OOSTENDE, Belgium — South Jordan's Laura Zeigle was the second American finisher in the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships Junior Women's race today in Oostende, Belgium. The Bingham High School junior finished in 47th place overall with a time of 24:17 in the 6K race, only a few seconds behind the top American, Alicia Craig of Gillette, Wyo., who finished in 42nd place in a time of 24:12. The Team USA junior women ended up in 11th place with a score of 215. Ethiopia won the competition with a score of 16 points.
Brad Hauser and Tim Broe led the way as Team USA took fourth place in the Senior Men's 4K competition. Olympian Hauser (15th, 13:09) and U.S. 4K cross country champ Broe (18th, 13:10) charged out quickly into the Top 20 to lead Team USA to their best placing by a U.S. men's long or short team since the 1986 squad finished third in Neuchatel, Switzerland.
U.S. champ Deena Drossin led the Team USA women to eighth in the Senior Women's 8K championships. Olympian Drossin ran as high as 10th mid-race before finishing 12th in 29:28 - matching her performance from last year in Vilamoura.