Oct. 26, 1999

Storyline: The UNLV cross country team will compete in the inaugural Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships in Provo, UT, on Friday, October 29. The Rebels have never finished better than third at the conference championships and have not finished above fifth since the 1994 Big West Championships. Looking to continue its steady climb, UNLV improved to seventh overall at the WAC Championships last year after back-to-back 15th-place finishes 1996 and 1997. The Rebels rode the strength of Angie Fortner?s second-place finish in ?98, the best individual performance at the conference championships in school history.

Davidson Included in Projected Lineup: Head coach Karen Dennis has announced the Rebels? starting lineup for the Mountain West Conference Championships. Senior Stephanie Davidson, who had missed the Rebels? last race with a leg injury, will return to the lineup. Davidson has been UNLV?s top finisher in all thre races in which she has competed. Katie Barto, Sharlene Downing, Kathryn Goetz, Rhonda Kilfoyle, Paula Lechner and Jenni Nelson will round out the UNLV starting seven. With the exception of Downing, who missed early season training with an injury of her own, every runner in the UNLV lineup has run career best times on more than one occasion this year.

Head Coach Karen Dennis: Karen Dennis is in her eighth year overseeing the cross country and track and field program at UNLV. In 1997, she was named by USA Track and Field as the head coach for the women?s national team that will compete in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She has coached 13 All-Americans since arriving at UNLV and was the 1993 MPSF Coach of the Year.

Quoting Distance Coach Mary Shea: ?We?ve done everything we can to prepare for this meet. Now, it?s just time to go out there and perform. We will use this meet as a measuring stick in terms of what to expect from the competition in this conference, both on the track and in future cross country meets.?