VANCOUVER, Wash. - University of St. Francis freshman Sean Smith (Winnebago H.S./Winnebago, IL) and junior Michael McElyea (Joliet JC/Illiopolis, IL) placed 140th and 268th, respectively in the NAIA Men's Cross Country Championship meet held Saturday morning at the Fort Vancouver Historical Site.

LOCKPORT -- Freshman Sean Smith (Winnebago H.S./Winnebago, IL) and junior Michael McElyea (Joliet JC/Illiopolis, IL) placed second and eighth, respectively, to qualify for the NAIA Championships and lead the University of St. Francis men's team to a second-place finish among 10 teams at the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Cross County Championships at Dellwood Park.

LOCKPORT, Ill. --- University of St. Francis will serve as host to the 2009 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships when 10 men's teams, eight women's teams and nearly 200 total runners converge on Dellwood Park Saturday morning.

LISLE, Ill. --- Led by three top nine finishers, including Sean Smith (Winnebago H.S./Winnebago, IL) who placed second overall, University of St. Francis registered its best team finish of the 2009 season by placing third out of 18 teams at the Benedictine University Eagle Invitational on Friday.

CHICAGO --- Looking to build off its performance at the National Catholic Invitational two weeks earlier, University of St. Francis' top five runners ran 45 seconds faster on Saturday to place 19th out of 39 teams at the Sean Earl/Loyola University Lakefront Invitational.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. --- Led by freshman Sean Smith (Winnebago H.S./Winnebago, IL), University of St. Francis recorded an impressive 12th place finish among 32 teams competing at the National Catholic Men's Cross Country Invitational hosted by University of Notre Dame on Friday.

If University of St. Francis wants to make a statement in men's cross country this fall, the only way the Saints can do so is by knocking off three-time defending Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference champion Olivet Nazarene University.