Sept. 15, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – – The Notre Dame men’s and women’s cross country teams will run the first of two consecutive home meets this Friday, Sept. 17 when the National Catholic Championships take place on the University of Notre Dame’s Burke Golf Course. The five-mile race was conceived by current Irish coach Joe Piane and implemented in the fall of 1980. It features prominent Catholic institutions throughout the United States. Top returning teams from last year’s race: Dayton, Loras, Holy Cross, Lewis, Duquesne and Detroit-Mercy.
VALPARAISO INVITATIONAL RECAP: Notre Dame swept the top spots in both the men and women’s race at the Valparaiso Invitational last weekend. The men took first place overall and were led by sophomore Marc Striowski (Toronto, Ont.), who finished first in a time of 24:48.44 on the 8K course. It was Striowski’s first collegiate win. Junior Sean McManus (Hernando, Fla.), sophomore Pat Conway (Springfield, Va.), senior John Dudley (Westwood, Mass.) and freshman Antonio Lopez (Albuquerque, N.M.), rounded out the Irish runners finishing in the top 10.
The women finished second overall without many of their top runners, including All-American JoAnna Deeter (Glen Ellyn, Ill.). Freshman Jennifer Handley (Barrie, Ont.) had an impressive debut for the Irish, winning the women’s 5K title in 18.00.27. Senior Erin Luby (Inverness, Ill.) finished sixth in a time of 18.24.60. The rest of the Irish runners finishing in the top 15 included: Bridget O’Brien (Bellevue, Wash.), Chrissy Kuenster (Wheaton, Ill.), Muffy Schmidt (Miles City, Mont.), Kari Eaton (Wadsworth, Ohio) and Cara Motter (Brawley, Calif.).
NATIONAL CATHOLIC PREVIEW: Both the men and women will look to continue their winning streaks at the National Catholic Championships on Friday. The men have won the team title the last four years, the longest such streak in the history of the meet. The women are pursuing their fourth straight title to break their own record of three straight set between 1992 and 1994. Senior All-American JoAnna Deeter also will be looking to extend her streak of four straight National Catholic Championship title, while junior Ryan Shay (Central Lake, Mich.) has also won two straight individual titles.
The women will be running with most of its top competitors at Friday’s meet. Deeter, along with seniors Alison Klemmer (Troy, Mich.) and Erin Olson (Eden Prairie, Minn.), will be among the favorites to win the women’s race. Freshman Jennifer Handley, coming off a win at the Valparaiso Invitational, will be running her first race on the Notre Dame campus.
The men boast a team win at the Valparaiso Invitational and will be boosted by the addition of junior Ryan Shay (Central Lake, Mich.) and sophomore Luke Watson (Stillwater, Minn.) into the top eight runners. Watson finished third in last year’s race and is running his first meet for Notre Dame this season after attending the 1999 World Junior Cross Country Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Marc Striowski, who finished 15th in the National Catholic last year, is looking for his second straight win after finishing first at the Valparaiso Invitational last weekend.
NATIONAL CATHOLIC RECENT HISTORY
Men’s Champions
Year Team Individual Time1994 Boston College Chris Georgules (Boston College) 24:54.071995 Notre Dame Charles Mulinga (Lewis) 24:30.001996 Notre Dame Jason Rexing (Notre Dame) 24:291997 Notre Dame Ryan Shay (Notre Dame) 24:531998 Notre Dame Ryan Shay (Notre Dame) 23:46
Women’s Champions
Year Team Individual Time1994 Notre Dame Amy Lyman (Boston College) 18:06.021995 Marquette Magdalena Paszta (Lewis) 17:42.061996 Notre Dame JoAnna Deeter (Notre Dame) 16:391997 Notre Dame JoAnna Deeter (Notre Dame) 17:391998 Notre Dame JoAnna Deeter (Notre Dame) 17:25
Schedule
SEPTEMBER11 Valparaiso Invitational M 1st (Valparaiso, IN) W 2nd
17 National Catholic Invitational 3:30 (JV), 4:15 (Women), 5:00 p.m (Men)
OCTOBER1 Notre Dame Invitational 2:45, 3:30, 4:15, 5:00 p.m. 15 Central Collegiates 4:00 p.m. (Ypsilanti, MI) 16 Pre-National Championships (Bloomington, IN) 10:00 a.m.
29 BIG EAST Championship (Bronx, NY) 10:00 a.m.
NOVEMBER13 (NCAA Great Lakes Region (Terre Haute, IN) 10:30 a.m.
22 NCAA Championships 10:30 a.m. (Bloomington, IN)
All times local to site. Home meets run at Burke Golf Course.
MONDO NCAA Div. I Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll (9/14)
(Conducted by the United States Cross Country Coaches Association)
Rank School (First-Place) Votes 1. Arkansas (10) 394 2. Stanford (5) 384 3. Colorado 339 4. North Carolina State 338 5. Wisconsin (1) 335 6. Northern Arizona 289 7. Providence 279 8. Arizona 263 9. Oregon 24210. James Madison 21011. Michigan 19012. Michigan State 17413. Minnesota 15714. Georgetown 14215. Butler 140
Others: Notre Dame 10