The Wake Forest women's cross country team finally received due recognition this week, claiming No. 4 in the FinishLynx/NCAA poll -- the highest ranking in over two decades. Finishing fourth out of 75 teams in the NCAA Pre-National Invitational Tournament, the women harriers made great strides as they darted ahead of the N.C. State Wolfpack for the first time in 10 years.

Sophomore Anne Bersagel finished first for Wake Forest, completing the 6K race in 20:35 for 11th place. Senior Risa Rutland nabbed 24th place with a time of 21:07, while freshman Erin Franklin finished 38th with a time of 21:22. Following closely behind Franklin was redshirt frosh Jill Miller (21:24), junior Anna Sherman (21:31), sophomore Danielle Coon and junior Nikeya Green.

Their fourth-place ranking secured, the women went on to compete in the 2002 25th Annual Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Championships in Atlanta on Nov. 2. The women's hard work paid off as Wake Forest took first place, tying with N.C. State at 61 points. Once again, Bersagel led the harriers to victory, notching the fourth place spot with a time of 20:50.6. Rutland captured 8th place with a time of 21:23.4, followed closely by junior Anna Sherman in 12th with a time of 21:30.6. In 15th place, redshirt freshman Jill Miller finished with a time of 21:42.2. Also competing for the Deacs were Danielle Coon (21:55), Erin Franklin (22:05) and Nikeya Green (22:21).

"The ACC meet this past weekend was a great victory for us as a team," Rutland said. "We have all worked really hard this past season and it is so much fun to go out there, race, and see all the hard work pay off."

The team has certainly come a long way this season, largely due to the efforts of Assistant Head Coach Annie Schweitzer-Bennett. Following the Deacons' victory at the ACC Championships, Bennett was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year.

In her four seasons at Wake Forest, Bennett has led the women's team to four first-place and three second-place victories."To win the ACC title for cross country was a major goal of mine when I accepted this position," Bennett said. "I knew the history of this conference and I wanted to see Wake Forest grab that honor."

However, Bennett was not the only representative of Wake Forest to be recognized this weekend. Bersagel and Rutland were both named to the 2002 All-ACC squad after their outstanding performance in the championships.