Aug. 23, 2007

PHILADELPHIA, PA - The La Salle University men's and women's cross country teams have each been selected to repeat as Atlantic 10 Champions in 2007, as voted on in the preseason poll by the conference's coaches.

Head coach Charles Torpey returns for his 15th season with the Explorers after being named the A-10 Cross Country `Coach of the Year' for the men and women while guiding both teams to first-place finishes in 2006. Torpey has earned this distinction 14 times. Last season the women won their third consecutive title, while the men captured their sixth title in eight years. La Salle has won the Atlantic-10 Cross Country crown a total of 11 times in the past 15 years.

Rachel Papin (Philadelphia, PA/St. Hubert) returns for her final season after becoming the Atlantic 10's first three-time individual champion with a time of 17.41.25 last year. The Explorers will kick off the 2007 season on Friday, August 31st at Haverford College, while the A-10 Championships will be held on Saturday, October 27th at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.