Nov. 12, 2011
TOLEDO, Ohio – On the strength of three all-region performers, the Notre Dame men’s cross country team earned a fourth place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, while the women finished fifth and had a pair of runners earn all-region accolades on Saturday afternoon in Toledo, Ohio.
Neither team automatically qualified for next Monday’s NCAA National Championships, but both teams have hopes for one of the 13 at-large spots in each of the fields, which will be announced by Sunday at 7 p.m. If selected, a full recap will be available on UND.com.
“Today was the best race we have run all year,” said men’s head coach Joe Piane. “Our top five ran all well. We think we have better than a 50/50 chance to get an at-large spot in the NCAAs.”
“We didn’t run that great as a group,” said women’s head coach Tim Connelly. “We got stuck in the pack at the beginning of the race and gave up a lot of spots. We will have to wait until tomorrow to see if we got in or not.”
The men’s team, which finished with 119 points and just 15 points behind Michigan for third place, produced three all-region selections on the 10K course. It was the first time all year the Irish had run a 10K. Senior Jordan Carlson (15th, 30:37.9), junior Jeremy Rae (17th, 30:41.3) and sophomore Martin Grady (20th, 30:44.2) all finished in the top 25 to earn the citation.
“Jordan ran really well today and saved his best collegiate cross country race for regionals his senior year. Hopefully it won’t be his last one.”
Also scoring for the Irish was senior Kelly Lynch (32nd, 31:04.3) and junior J.P. Malette (35th, 31:06.7).
The women finished with 112 points, and produced all-region selections in junior Jessica Rydberg (10th, 20:46.7) and freshman Gabby Gonzales (13th, 20:54.4). Rydberg has led the Irish in all six meets this season.
“I was pleased with how Jessica and Gabby ran today,” said Connelly. “Both ran a strong race. Gabby has improved greatly over the last month and has really made a good contribution to the team.”
Sophomore Alexa Aragon (28th, 21:22.3), sophomore McKinzie Schulz (30th, 21:24.7) and senior Rachel Velarde (31st, 21:25.2) also scored for Notre Dame.
Men’s 10K Team Results (Out Of 31 Teams)
4. Notre Dame 119 Points
Men’s 10K Individual Results (Out Of 211 Runners)
15. Jordan Carlson 30:37.9 (All-Region)
17. Jeremy Rae 30:41.3 (All-Region)
20. Martin Grady 30:44.2 (All-Region)
32. Kelly Lynch 31:04.3
35. J.P. Malette 31:06.7
42. Walter Schafer 31:20.6
107. D.J. Thornton 32:32.2
Women’s 6K Team Results (Out Of 33 Teams)
5. Notre Dame 112 Points
Women’s 6K Individual Results (Out Of 227 Runners)
10. Jessica Rydberg 20:46.7 (All-Region)
13. Gabby Gonzales 20:54.4 (All-Region)
28. Alexa Aragon 21:22.3
30. McKinzie Schulz 21:24.7
31. Rachel Velarde 21:25.2
34. Rebecca Tracy 21:28.0
86. Kelly Curran 22:21.6
–ND–