Wake Forest women's cross country vaulted to 4th in the FinishLynx/NCAA poll with a 2nd-place finish out of 37 teams in the NCAA Pre-National Invitational on Oct. 19. The 6,000-meter race took place in Terre Haute, Ind.

Sophomore Annie Bersagel led the way for the Demon Deacons, placing 11th overall in the race. Her time of 20:35 was a personal record.

Bersagel modestly gave much of the credit for her success to Coach Annie Schweitzer-Bennett.

"I simply followed our agreed-upon strategy for pace to the second," Bersagel said. "Annie is extremely supportive of all of us, and that support helped give me the confidence to take more risks at Pre-Nats. It was a breakthrough race for me, but more importantly, it was a breakthrough race for Wake Forest women's cross country."

Four other Deacs finished within one minute of Bersagel, as the team's depth once again proved the key to an impressive finish. Senior Risa Rutland came in 24th overall with a time of 21:07. Freshman Erin Franklin finished 38th with a time of 21:22. Redshirt freshman Jill Miller came in 41st place, with a time of 21:24. Last week's ACC Cross Country Performer of the Week, junior Anna Sherman, finished 51st, running the race in 21:31.

"We have a commitment from the whole team," Schweitzer-Bennett said of the all-around contributions to the squad's success. "Everybody realizes that they have a role."

Even after winning the N.C. Collegiate Championships last weekend, the second-place finish at Pre-Nationals was a big confidence booster for the Demon Deacs.

"It was really an eye-opening experience for all of us," Bersagel said. "We realized to some degree that we were capable of this, but the reality was much more exhilarating than we had expected."

While the Deacs were pleased with their second-place finish, they realize that the year is young, and they need to keep improving.

"We're celebrating our success while focusing on the future," Bersagel said. "We understand the importance of tempering our optimism at this point in the season. We came into this meet looking for a Top 10 finish. When we heard we were second, there were lots of hugs and even some tears, but our next question was definitely, 'How many points were we from first?'"

The first of the major races will take place Nov. 2, with the ACC Championships in Atlanta, Ga. Their spectacular performances in races thus far have given the Deacs reason for high expectations.

"We want to be the first Wake Forest women's cross country team to win the ACC. That's as complicated as it gets," Bersagel said.

Schweitzer-Bennett says the team is ready. The races so far have prepared them in many ways, including helping coaches decide on who will compete in ACCs.

"We feel like we're at our best eight (runners) right now (to compete in the ACCs)," Schweitzer-Bennett said. "And we have many others ready to go if we need them."

The 4th-place ranking in the FinishLynx/NCAA poll is the highest in Wake Forest women's cross country history.

"The girls worked very hard to get where they are," Schweitzer-Bennett said.

Still, the team knows that it is more important to be ranked that high later in the season, after the more important races.

"It's great to be the fourth-best team in the country on Oct. 21, but it will be even better on Nov. 25," Bersagel said.

On the different end of the spectrum, the injury-riddled men's squad finished 27th out of 36 teams in the 8,000-meter race. Coach Gary Sievers was "not at all pleased" with the performance.

"I don't think we competed very well at all," Sievers said. "The guys who were there I don't think ran up to their capabilities. I was extremely disappointed."

Senior Mike Altieri was the top finisher for the Deacs, completing the race in 25:04, and finishing 70th overall. Redshirt freshmen Sean Stevens and Andrew Ice also finished in the Top 150 individually. Stevens finished 109th with a time of 25:22, while Ice took 144th with a time of 25:40.

"We've just got some guys who are talented and young, and they need to make the transition to Division I-caliber runners," Sievers said. " They are there physically, but they need to make the transition mentally. It will take some time. Once that occurs I think we'll do very well."