Sept. 26, 2006
List of Entries For 2006 Notre Dame Invitational in PDF Format
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NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame has announced the complete field of entrants, including 14 ranked teams, for the 51st running of the Notre Dame Invitational cross country meet, to be held Friday afternoon at the nine-hole Notre Dame Golf Course on the Notre Dame campus. The meet will kick off with the Gold Division women’s and men’s races at 2 p.m. (EDT) and 2:45 p.m., respectively, followed by the featured Blue Division races at 4:15 p.m. (women) and 5 p.m. (men). Admission for the meet is free to the public, although spectators are reminded that traffic on campus will be heavier than normal because of activities related to this weekend’s Notre Dame-Purdue football game.
A total of 54 schools will be sending either or both of their men’s and women’s teams to the Notre Dame Invitational. Among those squads set to participate in Friday’s Blue Division races are 14 teams that are ranked in the top 30 of U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) men’s or women’s polls. The marquee teams in the men’s race will be top-ranked Wisconsin, No. 15 Michigan and No. 16 Notre Dame, while on the women’s side, third-ranked Michigan, No. 7 Illinois and No. 12 North Carolina State will join Notre Dame as the teams to watch. Three schools will send nationally-ranked men’s and women’s squads to the Notre Dame Invitational — Michigan (#3 women/#15 men), Providence (#16 women/#27 men) and Florida State (#24 men/#29 women). Besides the 14 ranked teams, another seven are receiving votes in one of the two polls this week, meaning that at least half of the fields in both the 20-team men’s and 19-team women’s Blue Division races are receiving national consideration this week.
Arizona and Michigan won the men’s and women’s Blue Division races last year, with the Wolverines back to defend their women’s title this season. Other previous Notre Dame Invitational winners who will be participating in Friday’s Blue Division races include: Notre Dame men (15 titles; last in 2003), Michigan men (eight titles; last in 1999-shared), Eastern Michigan men (three titles; last in 1997), Wisconsin men (two titles; last in 1976), North Carolina State (one title in 1998), Notre Dame women (six titles; last in 2003), Ohio University women (two titles; last in 1989) and North Carolina State women (one title in 1998). Meanwhile, the Gold Division races will feature a mix of schools from NCAA Divisions I, II and III and Canada, including BIG EAST Conference members Cincinnati and DePaul in the women’s race, and DePaul in the men’s race.
The Notre Dame Invitational is one of the nation’s oldest and largest intercollegiate cross country meets. It was started in 1956 by legendary former Irish head coach (and Canadian Track Hall of Famer) Alex Wilson and has been run continuously ever since. The men’s races originally began as four-mile events before being extended to five miles in 1968, with the 5K women’s race being added in 1987.
A complete printable list of the entrants for the Notre Dame Invitational is available in a PDF file at the top of this release. Final results from the meet will be distributed shortly after the conclusion of the day’s races on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.und.com), as well as the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000) and via the new Irish ALERT text message system (sign up on the cross country page of the Notre Dame athletics web site). Sports information contacts from participating schools may receive results via e-mail by contacting Notre Dame assistant SID Chris Masters at masters.5@nd.edu by noon (EDT) Friday.
— ND —