Sept. 29, 2003
The University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s cross country teams play host to the 48th-annual Notre Dame Invitational at the Burke Memorial Golf Course this Friday, Oct. 3. There will be 37 men’s teams and 32 women’s teams scheduled to compete in five different races this weekend.
MEET SCHEDULE:
There are five races on Friday afternoon. An Open Race will be run at 3:30 p.m. with the men and women running together (women run 5K, men run five miles). The Women’s Gold Division Race begins at 2 p.m., followed by the men’s Gold Division at 2:45 p.m. The Women’s Blue Division starts at 4:15 p.m., followed by the Men’s Blue Division at 5 p.m.
2003 Notre Dame Invitational Schedule:
2:00 p.m. – Women’s Gold Division
2:45 p.m. – Men’s Gold Division
3:30 p.m. – Open Race
4:15 p.m. – Women’s Blue Division
5:00 p.m. – Men’s Blue Division
PARTICIPATING TEAMS:
The Notre Dame Invitational has developed into one of the stronger non-conference meets in the Midwest. This season, 16 ranked teams (combined men’s and women’s teams) will participate in the event. The Irish women, ranked third in the nation, will be tested by #6 Wake Forest, #16 Duke and #30 Washington. Notre Dame’s 17th-ranked men’s team will run against #9 Central Michigan, #10 Eastern Michigan and #27 Duke.
Only Division I teams have been mentioned so far, but a number of highly-rated Division II and III schools will be in attendance at this weekend’s meet, including Division III #1 North Central men and #2 Calvin College men. North Central will run in the men’s Blue Division, while Calvin might be the team to beat in the Gold Division.
Nationally ranked teams competing in the 2003 Notre Dame Invitational:
Men’s Division I: #9 Central Michigan, #10 Eastern Michigan, #17 Notre Dame, #27 Duke.
Women’s Division I: #3 Notre Dame, #6 Wake Forest, #16 Duke, #30 Washington.
Men’s Division II: #13 Hillsdale College, #14 Truman State University
Women’s Division II: #18 Hillsdale College
Men’s Division III: #1 North Central, #2 Calvin College, #7 Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Women’s Division III: #4 Calvin College, #10 Wisconsin-Oshkosh
RACE LINEUPS:
Women’s Gold Division (2:00 p.m.)
Alabama-Birmingham
Anderson
Arkansas State
Calvin College
Hillsdale College
IUPU-Fort Wayne
Malone
Michigan State “B”
Northern Illinois
Notre Dame “B”
St. Francis – PA
Valparaiso
Windsor
Wisconsin-Green Bay
Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Wright State
Youngstown State
Men’s Gold Division (2:45 p.m.)
Akron
Anderson
Arkansas State
Augustana
Ball State
Calvin College
Heidelberg
IUPU-Fort Wayne
Malone
Michigan State “B”
Mankato State
Notre Dame “B”
Siena Heights
Valparaiso
Wabash
Windsor
Wisconsin-Green Bay
Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Wright State
Women’s Blue Division (4:15 p.m.)
Akron
Ball State
California
UC Santa Barbara
Central Michigan
Duke
Memphis
Mississippi State
Notre Dame
Oakland
Penn State
St. Joseph’s – PA
South Florida
Vanderbilt
Wake Forest
Washington
Western Carolina
Western Michigan
Men’s Blue Division (5:00 p.m.)
Alabama
California
UC Santa Barbara
Central Michigan
Duke
Eastern Michigan
Hillsdale College
Michigan
Mississippi State
North Central College
Notre Dame
Oakland
Penn State
St. Joseph’s – PA
St. Francis – PA
South Florida
Truman State
Western Carolina
Western Michigan
Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Youngstown State
MEET HISTORY:
The Notre Dame Invitational is one of the oldest and largest intercollegiate cross country races in the nation. The Invitational was started by former Irish coaching great Alex Wilson in 1956.
The Irish men have won the meet title 14 times, the most recent in 2001 behind individual winner Luke Watson. Stanford claimed the men’s team title in 2002 behind individual winner Ryan Hall. A Notre Dame men’s runner has won the individual title three out of the last four seasons.
The women’s race began in 1987 and the Irish women’s team has won the team title four times. Notre Dame won the team title last season, while Sara Bei from Stanford claimed the individual crown. Notre Dame’s last individual winner was Lauren King in 2001 (King will be in the field this Friday).
DIRECTIONS TO THE MEET:
The Notre Dame Invitational will be run on the Burke Memorial Golf Course on the far west side of the Notre Dame campus. Admission to all Notre Dame cross country/track and field events is free.
FROM THE EAST/WEST/NORTH: Use Indiana Toll Road 80/90 to exit 77. After paying the toll, take a right at the first traffic light, follow SR 933 through two additional lights to Dorr Road. Take a left at Dorr Road and utilize the large parking lot, walking around to the entrance of the golf course.
FROM THE SOUTH: Use US 31 north to South Bend. US 31 will turn into SR 933, follow it through downtown South Bend. Once you cross the St. Joseph River, Dorr Road will be the third light – you will see the cross country course on your right as you approach Dorr Road.
RESULTS: Complete results of all five races will be available for team coaches and media representatives ONLY on race day. The results will be distributed when each team returns its set of results chips to the race management crew. Complete results of all five races also will be available as soon as possible on www.und.com.
Competing SIDs: If you wish to have the results e-mailed to you, please send a request to – Wasielewski.3@nd.edu – Results will not be faxed unless a request is received as well. That request can be sent to the above e-mail address.
COURSE MAP: A course map will be available at the meet location, but can also be downloaded via PDF on the Notre Dame cross country website at www.und.com