FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Complete Rankings

Nov. 18, 2009 -- The North Central College women's cross county team is fifth in the final installment of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Midwest Region Rankings, released this week.

The top five remained unchanged from a week ago, with UW-Eau Claire maintaining its hold on the top spot followed by Washington University in Saint Louis. UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh and North Central round out the region's top five. College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin rival Wheaton College drops one spot to seventh while Illinois Wesleyan University jumps up to eighth.

The rankings mirrored last weekend's Midwest Regional team standings that saw the Cardinals finish fifth, scoring 208 points. Lauren Hooks and Amanda Laesch finished back-to-back in 19th and 20th places, respectively, both earning bids to the NCAA Division III Championships. Hooks traversed the 6,000 meter course (3.75 miles) in 20:51.6 with Laesch finishing just six-tenths of a second behind.

Hooks, who also was named the CCIW Freshman of the Year this season, and Laesch will take to the course at Highland Hills Golf Course in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday. The women's race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Eastern time.