Wesleyan University

Senior Bryan Bissell (Tacoma, Wash.), junior Courtney Quirin (Villanova, Pa.) and freshman Margaret Davis (Montclair, N.J.) of Wesleyan University all qualified for the NCAA Division III Cross-Country Championship by virtue of their performance at the New England Division III Championship in Cumberland, Me. today.

Bissell placed 10th in the men's race with a time of 26:19 for 8,000 meters to earn all-New England honors and qualify as the third individual for the NCAA Championship, to be held in Hanover, Indiana Saturday, Nov. 22. The top four teams qualify automatically for the NCAAs, those teams being Tufts, Keene St., Williams and Amherst. The next nine individuals not on those teams also qualify for Nationals. As a team, Wesleyan placed 10th of 38. Also receiving all-New England accolades for Wesleyan was sophomore Owen Kiely, who placed 23rd in a time of 26:41. The top 35 finishers in the race are deemed all-New England.

In the women's race, Quirin placed 14th in a time of 22:46 for 6,000 meters. Davis finished 28th with a time of 23:16. Both are all-New England and qualified as the second and eighth individuals among the nine chosen for the NCAAs. Five teams qualified automatically on the women's side - Middlebury, Williams, Amherst, Trinity and Bowdoin. Wesleyan placed seventh of the 35 teams.

For Quirin, it will be her third straight trip to the NCAAs. She qualified as an individual in 2001 and placed 28th nationally for All-America status. Last year, she was part of Wesleyan's fifth-place team which qualified automatically for Nationals. This will be the first trip to Nationals for both Davis and Bissell.

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Follow-up Information: Bryan Bissell placed 105th of 215 runners at the NCAAs while Ellen Davis was 67th and Courtney Quirin 128th of 213 in the women's race.