Boston College Athletics
Cicero Places 29th At IAAF World Championships
March 26, 2002 | Women's Track & Field
March 26, 2002
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Freshman Maria Cicero (Elmhurst, Ill.) joined five other United States junior cross country runners at the 30th IAAF World Cross Country Championships on March 23 in Dublin, Ireland. The six-member U.S. squad placed fifth (out of 18 countries participating) in the team competition with a score of 87. The nation of Kenya took first place with a score of 13.
Cicero, who earned All-America honors this season for the Boston College cross country team, finished the 6K race (3.7 miles) in 29th (out of 110 runners) with a time of 21:59. Kenya's Kibiwot Viola won the race with a time of 20:13, which was only one second ahead of Ethiopia's Dibaba Tirunesh.
"I wanted to compete in this race before I took my break and start training for the outdoor season," Cicero said. "I'm not totally happy with my fitness level, but I'm happy. That hill at the end was really tough. This was quite an experience, one that I hope to have a lot more of."
Cicero and the rest of the Boston College women's track and field team kick the 2002 outdoor season off at 12 p.m. Saturday at the Irwin M. Cohen Invitational in Dedham, Mass.
Team Scores (Top 10)
1. Kenya 13 2. Ethiopia 24 3. Japan 63 4. Australia 77 5. United States 87 6. Russia 106 7. France 128 8. Great Britain & N. Ireland 130 9. South Africa 139 10. Eritrea 144
