Nov. 20, 2008

BALTIMORE, MD - Head coach Bobby Van Allen and the Johns Hopkins women's cross country team will soon hit the road for the NCAA Championship. The meet is hosted by Hanover College in Hanover, IN on Saturday, November 22, and will feature the best 32 teams in the country.

2008 marks JHU's second trip the nationals, after reaching the NCAA national championship a year ago. The Blue Jays earned an at-large bid a year ago after a third place finish at the NCAA Mideast Regional. Junior Laura Paulsen placed 39th in the national championship meet in 2007.

"We want to establish ourselves as one of the top teams in the nation." Head Coach Bobby Van Allen

This season, Hopkins has earned the first Centennial Conference team championship as well as first place at the Mideast Regional, a program first. Paulsen won the Centennial Conference individual championship as well. The Blue Jays placed each of their top five runners in the top 25 at regionals and will look to continue the same successes they have produced all season.

"Our goal is certainly to improve upon our performance at nationals last season," said Van Allen. "We didn't know what to expect going into it last season and now we can be focused on the task at hand. We want to establish ourselves as one of the top teams in the nation."

The No. 11 Blue Jays head into the NCAA Championship undefeated against Divison III teams this season. The meet will commence at 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 22.

Fans, Check back to www.HopkinsSports.com for the latest on news, results and updates on the Blue Jays!