Courtesy: USATF

Deena Drossin (pictured) won the individual silver medal and Colleen De Reuck captured the bronze to lead Team USA's women's 8K squad to the team silver medal Saturday at the 30th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Dublin, Ireland.

On a blustery and cloudy day with temperatures in the low 50s, the experience of the American squad proved invaluable. Five of the six team members going into Saturday's race had previously finished in the top 13 in World Cross Country Championships long- or short-course competition.

Today's performance by Drossin and De Reuck marks the first time that two U.S. women have won individual World Cross Country medals at the same event since 1970 when Doris Brown won the individual title and Maureen Dickinson was the runner-up.

This is the best finish for Team USA's women's 8K squad since finishing as the runner-up at Boston in 1992. The U.S. women' long course team has medalled two of the last three years, also winning the bronze medal in 2000 at Vilamoura, Portugal. Drossin's individual performance was the best by an American in this race since 1992 when Lynn Jennings won the last of her three consecutive world titles.

Team USA established itself at the front of the field early in the race, with Drossin, De Reuck, Jen Rhines, and Elva Dryer all running among the top 20 as the field passed the finish line for the first time 700 meters into the race.

Five-time U.S. long course champion Drossin and defending world champion Paula Radcliffe pulled away from the field and dueled each other over the next three circuits. Radcliffe surged away from Drossin with one lap remaining. Drossin, whose previous best performance at this event was a 10th-place effort at the 1999 Championships in Belfast, maintained her position over the final lap and in to the finish, claiming the silver medal nine seconds back of the world champion in 27:04.

Behind Radcliffe and Drossin, De Reuck led the chase pack for the majority of the race, finishing in third place in 27:17. Jen Rhines finished 12th in 27:43, followed by Milena Glusac in 23rd place in 28:18. The U.S. medal winning team was rounded out by Elva Dryer (28th-28:27) and Amy Rudolph (31st-28:37).

In the senior men's 4k race, NCAA and USA runner-up Jorge Torres (12:35) finished 11th individually to lead his Team USA teammates to a fifth-place finish. Torres, a sophomore at the University of Colorado, who won two Foot Locker high school championships, established himself at the tail end of the lead pack early and held on gamely to place 11th. Torres's finish is the best by an American male in the short course event since 1997 when Marc Davis finished 7th at the inaugural world short course championship in Marrakech, Morocco.

2000 NCAA 5000 runner-up Matt Lane (12:42) finished 19th, with fall cross country champion Jared Cordes (12:53) finishing 40th and former NCAA Division 3 harrier champion Dave Davis (13:03) rounding out the scorers in 62nd.

Erika Odlaug, the runner-up at this year's USA Winter Nationals and Foot Locker high school championship, placed 17th individually to lead Team USA's junior women's 6K squad to a fifth-place finish. Team USA's finish was the best by a junior women's squad since 1996 when the squad also finished 5th in Cape Town, South Africa.

Odlaug and U.S. junior champion Maria Cicero got out together early. Odlaug (21:23) then worked her way up through the field to claim 17th, the highest finish by a junior woman since Pam Hunt's 15th place effort in 1992 at Boston. Cicero (21:59) also moved up well to claim 29th. The rest of the Team USA junior women's squad finished as a tight pack, with Valerie Lauver (36th, 22:06), Nicole Lee (40th, 22:10), Sara Bei (43rd, 22:12), and Kathryn Anderson (47th, 22:16) all finishing within ten seconds of each other.

Senior Women's 8K Results
1. Paula Radcliffe (GBR), 26:55
2. Deena Drossin (USA), 27:04
3. Colleen De Reuck (USA), 27:17
4. Miwako Yamanaka (JPN), 27:19
5. Eyerusalem Kuma (ETH), 27:19

Team USA
12. Jennifer Rhines - 27:43
23. Milena Glusac - 28:18
28. Elva Dryer - 28:27
31. Amy Rudolph - 28:37

Team Scores
1. Ethiopia - 28 points
2. United States - 38
3. Kenya - 41
4. Japan - 67
5. Great Britain & Northern Ireland - 69

Senior Men's 4K Results
1. Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), 12:11
2. Luke Kipksgei (KEN), 12:18
3. Hailu Mekonnen (ETH), 12:20
4. Sammy Kipketer (KEN), 12:26
5. Craig Mottram (AUS), 12:27

Team USA
11. Jorge Torres - 12:35
18. Matt Lane - 12:42
40. Jared Cordes - 12:53
64. Dave Davis - 13:04
83. Tony Cosey - 13:18
97. Jonathan Riley - 13:28

Team Results
1. Kenya - 20 points
2. Ethiopia - 32
3. Spain - 57
4. Morocco - 78
5. United States - 113

Junior Women's 6K Results
1. Viola Kibiwot (KEN), 20:13
2. Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH), 20:14
3. Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN), 20:22
4. Fridah Domongole (KEN), 20:23
5. Peninah Chepchumba (KEN), 20:24

Team USA
17. Erika Odlaug - 21:23
29. Maria Cicero - 21:59
36. Valerie Lauver - 22:06
40. Nicole Lee - 22:10
43. Sara Bei - 22:12
47. Kathryn Andersen - 22:16

Team Results
1. Kenya - 13 points
2. Ethiopia - 24
3. Japan - 63
4. Australia - 77
5. United States - 87