George Washington University

Nov. 17, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC - Redshirt sophomore Megan Hogan continued her incredible inaugural season at George Washington by becoming the first Colonial runner to qualify for the Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships.

Hogan finished 19th at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships last weekend, which was also the best finish ever for a Colonial runner at the meet. "Understanding that she's only been in the sport for less than two years," said Head Coach Brian Beil, "I'd say Megan ran very close to the perfect race on Saturday. She got out well, which is what we wanted, and aside from taking a fall at the halfway point and losing a few spots in the race, she was able to stay out front of the pack and avoid trouble. It was a huge result for Megan, and I'm thrilled she was able see all of the hard work and sacrifice she put in over the past year bear fruit with this trip to Nationals."

Indiana State University will host the Championships on November 24, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Indiana. The women's race will begin at approximately 12:08 p.m. Eastern time, followed by the men's race at 12:48 p.m. Both championship races will be broadcast live on CBS College Sports Network and streamed online via NCAA.com. Hogan's qualification has put in motion Beil's plan for George Washington's Cross Country program to be consistently competing on a national level.

"For the past five years it's been a struggle to get people to see that GW is a place where you can have success in this sport." said Beil. "Being a large city, Washington has some incredible places to train, and I've always believed that GW could become a force on the regional and national stage if given some time to develop. Perhaps now some people who have always viewed our lack of a full winter and spring schedule as a limitation will start to change their minds. We have the unique opportunity to focus our training on two peaks throughout the year, and have absolutely no pressure to compete in a tiring number of meets for points or team standing in the track seasons. Instead, we can focus on long term development and keep our runners fresh."

Hogan will have the rest of the week to prepare for the race. She has come a long way since playing basketball at Mount Ida College just a year ago. Beil is very pleased with her progress this season. "Megan is a testament to what can be accomplished here at GW with a lot of hard work, belief in the program, and a little bit of luck," said Beil. "This trip to Nationals should prove to be a tremendous learning experience for a young runner who is just coming into her own in the sport. I'm excited to see what the future holds for not only Megan, but the GW Cross Country program as a whole."

Stay tuned to www.GWsports.com for coverage on Hogan in the NCAA Nationals.