Dec. 15, 2008

Tulsa, Okla. - Junior All-American John Beattie finished in sixth place to help Great Britain win the Under-23 European Cross Country Championship on Sunday Dec. 14 in Brussels, Belgium. The Southampton, England native finished the 8K course in 25:18, and was one of four British runners to finish in the top-10.

Beattie finished behind teammates Andy Vernon who finished second, and Ben Lindsay who placed fourth. Great Britain finished with 19 points, which was 23 points better than second-place Italy, who finished with a total of 42 points. France, Poland and Turkey round out the top-five team finishes.

Beattie adds the U23 European Championship to the host of awards he has earned this season. He lead the Hurricane to the C-USA Championship after claiming the men's individual title on Nov.24. Beattie has also been named an All-American, to the All-Midwest Region team, and picked up first-team all-C-USA, all-academic all-C-USA and C-USA Male Athlete of the Year accolades this season.