Sept. 30, 2005
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Facing arguably one of the strongest regular-season fields in the nation, the nationally-ranked Notre Dame men’s and women’s cross country teams posted solid finishes at the 50th annual Notre Dame Invitational, which was run Friday afternoon at the on-campus Notre Dame Golf Course. The sixth-ranked Irish men’s squad finished second in the 25-team Blue Division race with 104 points, trailing only No. 7 Arizona (70 points), and winding up ahead of top-ranked Wisconsin (fifth, 174 points), No. 14 Michigan (sixth, 195 points) and No. 18 Florida State (fourth, 159 points), among others.
Meanwhile, the No. 3 Irish women’s squad looked to be excellent shape as it placed four runners among the top 11 in the Blue Division field. However, fifth-ranked Michigan rallied late for the victory with 77 points, edging out No. 20 Illinois (82 points) and Notre Dame (91 points) in the 24-team Blue Division event.
Senior All-American Stephanie Madia (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) celebrated her 22nd birthday in style by claiming Notre Dame’s sixth title in the past 10 seasons, crossing the line in 16:36, the third-fastest 5K time in meet history. Classmate and fellow All-American Molly Huddle (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) was hot on Madia’s heels, finishing second in 16:39. Sophomore All-American Sunni Olding (Minster, Ohio/Minster) was ninth overall in 17:14 and freshman Ramsey Kavan (Yankton, S.D./Yankton) rounded out the dominant Notre Dame quartet in 11th place (17:16). By comparison, only one team in the Blue Division race could even muster more than one runner in the top 11 (Illinois had the fifth- and seventh-place finishers).
On the men’s side, junior Kurt Benninger (Chepstow, Ontario/Walkerton D.S.S.) was the top Notre Dame runner, placing fifth in 23:42. Senior All-American Tim Moore (Novi, Mich./Novi) was 10th overall in 23:59 and fifth-year senior Sean O’Donnell (Kansas City, Mo./Rockhurst) finished 18th in 24:08. Wisconsin standout Chris Solinsky won the men’s Blue Division title in 23:21, the second-fastest time since the race was extended to five miles in 1968 (Butler’s Julius Mwangi ran 22:49 in 1998).
The other Notre Dame men’s scorers in the Blue race were freshman Patrick Smyth (Salt Lake City, Utah/Judge Memorial), who was 34th in 24:32 and sophomore Dan Curran (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North), who was 37th in 24:37. As for the Irish women, Jean Marinangeli (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) was the fifth scorer, coming across in 68th place in 18:06.
In the Notre Dame Invitational Gold Division races on Friday, Michigan won the women’s event with Notre Dame coming in eighth, while Calvin (Mich.) College claimed the men’s crown and the Irish took third-place honors. The leading Irish runners in the Gold Division races were senior A.J. Andrassy (Bay Village, Ohio/St. Ignatius), who was ninth overall in 25:15, and freshman Morgan Schulz (Centennial, Colo./Aurora Smoky Hill), who ended up in 23rd place at 18:35.
The Notre Dame Invitational was conceived in 1956 by former Irish head coach (and Canadian Track Hall of Famer) Alex Wilson and features some of the top teams from around the country. This year’s five races (men’s and women’s Blue and Gold, plus a junior varsity/open event) saw nearly 700 competitors from 58 different schools (including 16 men’s or women’s Division I teams ranked among the top 30 in the nation) race in one of the country’s largest in-season meets.
The Notre Dame cross country teams will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 15, when they head to Terre Haute, Ind., for the Pre-National Meet, to be held on the same Lavern Gibson Course that will play host to the NCAA Championships at season’s end.
— ND —