Sept. 25, 2001
The University of Notre Dame men’s cross country team moved up one spot in the MONDO NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country Poll released on Tuesday, Sept. 25. The Irish are now ranked fourth in the nation, up a spot from fifth after an impressive victory at the National Catholic Invitational on Notre Dame’s campus last weekend (Sept. 21). The #4 ranking is the highest the team has ever been ranked during the season.
Senior Ryan Shay (Central Lake, Mich.) became the first runner to win the National Catholic title four times with his victory last weekend and he was closely followed by Luke Watson (Stillwater, Minn.) and sophomore Todd Mobley (West Bloomfield, Mich.) in second and third place, respectively.
Marc Striowski (Toronto, Ontario) took fifth place and 2000 cross country All-American Pat Conway (Springfield, Va.) came across the finish line in eighth place to provide the Irish a team point total of 19. Brian Kerwin (Point Pleasant, NJ) finished 11th and Mario Bird (Nikiski, Alaska) 16th to round out the eight Irish runners in the field.
Notre Dame will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 6, in the Notre Dame Invitational on the Notre Dame Golf Course. Indiana (#19) and Eastern Michigan (#24) will be among the teams in the men’s field.
The top three spots in the MONDO cross country poll remain unchanged with Colorado first, Stanford second and Arkansas third. Notre Dame leapfrogged fellow BIG EAST Conference member Providence to move into fourth. The Irish and the Friars, along with seventh-ranked Villanova and 10th-ranked Georgetown, will meet Oct. 26, at Van Cortland Park in New York for the BIG EAST Championship.
MONDO NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country Poll
1. Colorado (14), 398 pts
2. Stanford (1), 377 pts
3. Arkansas (1), 362 pts
4. Notre Dame, 343 pts
5. Providence, 327 pts
6. Wisconsin, 318 pts
7. Villanova, 310 pts
8. North Carolina State, 299 pts
9. Northern Arizona, 264 pts
10. Georgetown, 222 pts
11. William & Mary, 216 pts
12. Arizona, 215 pts
13. Portland, 185 pts
14. Michigan, 173 pts
15. BYU, 170 pts
16. Oregon, 160 pts
17. Iona College, 148 pts
18. Weber State, 125 pts
19. Indiana, 120 pts
20. Minnesota, 80 pts
21. Alabama, 78 pts
22. Arizona State, 66 pts
23. Wake Forest, 63 pts
24. Eastern Michigan, 41 pts
25. Air Force, 39 pts
Also receiving votes: Michigan State (24), Dartmouth (20), Texas (15), Duke (8), Penn State (7), Princeton (7), Oklahoma State (6), Navy (4), Virginia (4), Colorado State (3), Iowa (3), Miami (Ohio) (3), Ohio State (3), Washington State (3).