Sep. 27, 2004

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton women's cross country head coach, Ann Alyanak, won her third straight Dayton River Corridor Classic WB26 Half Marathon Sunday. She is already preparing herself to qualify for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials 10k or the marathon.

Alyanak had the best women's time (1:17:04) in the 28th Corridor Classic, a race that drew around 1,000 runners. She opened an early lead and did not look back, finishing three minutes ahead of the next woman.

"This is a good indication of where I'm at," Alyanak said. "The first few miles were a little quicker than I really wanted, but I felt really good so I just stayed with the rhythm."

Two weeks ago, Alyanak competed in a five-mile race in Indianapolis and was looking to test herself again. She is preparing herself to try and qualify for the Olympics in 2008. She was only 31 seconds shy of the 10k qualifying time of 33:20 for this year's Olympics.

Alyanak, who previously ran for Purdue, is in her first season as the head coach of the UD women's cross country team.