Oct. 14, 2006
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The 21st-ranked Notre Dame men’s cross country team made a significant statement about its potential on a national level, finishing fourth in the 8,000-meter White Division race at the Pre-National Meet, which was run Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind., on the LaVern Gibson Championship Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. Competing on the same course that will host the NCAA Championship next month, the Irish registered their third consecutive top-four finish at the Pre-National event with 255 points, trailing only No. 5 Iona (100 points), third-ranked Stanford (106) and No. 25 Florida (217) in the 36-team field. Conversely, Notre Dame placed ahead of seven other ranked squads in the race, including five teams currently ahead of the Irish in the polls — No. 9 BYU (ninth), No. 14 Michigan (seventh), No. 16 Virginia (12th), No. 19 William & Mary (15th) and No. 20 Arizona State (16th).
Senior All-American Kurt Benninger (Chepstow, Ontario/Walkerton D.S.S.) carded his third consecutive top-10 finish at the Pre-National Meet, covering the 8K circuit in a personal-best 23:40.5, just under two seconds faster than his mark at last year’s Notre Dame Invitational. Sophomore Patrick Smyth (Salt Lake City, Utah/Judge Memorial) wasn’t far behind his teammate, hitting the line in 12th place with a tiime of 23:49, only three seconds slower than his personal best that he set two weeks ago at the Notre Dame Invitational. The Irish were one of only two teams to put multiple runners among the top 12 in the 246-man White Division field, with Iona having three in the top 11 (Liberty’s Josh McDougal claimed the individual title in 23:14).
The rest of Notre Dame’s scoring five also met or exceeded their respective personal-best paces at Pre-Nationals. Junior Jake Watson (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) finished 45th in 24:23, ending up three seconds off his PR set at last month’s Notre Dame Invitational. Junior Brett Adams (Davenport, Iowa/Assumption) shaved nearly seven seconds off his personal-best time also set at the ’06 Notre Dame Invitational, finishing 95th with a mark of 24:50.1. Freshman Jake Walker (Ellwood City, Pa./Lincoln) emphatically broke into the Irish top five for the first time in his career, as his 99th-place time of 24:51 was a full 29 seconds quicker than his previous personal best (25:20 earlier this year at the Notre Dame Invitational).
The Notre Dame women competed in the 6,000-meter Blue Division race at the Pre-National Meet and wound up tied with Indiana for 15th place after amassing 441 points. Top-ranked and defending national champion Stanford easily won the Blue Division with 45 points, pulling away from runner-up Minnesota (200 points), Arizona State (224), BYU (242) and Providence (247). Irish junior All-American Sunni Olding (Minster, Ohio/Minster) was Notre Dame’s top finisher at Pre-Nationals, coming home 19th in the 245-runner field with a time of 20:38.8, her third-fastest 6K time ever. Wake Forest’s Michelle Sikes won the individual title in 20:16.4
Both Irish cross country teams will have a week off before heading to Boston, Mass., for the BIG EAST Conference Championship on Oct. 27 at Franklin Park. Last year, Notre Dame became the first school to sweep the men’s and women’s conference titles since Providence in 1996, with the Irish men winning their second consecutive crown (fifth overall) and the Notre Dame women claiming their third title in four years.
— ND —
Pre-National Meet
Oct. 14, 2006
Terre Haute, Ind. • LaVern Gibson Championship Course/Wabash Valley Family Sports Center
MEN’S WHITE DIVISION 8,000-METER RACE
Team Results (top seven of 36): 1. Iona 100; 2. Stanford 106; 3. Florida 217; 4. NOTRE DAME 255; 5. Iowa 270; 6. Kansas 270; 7. Michigan 277.
Individuals (top five of 246 plus Notre Dame finishers): 1. Josh McDougal (Liberty) 23:14; 2. Joseph Lomong (Northern Arizona) 23:18.7; 3. Jacob Korir (Eastern Kentucky) 23:24.5; 4. Neftalem Araia (Stanford) 23:29.4; 5. Forest Braden (Boise State) 23:38.5; 7. Kurt Benninger (Notre Dame) 23:40.5; 12. Patrick Smyth (Notre Dame) 23:49; 45. Jake Watson (Notre Dame) 24:23; 95. Brett Adams (Notre Dame) 24:50.1; 99. Jake Walker (Notre Dame) 24:51; 151. Brock Hagerman (Notre Dame) 25:13.5; 168. Robbie Barany (Notre Dame) 25:24.3.
WOMEN’S BLUE DIVISION 6,000-METER RACE
Team Results (top six of 36): 1. Stanford 45; 2. Minnesota 200; 3. Arizona State 224; 4. BYU 242; 5. Providence 247; 6. Michigan State 255; 15. (tie) NOTRE DAME 441.
Individuals (top five of 245 plus Notre Dame finishers): 1. Michelle Sikes (Wake Forest) 20:16.4; 2. Arianna Lambie (Stanford) 20:20; 3. Kassi Andersen (BYU) 20:22.1; 4. Teresa McWalters (Stanford) 20:24; 5. Amanda Trotter (Stanford) 20:27.5; 19. Sunni Olding (Notre Dame) 20:38.8; 59. Julie Opet (Notre Dame) 21:15.3; 116. Ann Mazur (Notre Dame) 21:47.8; 121. Heidi Rocha (Notre Dame) 21:49.2; 126. Lindsey Ferguson (Notre Dame) 21:51.5; 148. Amy Kohlmeier (Notre Dame) 22:06.9; 149. Becca Bauman (Notre Dame) 22:07.2.