Sept. 8, 2006
VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s cross country team got its 2006 season off to an impressive start Friday afternoon with a comfortable 38-point victory at the Crusader Invitational, which was held in Valparaiso, Ind., at Sunset Hills Farm. The Irish had seven of the top 11 scorers in the 69-man field and logged 28 points to win their third consecutive Crusader Invitational title, easily outdistancing meet runner-up Wisconsin-Milwaukee (66 points) and host Valparaiso (71 points). Meanwhile, the Notre Dame women’s cross country team took second place at the Crusader Invitational by the slimmest of margins, finishing one point behind Valparaiso, 36-37. The Irish had five of the top 12 runners in the 68-runner event, but Valparaiso’s fifth scoring runner crossed the line in 17th place, one second of the next closest competitor, giving the hosts just the edge they would need to take home the crown.
On the men’s side, sophomore Kevin McFadden (New Tripoli, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) set the pace, covering the 6K Sunset Hills course in 19:27 to finish third, just three seconds behind runner-up Malachi Cate of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Eric Ade, an unattached runner, actually was the first to finish in 19:17. McFadden competed in only one race for the Irish last season, ironically running in the Crusader Invitational, where he placed 30th.
Behind McFadden, the next six Irish runners followed veteran head coach Joe Piane’s strategy to the letter, racing smartly in a pack and almost crossing the line as a group in places 6-10, as well as No. 12. Freshman Matt Tieuli (Upton, Mass./St. John’s) headed up the Notre Dame contingent in sixth place (19:32), followed immediately by sophomore John Daly, Jr. (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) in 19:35, sophomore Dan Kuzma (McKees Rocks, Pa./Central Catholic) in 19:36, sophomore Kevin Veselik (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Benet Academy) in 19:39 and sophomore Chris Rodriguez (Kelso, Wash./Kelso) in 19:41. Junior Daniel Bradley (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph’s) completed the front-running group for the Irish in 12th position with a time of 19:56.
As for the Notre Dame women, junior Julie Opet (Wayne, Pa./Radnor) was the first to complete the 4K circuit, doing so in third place (14:45). It was Opet’s second-best finish in three seasons with the Irish, one place behind her runner-up showing in the 2004 National Catholic Championship JV race. Sophomore Heidi Rocha (Palmdale, Calif./Paraclete) was next to finish for Notre Dame in sixth place (15:01), with freshman Beth Tacl (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) two seconds behind in the seventh position. Sophomore Becca Bauman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central) came home in ninth place (15:09), while classmate Emily Wauford (Midlothian, Va./Maggie Walker Governor’s School) was 12th overall in 15:16. Rounding the Irish top seven runners were sophomore Morgan Schulz (Centennial, Colo./Aurora Smoky Hill) in 22nd place (15:48) and junior Liz Philipp (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood) in 24th place (15:53).
Both Irish teams will return to action next Friday, Sept. 15, when it plays host to the 27th annual National Catholic Championship at the on-campus Notre Dame Golf Course. The Notre Dame men will be seeking their 18th team title (and 16th in the past 19 years), although Duquesne upset the Irish by a single point in last year’s race. At the same time, the Notre Dame women go after their 13th National Catholic crown in 15 years, with only Marquette preventing an unblemished run by the Irish from 1992-present. The women’s varsity race will start at 4:15 p.m. (ET), followed by the men’s varsity race at 5 p.m. (ET), with admission free to both races.
— ND —
Crusader Invitational
Sept. 8, 2006
Valparaiso, Ind. • Sunset Hills Farm
MEN’S 6,000-METER FINAL
Team Results: 1. NOTRE DAME 28; 2. Wisconsin-Milwaukee 66; 3. Valparaiso 71; 4. Wisconsin-Green Bay 112; 5. IPFW 125; 6. St. Joseph’s (Ind.) 139.
Individuals (top five of 69 plus Notre Dame finishers): 1. Eric Ade (unattached) 19:17; 2. Malachi Cate (UW-Milwaukee) 19:24; 3. Kevin McFadden (Notre Dame) 19:27; 4. Nathaniel Brown (UW-Green Bay) 19:28; 5. Chris Honig (Valparaiso) 19:31; 6. Matt Tieuli (Notre Dame) 19:32; 7. John Daly, Jr. (Notre Dame) 19:35; 8. Dan Kuzma (Notre Dame) 19:36; 9. Kevin Veselik (Notre Dame) 19:39; 10. Chris Rodriguez (Notre Dame) 19:41; 12. Daniel Bradley (Notre Dame) 19:56; 28. Terrence Egan (Notre Dame) 20:43; 32. Colin Diamond (Notre Dame) 20:53.
WOMEN’S 6,000-METER FINAL
Team Results: 1. Valparaiso 36; 2. NOTRE DAME 37; 3. IPFW 70; 4. Western Michigan 94; 5. Wisconsin-Milwaukee 121; 6. St. Joseph’s (Ind.) 167; 7. Wisconsin-Green Bay 185.
Individuals (top five of 68 plus Notre Dame finishers): 1. Laura Rolf (Valparaiso) 14:20; 2. Danielle Nunnelly (Valparaiso) 14:27; 3. Julie Opet (Notre Dame) 14:45; 4. Ashley Ritchey (IPFW) 14:49; 5. Rachael Button (Valparaiso) 15:00; 6. Heidi Rocha (Notre Dame) 15:01; 7. Beth Tacl (Notre Dame) 15:03; 9. Becca Bauman (Notre Dame) 15:09; 12. Emily Wauford (Notre Dame) 15:16; 22. Morgan Schulz (Notre Dame) 15:48; 24. Liz Philipp (Notre Dame) 15:53; 25. Mary Debevec (Notre Dame) 15:55; 29. Erin Locke (Notre Dame) 16:07; 32. Sarah Merriday (Notre Dame) 16:16; 34. Kathleen Elverman (Notre Dame) 16:32; 35. Brianne Schmidt (Notre Dame) 16:34; 48. Analisa Sandoval (Notre Dame) 17:22.