NEW YORK, N.Y. - Senior Timothy Ritchie earned his first trip to the NCAA Championship with a seventh place performance at the Northeast Regional Championship on November 15 at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. The Boston College men's cross country team placed 14th out of 33 teams in the event.

Ritchie took control of the race from the starting gun in adverse conditions in the heart of New York City and finished the race in 31:44.0. The Worcester native, a relatively unknown runner prior to the season, has emerged as a top threat in the Northeast and in the country.

Ritchie will look to become the third cross country All-American for the men's side and the first since Joe Rocha earned All-America honors back in 1987.

"Tim has checked off a number of career goals in one season this year," head coach Matt Kerr said. "Next week, he'll have nothing to lose and you can bet he'll be running with a big grin and making Eagle fans everywhere proud."

The top two teams from each regional event earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championship on November 24 in Terre Haute, Ind. The top four runners not on an advancing team automatically advance to the national meet. The NCAA Championship features over 200 world-class runners where there is no room for error.

Iona won the meet with a total of 46 points while Providence came in second with 88.

Senior David Emerson clocked a time of 33:16.0 which put him in 48th overall while sophomore Ryan Kiracofe took 89th with a time of 34:20.7.

Junior Justin Wheat ran a 34:51.4 which put him in 114th while senior Patrick Viklund's time of 34:59.2 put him in 121st place.