Nov. 20, 2010
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy cross country senior Andrew Hanko will be one of 424 competitors to run at the NCAA Championship on Monday in Terre Haute, Ind. Monday's men's championship race will begin at 12:48 p.m. Eastern time at Indiana State University's LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
The NCAA will produce a live webcast of the men's and women's championships from noon to 1:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.
NCAA.com Live Webcast | NCAA Championships Central
The NCAA Championship
Andrew Hanko will be Navy's first individual to compete in the NCAA Championship meet since Aaron Nichols (33:09.00) finished 182nd in 1999. Hanko earned his automatic bid to this year's national championship race by placing sixth at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on Nov. 13 in University Park, Pa. Hanko and Lehigh's Evans Kosgei are the only two student-athletes from the Patriot League that will be competing in Monday's title race.
In total, eight schools from the Mid-Atlantic region will be represented at this year's NCAA Championship, including: Georgetown (team), Maryland, Navy, Lehigh, Penn State (team), Princeton (team), St. Joseph's and Villanova (team).
Hanko Establishes His Place Among Navy's Best
In qualifying for the NCAA Championship, Andrew Hanko cemented one of the best individual seasons in Navy cross country history.
Hanko became the first Navy runner to win consecutive conference titles this season when he posted the third-fastest time (24:22) in the history of the Patriot League Championship. He became the seventh runner in Patriot League history to win back-to-back conference titles and first since American's Brendan Fennell accomplished the feat in 2006-07. By virtue of his finish at the conference championship, Hanko garnered his third First-Team All-Patriot League honor. He is the first three-time, First-Team All-Patriot League honoree in Navy history.
The Montville, N.J., native has finished in the top 10 in all seven meets in which he competed this season. He was named Patriot League Runner of the Week on five occasions and his 10 career weekly league honors are the most by any runner in Patriot League history.
His sixth-place finish at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship gave him consecutive All-Region honors.
