Cedar Falls, IA -- St. Francis University junior cross country runner Ryan Sheehan (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) competed at the NCAA Division I National Championship Race at Northern Iowa University. The third-year Red Flash runner, who made his second straight appearance at the national finals, placed 81st in a 254-runner field, covering the 10-kilometer course in 30:45.2. Sheehan finished one place behind former Baldwin High School teammate and current Penn State University freshman runner Dan Mazzocco (80th – 30:44.4). 
 
Sheehan started the race at a brisk pace in cold and blustery conditions and stood in 40th place through the first two miles before falling behind the front-running pack. Stanford University won the men’s team title at the national championship race with 24 points, followed by runner-up Wisconsin (174) and third-place Northern Arizona (189). 
 
Colorado’s Dathan Ritzenhein captured individual first-place honors in a time of 29:14.1. 
 
“This wasn’t Ryan’s best performance of the year, but I think he learned a lot from this race,” said Red Flash head cross country and track and field coach Scott Catone. “He has improved so much since last year, trimming about 30 seconds off his time in every race."
 
“We are looking forward to track season – Ryan has an excellent opportunity of qualifying for the indoor and outdoor national championships on the track.” 
 
Sheehan earned a bid to the 2003 NCAA Championship Race by finishing fifth individually at the Mid-Atlantic Regional finals at Lock Haven University on Nov. 15. The Northeast Conference's two-time individual champion covered the 10-kilometer course at Lock Haven in 30:40. Sheehan finished 54th.  St. Francis (PA) took ninth place at the meet.
 
Other NEC schools that fared well in NCAA regional competition on November 15th included Quinnipiac (10th in Northeast Region, Fairleigh Dickinson (16th in Mid-Atlantic Region) and Monmouth (18th in Mid-Atlantic Region).

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