Notre Dame, Ind. – The Irish returned to Burke Golf Course on a hot and humid Friday afternoon to take part in the National Catholic Invitational. This was the 42nd Invitational that welcomed 14 Catholic institutions from 9 different states across the country. The men and women of Notre Dame both capitalized on the opportunity of being back on their home course and put on quite the show for the spectators that had made their way to the competition.
WOMEN’S RECAP
Competition began with the Women’s Championship Race and from very early on it was clear that the women were on a mission to run as a pack and work together through the difficult weather conditions. As they made their way through the one mile mark, Notre Dame made up positions 1 through 7 all separated by less than 4 seconds. The top 4, Katie Rose Blachowicz, Jocelyn Long, Katie Wiser, and Maddy Denner were separated by .3 of a second. Continuing to wind their way through the course these women would take turns at the lead, setting the pace for their teammates.
Through the 4 kilometer checkpoint and with just 1 kilometer to go the women held tight with the top 5 positions led by Maddy Denner and Kate Wiser. These two women would shoulder and shoulder along the final few minutes of the race, until they made the final turn towards the finish line. Coming down the stretch it was the freshman from Southbury, Connecticut Kate Wiser who stepped on the gas and pulled away from her teammate. As she came across the line and looked over her shoulder, all that Wiser could see was the White and Navy of her teammates. Maddy Denner, Lauren Bailey, Katie Rose Blachowicz, and Jocelyn Long would make up the scoring team for Notre Dame finish with a perfect score of 15.
WOMEN’S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Kate Wiser 1st 17:16.5
Maddy Denner 2nd 17:18.5
Lauren Bailey 3rd 17:31.3
Katie Rose Blachowicz 4th 17:37.6
Jocelyn Long 5th 17:45.3
Maddy King 8th 18:16.4
Erin Sullivan 10th 18:36.7
Katie Ryan 11th 18:38.2
Isalina Colsman 17th 19:00.5
Olivia Niziolek 25th 19:15.8
Jackie Gaughan 26th 19:18.7
Meghan Hughes 37th 19:27.2
Anna Fischer 38th 19:27.4
WOMEN’S TEAM RESULTS
Notre Dame 15
Duquesne 81
Lewis 108
Holy Cross 127
Bellarmine 176
Loras 178
St. Francis (Ind.) 187
Gannon 227
Marian (Ind.) 242
Detroit Mercy 248
Canisius 265
Franciscan (Ohio) 342
St. Mary’s (Ind.) 354
Ave Maria 432
Mercyhurst 449
MEN’S RECAP
Coming off of a dominating performance two weeks ago, the men looked to continue their season and remain undefeated. From early on in the race, it was evident that the men would take the team approach and work together through the early stages of the race. As they navigated the first mile of the race and made their way to the mile checkpoint all 8 Notre Dame competitors were in the top 11 positions, all separated by less than 1 second.
Through the middle miles of the race the men would continue to work amongst each other to maintain the lead. As they emerged around the final turn it was the sophomore from Leawood, Kansas who pushed down the stretch. Tom Seitzer would take his first collegiate victory with a finishing time of 24:59.6. Following just steps behind was freshman Robby Cozean, Carter Solomon, and junior Quinn Gallagher rounding out the top 4 spots.
MEN’S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Tom Seitzer 1st 24:59.6
Robby Cozean 2nd 25:02.3
Carter Solomon 3rd 25:03.1
Quinn Gallagher 4th 25:04.5
Zach Kreft 6th 25:08.0
Carter Cheeseman 7th 25:20.7
Brian Griffith 8th 25:27.6
Henry Chapman 13th 26:06.1
Lisandro Berry-Gaviria 22nd 26:36.7
MEN’S TEAM RESULTS
Notre Dame 24
Lewis 77
Loras 112
Bellarmine 122
Canisius 146
Franciscan (Ohio) 171
Duquesne 191
Marian (Ind.) 272
Detroit Mercy 273
Gannon 295
Holy Cross 300
St. Francis (Ind.) 301
Mercyhurst 334
Ave Maria 342
FULL RACE RESULTS CAN BE FOUND AT: https://www.enduranceracetiming.com/live/2021/ndac/
COACHES’ CORNER
Hatherly Piane Head Coach Matt Sparks
“The heat made things challenging today; but I was proud of the way we handled ourselves in adverse conditions.”
“There was a lot of energy on the course that we had noon seen on the Burke for a couple of years!”
Head Men’s Cross Country Coach Sean Carlson
“The men did a fantastic job of working together for the first 4 miles of the race and finishing strong. Today creates great momentum for the group going into the Notre Dame – Joe Piane Invitational in two weeks.”
UP NEXT
The Irish will return to Burke Golf Course on Friday, October 1st for what could be the most competitive meet in the entire country during the regular season. We will welcome 61 different institutions from across the country with over 20 teams being nationally ranked. This will be a big test for the men and women’s team as they prepare for the 2nd half of the season. Races begin at 11:00am and as always the meet is free and open to the public.
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