Teams: Men's Cross Country: Press Releases

Monday, November 13, 2006

CHUNG TO RACE AT NATIONALS FOR MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

MEDFORD -- The Tufts University men's cross country team kept alive its streak of team or individual representation at the NCAA Division III National Championship Race when senior Justin Chung (Manchester, CT/Manchester) qualified individually for the 2006 race.

Chung qualified after placing eighth at the NCAA Division III Qualifier hosted by Springfield College on Saturday. His time of 25 minutes, 58.1 seconds across eight kilometers was third among individuals not affiliated with a team that qualified for the national race, therefore earning him an individual berth to the championship.

Wilmington College in Ohio will host the 2006 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships at Voice of America Park in West Chester, Ohio. The men's race will begin at 11 a.m. Eastern time followed by the women's race at noon Eastern time.

In each of the past 13 years, Tufts men's cross country has either competed as a team at the NCAA championship race (eight times) or had an individual run in the race (five times). Chung was second for the team and 72^nd overall when the Jumbos recorded their best-ever finish at Nationals with a fifth place last season.

If recent history was an indication, Chung could run a very good race on Saturday. Nate Brigham, the last Jumbo to race individually at Nationals, took 11^th overall in 2002. Rod Hemingway, current assistant coach of the team, qualified individually in 1997 and ran sixth.

Chung was also the top finisher for head coach Ethan Barron's team at the New England Open Championship on October 7. In a field of Division I, II and III runners, he was 29^th with a 25:23 time. He was the team's lead runner five times overall this fall.

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