March 29, 2003

PALO ALTO, Calif. - Distance runners Debbie Thornhill and Matt Chance competed at the Stanford Invitational late Friday night at Stanford's Cobbs Track and Angell Field. With the 10,000-meter and multi events still qualifying for NCAA's by the traditional automatic and provisional qualifying format, both runners attempted to qualify for their first trips to the outdoor championships.

Thornhill, the defending Big 12 10,000-meter champion, had a stellar race. The senior took eighth with a time of 33:34.85, well under the automatic qualifying time of 34:10.00. Thornhill finished 14th in the 5,000 at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and she will make her final bid for All-America honors at the outdoor championships in June.

Chance also recorded and eighth-place finish, running in the second section of the men's 10,000-meters. The junior clocked a 29:49.72, barely missing the provisional mark of 29:45.00.

The rest of the Bears will compete in their second outdoor meet of the season today at the University of Houston's Tom Tellez Invitational. Field events begin at 10 a.m. with the running events slated to begin at 1 p.m.