Oct. 5, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – After a year hiatus, the 12th-ranked Notre Dame women’s cross country team won the team title at the adidas/Notre Dame Invitational last Friday, Oct. 1 at the Notre Dame Golf Course. The Irish beat then 13th-ranked Missouri for the title with a combined score of 57, 16 less than the Tigers, who had 73. The 20th-ranked men’s team had a strong showing against some of the top talent in the nation, finished third behind Michigan and Georgetown, who tied for the meet title with a team score of 81.
adidas/NOTRE DAME INVITATIONAL RECAP: The women’s team was once again paced by senior All-American JoAnna Deeter (Glen Ellyn, Ill.). Deeter claimed her third adidas/Notre Dame Invitational title in four appearances in a 5K time of 16:52. The Irish showed off the depth of their roster with strong performances from their top five runners. Senior Alison Klemmer (Troy, Mich.) finished third with a time of 17:21, while freshman Jennifer Handley (Barrie, Ont.) continued her impressive rookie season finishing sixth in a time of 17:36. Senior captain Erin Luby (Inverness, Ill.) finished 17th in 17:55 and fellow classmate Patty Rice (Mishawaka, Ind.), running in her first race of the year, finished 30th in 18:15.
In the men’s race, junior Ryan Shay (Central Lake, Mich.) became the first Notre Dame men’s runner since Bill Clark in 1964 to win the individual 8K title. Shay outdueled second-place runner Jay Cantin of Michigan by two seconds, completing the course in 23:52. It was Shay’s second consecutive individual title this year, going back to the National Catholic Championships, September 17. The men received another top 10 performance by sophomore Luke Watson (Stillwater, Minn.), who placed seventh in 24:10. Sophomore Marc Striowski (Toronto, Ont.) and senior John Dudley (Westwood, Mass.) finished in the top 20 with 16th and 19th-place finishes respectively. Senior Sean McManus (Hernando, Fla.) rounded out the top five runners, giving Notre Dame a team score of 86, just five points behind co-champions Michigan and Georgetown.
IRISH MOVE UP IN THE POLLS: The women’s team has steadily moved up the national rankings in 1999. Ranked 22nd in the FinishLynx preseason poll, the Irish moved up to 14th after winning the National Catholic Championships. Following last Friday’s meet, women moved up to 12th in the nation.
The men make their first appearance in the top 20 after their third-place finish last Friday. After having not been ranked in the preseason MONDO poll, the Irish are now 20th.
MONDO NCAA DIV. I MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY POLL (10/12):
RK TEAM (FIRST PLACE VOTES) POINTS PREV. RANKING 1. ARKANSAS (14) 398 1 2. STANFORD (2) 382 2 3. NORTH CAROLINA STATE 361 3 4. WISCONSIN 356 4 5. COLORADO 340 5 6. ARIZONA 318 7 7. BYU 298 6 8. NORTHERN ARIZONA 282 8 9. JAMES MADISON 250 910. OREGON 246 1011. GEORGETOWN 221 1212. MICHIGAN 220 1313. WEBER STATE 216 1114. PROVIDENCE 198 1415. PORTLAND 156 1516. PRINCETON 127 1917. ARIZONA STATE 119 1718. DARTMOUTH 106 2519. UTAH 102 --20. NOTRE DAME 94 --
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: Both of the teams top runners will travel to a the pre-national meet in Bloomington, Ind., on October 16, while other team members are expected to compete in the Central Collegiates in Ypsilanti, Mich., on October 15.
FinishLynx NCAA Div. I Women’s XC Poll (10/4)
Rank School (First-Place) Pts 1. Stanford (12) 300 2. Arkansas 288 3. BYU 271 4. Arizona State 266 5. Wisconsin 249 6. Colorado 238 7. Georgetown 231 8. Kansas State 211 9. Villanova 20610. Washington 19211. North Carolina State 17712. Notre Dame 16913. Minnesota 15714. Missouri 13115. Arizona 12116. Michigan State 10317. Nebraska 9918. North Carolina 7919. UCLA 7220. Providence 6421. Northern Arizona 5122. Baylor 3923. Florida 3624. James Madison 3425. Texas 24