Nov. 24, 2008

TERRE HAUTE, IND. - Sophomore Zsofia Erdelyi represented USC today (Nov. 24) at the 2008 NCAA Women's Cross Country Championships held in Terre Haute, Ind. USC did not have a team running today as the Washington women's team won the NCAA title.

The native on Hungary Erdelyi had a time of 21:20.3 today to place 120th overall.

Erdelyi was the sixth Trojan in the last eight seasons to qualify for the NCAA Championships as an individual. USC has had only one All-American in cross country, Emebet Shiferaw who placed seventh in 1996.

Erdelyi earned an at-large selection by placing eighth individually at the 2008 NCAA West Regional held on Nov. 15 in Eugene, Ore. She set a new PR of 20.17.01 in that race and was USC's highest individual finisher at the regional since Iryna Vashchuk placed sixth in the 2003. Erdelyi helped lead USC to a 13th-place finish in the team competition, its highest since the 1997 West Regional.

During the 2008 season, Erdelyi won the Pepperdine Invitational and Roadrunner Classic meets and was USC's top finisher at the Pac-10 and NCAA West Championships. At the Roadrunner Classic in Bakersfield on Oct. 17, she won the meet with a school 5K record of 16:51.90. The Trojans as a team won both the Pepperdine Invitational and Roadrunner Classic, the first time it had won consecutive meets since the 1997 season.