ROMEOVILLE - Lewis University cross country head coach Bob Schultz will see many familiar faces when he assembles his 2004 men's team, as 14 Flyers who competed last season return.

Schultz hopes those familiar athletes will return Lewis to familiar places that eluded the Flyers a year ago - the top of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, a top-three finish at the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional and a berth in the NCAA Division II Championship.

"We have a great returning group that includes our entire 2003 top five," Schultz said. "We'll be better with the addition of Juan Carrillo, who sat out last year after making All-GLVC in 2002."

The Flyers' top returning runners are senior Braulio Benitez, who earned 2003 all-conference honors with a ninth-place GLVC Championship finish, and sophomore Andy Tremble, the GLVC Freshman of the Year (14th place) and Lewis' top regional competitor (18th place) in 2003. Junior Larry Cardenas is a capable runner who just missed making the All-GLVC squad two years ago.

Also returning are senior Erik Donovan; juniors Chris Foley, Josh Thompson, Darren Orange, Nick Wyatt, John Archer and Brad Fox; and sophomores Dustin Long, Larry Anzalone, Lamar Quinn and Adrian Myers.

Schultz's top freshmen are all-state performer Mike Skinner (Lockport); John Fry (York), a member of the 2003 state championship team; Sinan Khamo (Maine West), who missed making the 2003 all-state team by just one place; and Andrew Northrup (Elmwood), who finished third in the state in Class A last season.