Nov. 14, 2006

BOCA RATON, FL - The Florida Atlantic University men's and women's cross country teams made great progress in their first year in the Sun Belt Conference under Head Coach Alex Smolka.

The women were led all year long by the tandem of Friederike Feil and Trisha Doyle. Feil, a freshman from Germany, won two meets on the season. She finished in 8th place or better in all but one meet and was named Sun Belt Runner of the Week on Sept. 18th. Feil also fell just short of qualifying for the NCAA National Championship. Doyle, a junior from Canada finished no worse than 5th in all but one meet this season, including a win in at the FLRunners.com Invitational on Sept. 29th. The duo helped FAU win three team meets on the year.

The men's team entered the season as a very young squad, with four freshmen on the roster. They made major improvements over the course of the season, shaving more than a minute off of their average time as well as gaining valuable experience. They were led for most of the year by junior Earl Barlow. Barlow, a junior from Jacksonville, recorded two top-20 finishes on the year and was key in aiding the development of the younger runners.

The Owls are expected to lose only three women and two men from this year's squad, giving Coach Smolka reason to be optimistic about FAU's future in the Sun Belt Conference.