We received the info below at CMS Centra Command and Laundramat.  CMS has not sent a team to this meet in the past few years...andappears to have no plans to do so.   Hmmm.

The essence of sport is great competition, and nothing spurs competitionlike a heated rivalry.Whether it's Ali vs. Frazier, Celtics vs. Lakers, McEnroe vs. Borg, 49ersvs. Cowboys, USA vs. Russia, or Giants vs. Dodgers, great rivalries inevitably lead to great and memorable competitions.

The organizers of this year's USA fall national cross countrychampionships in Rocklin, CA., are hoping to create and foster suchrivalries, when the top club teams in the United States convene on December14, for what the organizers have billed "the Showdown at Rocklin." At stake are the bragging rights of geographic regions--Indiana vs. Boston vs.Wisconsin vs. California. Which region can boast the fastest cross countryrunners?

The idea, says marketing director Joe Fabris, himself a former sub-four minute miler, is to reach beyond team rivalries, and expand the competitioninto geographic rivalries. "We want a situation where all the best teams and individuals in the United States will feel there's something even greater at stake--local bragging rights," said Fabris. "There's always lots of talk about which region of the United States produces the best distance runners. Let's find out."

Added meet director Joe Rubio, a two-time Olympic trials qualifier in the marathon, "Competition between individuals and teams is always what draws interest to a sport. When I was a runner, my parents didn't know anything about what a fast time was in the events I was running, but they sure knew what it meant if I won a league championship, or finished third and qualified for the state meet.

It's the focus on good competition--because in cross country times really don't mean much--that we're trying to promote." Greg Harger, coach of the Indian Invaders says, "What Joe (Rubio) and Joe (Fabris) are jumping on in hitting this theme is exactly what our sport needs to grow to another level of existence. "To be sure, all the best teams from throughout the United States will be in Rocklin, including last year's champions the Indiana Invaders (women) and Hanson's Running Shop (men) from Michigan. There will also be traditional powers such as the Central Massachusetts Striders, the Nike Farm Team of Palo Alto, Track West of Southern California, Club Northwest from thePacific Northwest, Wisconsin Runners, and the host Reebok Aggies from Northern California.

Peter Gilmore of the Nike Farm Team, who was the seventh place finisher in last year's individual competition, thinks promoting geographic rivalries is a great idea. "I love racing against the Wisconsin Runners, the Atlanta track club, and all the New England teams. Nobody on these teams is getting paid by Nike, everyone's either working full time or barely scraping by on part time work, trying to break through. We're hungry for success. I'm not putting in all this hard work to go out there and get beat. At the same time I know those guys on the Hanson team are thinking the exact same thing about us, so we've got ourselves a rivalry. Throw in a few of the other competitive clubs and this race starts getting real interesting.

"Adds Harger of the Indiana Invaders, "We know that this year will be one step more competitive than last year because there are several men's teams that really care who wins. On the women's side of the contest we expect that mentality to emerge this year from the women's race beyond just the FarmTeam. We do not intend to go to this championship with anything less than our best effort and we are training today with the goal to win both races.

"Last year, Gilmore's Farm Team squad was edged out for the team title by Hanson's on a fifth-man tiebreaker, after the two teams wound up with the same point total. "Losing to Hanson's on a tiebreaker last year was brutal," said Gilmore. "I thought we ran a solid race, but that goes to show how tough the competition was. The Nike Farm Team and Hanson's get a lot of the attention, but there are so many other clubs that are really getting ittogether. "Do the meet organizers really expect to answer the age-old question--which region in the U.S. produces the top runners? "We should have a pretty clear idea, at least for the year 2002," said Rubio. "Hopefully it will become the kind of controversial question that people are gonna want to discuss, and settle out on a cross country course, year after year after year."