Northeast Region
Mick Byrne's Iona College men's team finished first at the 2005 NCAA Northeast Regional Championships held at Franklin Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Senior Richard Kiplagat (Marakwet, Kenya) won the event for the second time in his career, clocking a time of 29.11 on the 10K course. The Gaels won the regional title for the third time in the last four years.

Providence College's Martin Fagan finished second overall in a time of 29.15, just four seconds behind Kiplagat. Iona's Andrew Ledwith, from Co Meath, placed 12th overall with a time of 30.25.8.

Iona's Michelle Gallagher led Iona women's team to its best finish ever at the NCAA Northeast Region Championship, Gallagher (Dundrum South Dublin) placed 20th in 21.36.1. Iona tallied 221 points to place 6th in the team competition. Tracey Williams, from Tallaght, placed 23rd in 22.15.2.

Midwest Region
Southern Illinois University senior Joe Byrne (Down Patrick, North Ireland) placed 21st at the Midwest Regional hosted by the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. Byrne covered the 10,000m Iowa Cross Country Course in 31.37.

More importantly, Byrne's effort qualified him for the NCAA Championships as an at-large individual qualifier. Antonio Vega, from the University of Minnesota won the race in 30.52.

Byrne, a three-time All-Missouri Valley Conference selection, is the only MVC athlete to qualify for the men's NCAA Cross Country Championship this year and is also the first NCAA qualifier for SIU since Jeremy Parks accomplished that feat in 1998.

The next Irish finisher was Robbie Wade (Portlaw, Co Waterford) who competes for Loyola-Chicago finishing 40th in 32.29 followed by teammate Sean Conroy, from Cork who ran 34.20 to place 11th overall.

Great Lakes Region
DSD's Ava Hutchinson who competes for Butler University placed 27th at Great Lakes hosted by Indiana University at the Indiana Cross Country Course in Bloomington, Indiana.

Hutchinson covered the 6-kilometre course in 22.05 helping her Butler Bulldog team to place 4th with 174 points. Butler earned an At-Large berth and will compete at the NCAA Champs.

Wexford man, Steve Murphy, a junior at Butler University placed 146th in 35.27.8 and was the 7th runner across for his team. The Butler men's team also earned an At-Large entry into the Championships.

"This is a great accomplishment for Butler," said head coach Joe Franklin. "For the second year in a row, we send both our men's and women's teams to the NCAA Championships. I'm proud of what we've done so far this season and look forward to solid team performances Monday in Terre Haute."

Mid-Atlantic Region
Marcus O'Sullivan's Villanova Wildcat team finished 10th with 268 points at the Mid-Atlantic Regional hosted by Lehigh University at the Goodman Campus Cross County Course in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Villanova sophomore Richard Corcoran, from Dublin, did not compete.

South Central Region
John McDonnell's second-ranked Razorbacks remained undefeated for the season and earned an automatic trip to the NCAA Championships as they claimed their 16th-consecutive NCAA South Central Regional team title. Arkansas tallied 33 points with all seven of its runners finishing in the top 15 of the 10-kilometre race held at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco, Texas. "We ran to win the team title," Arkansas head coach John McDonnell said. "From top to bottom all the guys ran great. I was pleased because it wasn't that hot, but there was 100 percent humidity and strong winds and the guys got out of there with a solid victory." Arkansas will be going for its 12th national title in cross country and 42nd NCAA crown overall. The last time the Hogs won the team trophy was in 2000.

Damien Bateman, who competes for McNeese State placed 31st and was the top runner for his team. Bateman, from Mullingar ran 32.51.4 with teammate Alan Foolkes, from Cork running 33.21.6 to place 44th overall.