CUMBERLAND, Maine – The Bates College men's cross country team advanced to the 2004 NCAA Division III Championship with a fourth place finish at the New England regional on Saturday afternoon at Twin Brook Recreation Center.

Fifth-ranked Tufts won the meet, placing all five runners in the top 20 to score just 62 points. Williams, ranked 10th, was second with 83 points, while Keene State was third with 112. Bates scored 145 points, edging Wesleyan (189) and 20th-ranked MIT (190) for the final qualifying spot.

Dan Johnson '06 (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) led the Bobcats, finishing 13th in the 280-runner field with a time of 26:29.5 on the five-mile course. MIT's Ben Schmeckpeper beat Williams' Neal Holtshulte by less than two seconds in 25:37.6.

Joel Anderson '05 (New Brighton, Minn.) and Steve Monsulick '07 (Kents Hill, Maine) were both less than 25 seconds behind Johnson in 26th and 27th, while Michael Downing '05 (Gorham, Maine) was 34th. Matt Biggart '06 (Cheshire, Conn.) was 45th to round out the scoring for the Bobcats, who will return to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1999.

The national championship meet will be held next Saturday at the Chippewa Valley Convention & Visitor's Bureauin in Eau Claire, Wis.

For the latest sports news, scores and updates, visit the Bates Athletics Web site.