Sept. 5, 2003
Valparaiso, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s and men’s cross country teams opened up their 2003 campaigns at the Valparaiso Invitational on Friday afternoon. The third-ranked women’s harriers won the seven-team meet, while the men took second to Western Michigan. Neither Irish team featured the squad’s top runners, but that did not make the result from either team any less impressive at the Sunset Hills Park course.
The women finished with a score of 42, edging out Western Michigan, which finished with 45. The Broncos were followed by Valparaiso (61), IUPUI-Fort Wayne (113), Wisconsin-Green Bay (139), St. Joseph’s (171) and Chicago State (185).
Sophomore Jean Marinangeli (Arlington Heights, Ill.) won her first career race as she was one of three Notre Dame runners to finish in the top five. She crossed the finish line in 22:16, while senior teammate Maggie Nelsen (St. Louis, Mo.) posted a time of 22:29 in earning a second-place finish. Sophomore Elizabeth Webster (Dearborn, Mich.) placed fourth as she finished in 23:04.
Sophomore Jenny Walls (Tulsa, Okla.) was the next Irish runner to cross the line as she earned a 14th-place finish with a time of 23:38. She was followed by freshman Sarah Glatt (Overland Park, Kan.), who was 22nd overall with a time of 23:55. Two other freshman also made their collegiate debuts for the Irish as Jennifer Richard (Enid, Okla.) was 25th in 24:14, while Mary Phillips (Bay City, Mich.) was the fifth Irish runner in the race as she earned a 33rd-place showing overall with a time of 24:47.
Western Michigan won the men’s meet with a score of 23, followed by Notre Dame with 32. Host Valparaiso took third with 97 team points, followed by Wisconsin-Green Bay (114), IUPUI-Fort Wayne (151), St. Joseph’s (166) and Chicago State (185).
The Broncos had five runners in the top 10, while four Notre Dame runners earned top-10 finishes. Senior Brian Kerwin (Point Pleasant, N.J.) was the first Irish harrier to cross the finish line as he placed second with a time of 25:13. Sophomore Austin Weaver’s (Brentwood, Tenn.) followed with a fifth-place showing as he ran a 25:37 over the course. Junior A.J. Andrassy (Cleveland, Ohio) and sophomore Tom Longo (Northbrook, Ill.) were eighth and ninth overall in the race with times of 25:45 and 25:46, respectively.
Junior Michael Manning (Madras, Ore.) was 16th overall as he crossed the finish line in 26:23, while senior Bucky Schaffer (Englewood, Colo.) finished 17th with that same time. Freshmen Todd Ptacek (Benton Harbor, Mich.) and Andy O’Connor (Fort Wayne, Ind.) were the final two Irish runners in the race with Ptacek taking 23rd in 26:49 and O’Connor finishing 31st in 27:11.
Both Irish teams will be in action again on Friday, September 19 when Notre Dame plays host to the National Catholic Championships.