July 19, 2001
Four representatives from the University of Notre Dame track and field and cross country teams made their presence known in two distance races at the Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Mich., last weekend (July 15). NCAA 10,000-meter champion Ryan Shay (Central Lake, Mich.), who has been a fixture at the Cherry Festival over the last few years, won the 15K (9.3 miles) title in 47:49. Right behind him in fourth place was Marc Striowski (Toronto, Ontario) who finished in 50:29.
“I took some significant time off,” Shay said after the race.
“I’m out of shape, but I still had a decent race. I invited all my teammates to come up here. It’s a good race and a good time. It’s always pretty competitive.”
Shay has now won all three races at the Cherry Festival during his career (15K, 5K, and Golden Mile) and shaved 34 seconds off his runner-up finish in the 1998 15K.
Irish sophomore Todd Mobley (West Bloomfield, Mich.) won the second title of the day for Notre Dame, taking the 5K race in 14:46. Teammate and 2000 cross country All-American Pat Conway (Springfield, Va.) took fourth in the 5K in 15:33.
“It was a good meet,” Mobley said.
“We see a lot of the same guys during the year because we are in the same district. We’ll see a lot of these same people later this season at our (cross country and track and field) meets.”
All four Irish runners will play key roles in the upcoming cross country season. Conway finished 36th in the 2000 NCAA Cross Country Championship, helping Notre Dame finish ninth in the field. Striowski was 42nd in the race while Mobley, running his first NCAA championship race, cracked the top 100 at 99th. Add 2000 cross country All-American Luke Watson to the mix and the Irish will be one of the most talented teams in the country next season.
Shay, who posted an All-American finish in the 1999 NCAA Cross Country Championships, will return for a fifth year in cross country and the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. He has earned six All-America honors in his career at Notre Dame and became the first Irish track and field athlete to win an individual NCAA track and field title since 1972 with his 10,000-meter victory at the NCAA outdoor championships in May.
“Individually, I want to win the NCAA cross country nationals,” Shay said.
“But we also have high team expectations. We have a good nucleus returning and I think we’ll be right in the mix for a national title.”
– Denny Chase and Mark Urban from the Traverse City Record-Eagle contributed to this release.