Oct. 16, 2004

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ----- The UAB cross country team placed fifth in a field of 31 teams at the Chile Pepper Invitational here on Saturday morning. The Blazers' Elizabeth Ambrus placed ninth overall and seventh among collegiate runners with a time of 21:01.9 in the 6K event.

"This was a great meet for us," said UAB head coach Ray Stanfield. "Elizabeth (Ambrus) ran really well and put herself among the elite in the nation. It was a great performance by everyone and I'm really impressed with the tremendous effort."

In a field of 245 runners, UAB had all six athletes place in the top-100. Sophomore Elizabeth Hilligoss was 22nd overall with a time of 21:38.9, while sophomore Jennifer Thompson finished 62nd after completing the course in 22:38.2. Freshman Whitney Mays was UAB's fourth finisher, placing 71st with a time of 22:49.8. Sophomore Ryanne Fortney recorded a time of 22:51.5 and finished 75th overall, while freshman Petra Ivanova was 93rd with a time of 23:12.6.

The Blazers tallied 214 points in the contest. UAB finished ahead of TCU's 248 points. SMU won the event with 67 points, ahead of second-place and Southeastern Conference powerhouse Arkansas' 76.

The Blazers will have next weekend off before heading to Chicago, Ill., for Conference USA Championships on Oct. 30.