Oct. 27, 2006
BOSTON – The Notre Dame men’s and women’s cross country teams both placed third at the 2006 BIG EAST Conference Championships, which were held Friday at Franklin Park in Boston. The 12th-ranked Irish men scored 70 points and ended up trailing only No. 20 Providence (52 points) and No. 16 Georgetown (58 points) in the final team standings. Notre Dame now has finished fourth or higher in every BIG EAST meet since joining the conference in 1995, with five titles to its credit (1997, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005). Meanwhile, the Notre Dame women tallied 87 points, putting them behind just 12th-ranked Providence (39 points) and 18th-ranked Georgetown (68 points). It was the fifth consecutive top-three BIG EAST finish for the Irish, who also have three titles (2002, 2003, 2005) and a runner-up placement (2004) on their resume.
Senior All-American Kurt Benninger (Chepstow, Ontario/Walkerton D.S.S.) led the Notre Dame men’s squad by placing second for the second year in a row with a personal-best time of 23:31 for the 8,000-meter race. Sophomore Patrick Smyth (Salt Lake City, Utah/Judge Memorial) was hot on his teammate’s heels, running a personal-best 23:32 to take third-place honors. Junior Jake Watson (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) completed a powerful Irish trio at the top of the BIG EAST field, coming home ninth in a personal-best 23:54. All three men also were accorded all-BIG EAST honors, with Benninger taking his third all-conference plaque, Smyth his second and Watson his first — it is the fourth consecutive year Notre Dame has had three men’s all-BIG EAST picks.
Freshman Brock Hagerman (Markleville, Ind./Pendleton Heights) was the fastest rookie in this year’s BIG EAST field, placing 23rd in 24:22. Another Irish freshman, Jake Walker (Ellwood City, Pa./Lincoln) was Notre Dame’s final team scorer, coming home in 33rd place (24:34).
“We were very strong at the top of our lineup today,” Notre Dame head men’s cross country coach Joe Piane said. “Through three runners, it looked as though we were in the lead. We just didn’t finish it off the way we wanted. But it’s hard to really find fault with Brock, who ran very well for us, and Jake, who also competed hard.”
On the women’s side, junior Sunni Olding (Minster, Ohio/Minster) finished among the top 10 for the second year in a row, hitting the line in sixth place (21:00). Olding also picked up her third all-BIG EAST citation, joining Jennifer Handley (1999, 2001, 2002) and Molly Huddle (2002-05) as the only three-time all-BIG EAST honorees in program history.
Two Irish seniors bolstered the team performance with their best career efforts on the cross country course, resulting in all-conference accolades. Ann Mazur (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-LaSalle) finished in 12th place (21:27), while Amy Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick’s) was close behind her in 14th place with a time of 21:31. This was the fifth consecutive year that three Notre Dame women were selected for all-BIG EAST plaques. Freshman Lindsey Ferguson (Greenfield Center, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) was the fourth Notre Dame finisher, coming in 27th place with a time of 21:51. Junior Julie Opet (Wayne, Pa./Radnor) was the final Irish scorer in 28th place (21:58).
“Considering how young we are and how much lost from last year’s team, this was a very solid performance for us,” Irish head women’s cross country coach Tim Connelly said. “Sunni was strong at the front of the pack, and we got some tremendous efforts from Ann and Amy.”
Providence’s Martin Fagan won the BIG EAST men’s individual title for the second consecutive year in a record-setting time of 23:09, while Villanova’s Frances Koons claimed the conference women’s crown in 20:28.
The Notre Dame men’s and women’s cross country teams will return to action on Nov. 11, when they travel to Bowling Green, Ohio, for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. The top two teams from the regional will earn automatic berths to the NCAA Championships — the Irish women have posted five consecutive top-two regional finishes, while the Notre Dame men have placed in the top two the past two seasons.
— ND —