Feb. 16, 2003

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Notre Dame cross country standouts Luke Watson and Tim Moore are headed to Switzerland next month to compete for United States teams at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Cross Country Championships - after both runners qualified over the weekend with strong performances in Houston at the USA Cross Country Championships sponsored by USA Track & Field.

Watson, a senior from Stillwater, Minn., finished third among 64 entrants in the senior (no age limit) men's four-kilometer race Saturday in 12:57.4. The top six finishers qualify for the world event, so that earned him a slot in the March 29-30 race in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Watson's effort came exactly a week after he ran the fastest indoor mile in the world this season, in winning the Meyo Invitational Mile in 3:57.83 on Feb. 8.

Watson won the junior men's U.S. cross country title in '99 -- and represented the United States in Belfast and finished 34th of 155 (third among Americans).

Moore, a freshman from Novi, Mich., and the defending champion in the U.S. junior men's event, finished fifth in the eight-kilometer junior (age 19 and under) race Sunday in 27:29.00.

Watson placed seventh and fifth, respectively, at the '00 and '01 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Moore finished 10th individually in the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships last fall, then was the top Irish finish at the '02 NCAA meet with a 63rd-place finish (51st based on scoring).

The races were held at the famed Buffalo Bayou Park layout in Houston.