Sept. 15, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – It was a day for landmark moments as the Notre Dame men’s and women’s cross country teams both took home top honors at the 27th annual National Catholic Championship, held Friday afternoon at the Notre Dame Golf Course. The Irish men picked up their second team title in as many weeks, and 18th National Catholic crown, stacking up five of the top 16 runners in the 237-man field to post a 48-58 win over BIG EAST Conference rival Marquette.
Meanwhile, the Notre Dame women’s squad ended up in a flat-footed tie with No. 18 Marquette, sharing the team championship with 28 points apiece. NCAA rules stipulate that the only time a team deadlock is broken is at the regional level, when the top two teams earn automatic berths to the NCAA Championship. In that instance, the results of the sixth runner for each team are used to break the tie — had that been the case at Friday’s National Catholic Championship, Notre Dame would have won the title, as its No. 6 runner placed 12th overall, while Marquette’s sixth harrier finished two seconds back in 13th place. Regardless, the Irish walk away with a share of their fifth consecutive National Catholic trophy and 13th in the past 15 years.
On the individual ladder, junior All-American Sunni Olding (Minster, Ohio/Minster) made some history of her own, becoming just the second woman ever to repeat as National Catholic champion since a women’s race was added to the meet in 1984 (Notre Dame’s JoAnna Deeter won four crowns from 1996-99). Olding successfully defended her championship on Friday with a sizeable 12-second victory over Marquette’s Jayne Grebinski, covering the 5K course in 17:51. The Irish veteran led a chorus of five Notre Dame thinclads among the top nine in the 267-runner field, but it almost wasn’t enough to secure a piece of the team title. Marquette was nearly as successful, as Grebinski paced five Golden Eagles among the top 11 runners, but that fifth runner (Amanda Beggs) was beaten to the line by Duquesne’s Amy Ruffolo, who finished one second ahead of Beggs to prevent an outright Marquette win.
Junior Julie Opet (Wayne, Pa./Radnor) turned in another solid performance for the Irish with her second consecutive top-five finish, coming in fifth place (18:17), just ahead of freshman teammate Lindsey Ferguson (Greenfield Center, N.Y./Saratoga Springs), who clocked the same time. Senior Ann Mazur (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-LaSalle) placed seventh overall in 18:21, while sophomore Heidi Rocha (Palmdale, Calif./Paraclete) turned in perhaps the most pleasing result of the day for Notre Dame with a ninth-place outing in 18:42.
Over on the men’s side, spectators were treated to a rarity, as Saint Martin’s sophomore John Riak (24:38) became only the third College Division men’s champion in the meet’s 27-year history, and the first since 1995, when Charles Mulinga of Lewis University claimed top honors. Notre Dame junior Jake Watson (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) was hot on Riak’s heels, taking runner-up honors at the National Catholic Championship for the second time in three years with a five-mile time of 24:40. Junior Brett Adams (Davenport, Iowa/Assumption) had a strong season debut, placing eighth in 25:18, two seconds ahead of classmate Mike Popejoy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South) in ninth place. Freshman Jake Walker (Ellwood City, Pa./Lincoln) crossed the line in 13th place at 25:39, and sophomore Robbie Barany (Yakima, Wash./Eisenhower) completed the Notre Dame scoring in 16th place (25:57).
Both Irish teams will have a week off before turning their attention to the 51st running of the Notre Dame Invitational, scheduled for Friday, Sept. 29 at the nine-hole Notre Dame Golf Course. The Invitational, which was founded by legendary former Irish head coach Alex Wilson in 1956, is one of the oldest and largest intercollegiate cross country meets in the country and regularly features runners from approximately 60 schools, including numerous nationally-ranked squads. The Notre Dame men have won 15 times, most recently taking the crown in 2003, while the Irish women have earned the meet title six times since their race was added in 1987. Arizona and Michigan are the defending champions on the men’s and women’s sides, respectively. The Notre Dame Invitational will be run throughout the afternoon on Friday, with the women’s Blue Division race scheduled for 4:15 p.m. (EDT) and the men’s Blue Division competition pegged for a 5 p.m. (EDT) gun time.
— ND —