SELINSGROVE, Pa. – For the second straight year, Susquehanna University junior Ryan Gleason will be participating in the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, as the 2002 race will be held at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota on Saturday at noon Eastern time (11 a.m. local time).

Gleason (Johnstown, PA/Westmont Hilltop H.S.), who finished 85th at last year’s NCAA Championships at Augustana College, qualified for this year’s national meet with an eighth-place finish at the Mideast Regional at Salisbury University.

The men’s field will consist of 215 runners, with 24 squads of seven runners each competing for the team title joined by 47 at-large racers.

Gleason is a three-time first-team All-Middle Atlantic Conference honoree after finishing seventh as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore and fourth this season.

Should Gleason finish among the top 35 runners on Saturday, he would become Susquehanna’s second All-American in cross country, joining Greg Pealer who finished 11th in the 1983 championship race.