Sept. 6, 2002
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s cross country team showed that it should have little trouble rebounding from the loss of three All-Americans this past off-season. The men posted a strong second-place finish at the inaugural Adidas Invitational. The Invitational, held this Friday at Notre Dame’s Burke Memorial Golf Course, was the first cross country meet of the year for the Irish. It was also the earliest in the season Notre Dame has ever hosted a cross country meet.
The top finisher for the Irish in the field of 40 runners was junior All-American Todd Mobley who won the men’s race in a time of 24:51 for his second career victory. Mobley was chased home by teammate Tim Moore, who finished second in a time of 25:02. Moore, a freshman and 2001 FootLocker Cross Country Champion, was running in his first collegiate meet. The other Irish runners who scored points in the meet were: freshman Kaleb Van Ort (8th, 25:13); senior John Keane (15th, 25:35); and junior David Alber (16th, 25:43).
The men’s team entered the meet ranked 25th nationally, and will likely improve that ranking after this second-place finish. The Irish were only bested by North Carolina State, who entered with a No. 7 ranking. Notre Dame defeated 13th ranked Arizona State as well as Tennessee, which was in the “also receiving votes” category. NC State took first place with a score of 32, Notre Dame was second scoring 42 points, Tennessee was third with 70 points, and Arizona State was fourth with a score of 72.
The women’s cross country team entered Friday’s Adidas Invitational ranked 10th in the country, its highest ranking ever, and will almost certainly rise in the next poll after winning the meet. The women, who ran none of their freshmen, beat No. 3 North Carolina State and No. 19 Arizona State. Notre Dame won the meet with a score of 32, NC State was second with 43 points, and Arizona State was fourth with 45 points.
The top Irish finisher was sophomore All-American Lauren King, who finished second with a time of 17:24 in the field of 32. Behind King, Irish runners swept positions six through nine. In order, those finishers were: All BIG-EAST senior Jennifer Handley (17:47), junior Katie Wales (18:10), junior Megan Johnson (18:12), and senior Jennifer Fibuch (18:13).
The Fighting Irish cross country teams will next be in action in two weeks when they host the National Catholic Championship on the Burke Memorial Golf Course, the meet will begin at 4:15PM.