Oct. 27, 2000
The Notre Dame men’s and women’s cross country teams posted two impressive finishes at the 2000 BIG EAST Championship meet in Boston, Mass., on Friday. The men entered the meet as the defending champion, but were faced with a tough challenge to repeat with three nationally-ranked competitors.
Providence, ranked fourth in the country, took first. Georgetown, ranked eighth, took second place and Villanova, ranked 21st, finished in third. Notre Dame finished fourth with 100 points, just three points shy of Villanova.
Junior Luke Watson (Stillwater, Minn.) once led the Irish as he has the whole season, finishing seventh in 23:44. Classmate Marc Striowski (Toronto, Ontario) was right behind Watson, taking eighth place in 23:50.
Junior Patrick Conway (Springfield, Va.) was the next Notre Dame harrier to cross the finish line in 21st.
The Irish women had an equally difficult time facing highly-ranked competition with four ranked teams (Boston College, Providence, Georgetown and Villanova) and West Virginia finishing ahead of them.
Senior Chrissy Kuenster (Wheaton, Ill.) continued the best year of her career, coming in at 18th as the top Irish finisher. Sophomore Jennifer Handley (Barrie, Ont.) and freshman Rachel Endress (Wheaton, Ill.) were the next two Notre Dame runners to finish at 31st and 32nd, respectively.
Next up for both teams is the Great Lakes Region Championship, where the Irish harriers will fight for a possible berth in the NCAA Championship meet. The Great Lakes Region meet is scheduled for 9:00 a.m., on Nov. 11, in Ypsilanti, Mich.
Notre Dame Men’s Results: 7. Luke Watson, 23:44 8. Marc Striowski, 23:50 21. Pat Conway, 24:23 26. Todd Mobley, 24:38 38. Sean Zanderson, 25:12 48. David Mertens, 25:31 49. Tom Lennon, 25:35 — John Keane, 25:47 — David Alber, 26:18
Notre Dame Women’s Results: 18. Chrissy Kuenster, 17:48 31. Jennifer Handley, 18:15 32. Rachel Endress, 18:18 39. Megan Johnson, 18:22 40. Jennifer Fibuch, 18:22 41. Kari Eaton, 18:24 44. Hilary Burn, 18:36 — Anne McGrath, 18:46 — Muffy Schmidt, 19:03
BIG EAST Men’s Results
1. Providence, 39 2. Georgetown, 46 3. Villanova, 97 4. Notre Dame, 100 5. West Virginia, 146 6. Boston College, 153 7. Connecticut, 213 8. Virginia Tech, 220 9. Rutgers, 272 10. Seton Hall, 272 11. Pittsburgh, 328 12. Miami, 331 13. Syracuse, 339 14. St. John’s, 390
BIG EAST Women’s Results 1. Boston College, 38 2. Providence, 71 3. Georgetown, 72 4. Villanova, 81 5. West Virginia, 91 6. Notre Dame, 160 7. Virginia Tech, 248 8. Connecticut, 271 9. Rutgers, 281 10. Pittsburgh, 307 11. St. John’s, 324 12. Miami, 328 13. Syracuse, 337 14. Seton Hall, 393