by 40 seconds. She narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA championships as an individual, finishing two places and three seconds behind the final individual qualifiers. Anthony placed third among all first-year runners in the meet. As a team, the Bobcats placed seventh overall out of 35 teams, a seven-spot improvement over 1998.

The All-New England honor caps a stellar rookie season for Anthony. She placed second overall with a time of 20:55 in her first collegiate meet, held at the University of Maine-Augusta, as the Bobcats recorded the first perfect meet score in school history. Anthony placed third in a dual meet against Bowdoin College a week later. The Bobcats won their third meet of the season Oct. 1 at the Mt. Holyoke Invitational, as Anthony placed second, finishing as Bates' first runner for the first time. She earned her fourth top-five finish of the season, placing fourth at the state of Maine championships Oct. 9 and earning All-State honors. Although Anthony placed 21st at the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championships, she had shaved more than a two minutes off her time from the start of the season, finishing in 18:51, before slicing another half-minute at the regional championships.

"Abby's improvement this season has been wonderful," said Bates head coach Carolyn Court. "If she can continue at the same progression, she can be one of the region's top runners."

Anthony is a 1999 graduate of St. George's School, Newport, R.I. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. Quentin Anthony, Kingstown, R.I.