Nov. 11, 2016
By Megan Golden
MADISON, Wis. — The University of Notre Dame women’s cross country team finished second at the Great Lakes Regional Championship on Friday at Zimmer Championship Course, earning an automatic bid in the NCAA Championship.
The Irish totaled 91 points, placing second behind Michigan (61) in a pool of 32 teams. Notre Dame has finished in second place in back-to-back seasons. Wisconsin (97), Michigan State (97) and Eastern Michigan (102) rounded out the top five.
Notre Dame sophomore Anna Rohrer (19:35.7) was the individual runner-up for the second time in as many seasons. She beat last year’s time of 20:18.4 as well as 2015 champion Molly Seidel’s time of 20:04.4.
Three Irish runners finished in the top-25 and received All-Region honors, including Rohrer, sophomore Annie Heffernan (10th, 20:19.3) and graduate student Danielle Aragon (13th, 20:23.2).
The Notre Dame men’s squad, which featured three freshmen, recorded a 14th-place finish out of 30 teams.
Women’s Runner of the Meet
Sophomore Anna Rohrer finished the meet in second place for the second consecutive season. Rohrer, who won the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship two weeks prior, will advance to the NCAA Championship for the second straight year.
Men’s Runner of the Meet
Senior Chris Marco finished in 54th place (31:49.8), leading the way for the Irish men’s squad in what was likely the final race of his career. Marco helped the Notre Dame men’s team to a 14th-place finish.
Anna Rohrer Saysââ’¬¦
On finishing in second place at the regional meet for two straight seasons…
“My goal was to win, so it’s obviously disappointing. I’m keeping in mind that the biggest race is in eight days, and I think I know what I need to do to be ready for that. It was definitely a fast race; we really grinded it out the whole time, and I think going into nationals, I’ll feel fresher, I’ll get some sleep and be ready to go.”
On last year’s experience playing a role in this year’s meet…
“The experience I have brings more comfort going into the race. I feel less nervous; I’ve run a regional race before, I know what teams are here, I know the course. It’s a lot less anxiety going into the race.”
On her mindset heading into the NCAA Championship…
“The work’s been done, and now I just need to do all I can to be fresh and healthy for Saturday.”
Coming Up Next
The Irish women will compete in the NCAA Championships at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, November 19, at Lavern Gibson Cross Country Course (Terre Haute, Ind.).
Thirty-one teams will compete at the championship meet. The top two teams from each regional championship automatically qualify for the NCAA Championship. There also are 13 at-large bids, which are granted following all regional meets.
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Megan Golden, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since August of 2016. In her role, she coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse and cross country/track and field programs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Golden is a 2014 graduate of Saint Mary’s College and former Irish women’s basketball manager. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she worked in public relations with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.