Sept. 16, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame’s men’s and women’s cross country teams will run at the Notre Dame golf course this Friday, when it hosts the National Catholic Invitational. This will be the 31st-annual year the Irish will play host to prominent Catholic institutions throughout the United States.
Head coach Joe Piane, now in his 35th year at the helm, conceived the meet in the fall of 1980 with the first men’s race; the women later joined in 1984. In that span, the men have claimed 20 team titles with 14 individual first-place finishers. On the women’s side, the squad has won 16 team crowns and 15 individual crowns.
Both the Irish men and women took the team title in 2009. The Irish men took seven of the top 10 spots. Leading the Notre Dame pack was 2010 graduate Jake Walker (Lincoln HS, Ellwood City, Pa.), finishing second overall in 24:59.1. Dan Jackson (Dexter HS, Ann Arbor, Mich.) placed fourth in 25:15.0 and Jordan Carlson (Rosemount HS, Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) took fifth in 25:24.1.
Lindsey Ferguson (Saratoga Springs HS, Greenfield Center, NY) claimed the individual title on the women’s side, crossing the line in 17:33.1, while Marissa Treece (Glen Lake HS, Maple City, Mich.) finished third in 17:56.6.
This year’s National Catholic Invitational will feature 37 teams on the men’s side and 36 on the women’s. The contest will begin with a men’s (5-mile) and women’s (5-kilometer) open race at 3:30 p.m. (EDT), followed by the 5-kilometer women’s race at 4:15 p.m. (EDT) and the men’s five-mile contest at 5:00 p.m. (EDT).
Complete results from the Notre Dame Invitational will be available at www.und.com following each race.
–ND–