Sept. 29, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the third consecutive meet, the Notre Dame men’s cross country team ran a smart, controlled race that paid dividends, as the 16th-ranked Irish tied for fourth place at the 51st annual Notre Dame Invitational, which was held Friday afternoon at the nine-hole Notre Dame Golf Course. Notre Dame and No. 26 Florida finished with 160 points in the elite five-mile Blue Division race, placing behind race champion North Carolina State (86 points), 27th-ranked Providence (109 points) and No. 15 Michigan (123 points). No. 24 Florida State was sixth (165 points), followed by 28th-ranked Eastern Michigan (183 points) and No. 1 Wisconsin (188 points). Sophomore Patrick Smyth (Salt Lake City, Utah/Judge Memorial) turned in an impressive effort for Notre Dame, finishing third in a personal-best time of 23:46 to help the Irish pick up their third top-four finish in as many meets this year (they won the Crusader Invitational and National Catholic Championship earlier this month).
On the women’s side, Notre Dame’s young runners struggled against a top-flight Blue Division field that featured seven ranked squads, with the Irish winding up 12th in the 19-team event with 316 points. Third-ranked Michigan successfully defended its meet title (and won its third crown overall) with 57 points in the 5K race, easily outpacing No. 12 North Carolina State (95 points), with No. 16 Providence (120 points), 29th-ranked Florida State (124 points) and No. 7 Illinois (126 points) rounding out the top five. Junior All-American Sunni Olding (Minster, Ohio/Minster) led the Irish women with an 18th-place finish in 17:15.
Individually, Wisconsin’s Chris Solinsky won the men’s title for the second consecutive year, becoming only the sixth two-time champion in Notre Dame Invitational history and the first since 2000-01, when Notre Dame’s Luke Watson claimed back-to-back crowns. Solinsky’s time of 23:24 is the third-fastest in meet history since the men’s race was lengthened from four to five miles in 1968, with the Badger veteran now owning two of the top three five-mile times in the Notre Dame Invitational record books (23:21 last year). Butler’s Julius Mwangi set the course and meet record in 1998, covering the distance in 22:49.
Michigan’s Erin Webster won this year’s Notre Dame Invitational women’s championship in a time of 16:36, tying the mark set by former Irish All-American Stephanie Madia last year as the third-fastest since the women’s race was added in 1987. Webster also is the second Wolverine woman ever to win the Notre Dame Invitational title, joining Karen Harvey, who took top honors in 1992 while leading UM to the first of its three team championships.
Following Smyth for the Notre Dame men was senior All-American Kurt Benninger (Chepstow, Ontario/Walkerton D.S.S.), who placed 13th overall in 24:08, while joining Smyth in running their first races of the season. Junior Jake Watson (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) turned his another solid performance, hitting the line in 21st place (24:20), while classmate Brett Adams (Davenport, Iowa/Assumption) was 56th in 24:57. Sophomore Robbie Barany (Yakima, Wash./Eisenhower) was the fifth Irish runner, coming home in 69th place (25:03), although freshman Jake Walker (Ellwood City, Pa./Lincoln) could have finished much higher had he not been entangled in a major pile-up involving several runners less than 300 meters into the race.
Next up behind Olding on the Irish individual ladder was junior Julie Opet (Wayne, Pa./Radnor), who finished in 47th place with a time of 17:44. Freshman Lindsey Ferguson (Greenfield Center, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) was the third Notre Dame finisher in 79th place (18:04), with sophomore Heidi Rocha (Palmdale, Calif./Paraclete) coming across in 86th place (18:12) and sophomore Becca Bauman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central) completing the Irish scoring in 94th place (18:20).
Both Notre Dame cross country teams will return to action Oct. 14 when they compete in the Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Ind., to be held on the LaVern Gibson Championship Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. Races will get underway at 11 a.m. (EDT), with action continuing throughout the day. Results will be available on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.und.com), the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000) and via the Irish ALERT text message system (sign up through the cross country page on the official Notre Dame athletics web site).
— ND —
51st annual Notre Dame Invitational
Sept. 29, 2006
Notre Dame, Ind. • Notre Dame Golf Course
MEN’S FIVE-MILE BLUE DIVISION FINAL
Team Results (top five of 20): 1. North Carolina State 86; 2. Providence 109; 3. Michigan 123; 4. (tie) NOTRE DAME 160 and Florida 160; 6. Florida State 165.
Individuals (top five of 165 plus Notre Dame finishers): 1. Chris Solinsky (Wisconsin) 23:24; 2. Seth Pilkington (Weber State) 23:40; 3. Patrick Smyth (Notre Dame) 23:46; 4. Andrew Lemoncello (Florida State) 23:48; 5. Jeremy Criscione (Florida) 23:48; 13. Kurt Benninger (Notre Dame) 24:08; 21. Jake Watson (Notre Dame) 24:20; 56. Brett Adams (Notre Dame) 24:57; 69. Robbie Barany (Notre Dame) 25:03; 81. Brock Hagerman (Notre Dame) 25:13; 90. Jake Walker (Notre Dame) 25:20; 114. Mike Popejoy (Notre Dame) 25:38.
WOMEN’S 5,000-METER BLUE DIVISION FINAL
Team Results (top five of 19): 1. Michigan 57; 2. North Carolina State 95; 3. Providence 120; 4. Florida State 124; 5. Illinois 126; 12. NOTRE DAME 316.
Individuals (top five of 156 plus Notre Dame finishers): 1. Erin Webster (Michigan) 16:36; 2. Susan Kuijken (Florida State) 16:52; 3. Alyson Kohlmeier (Michigan) 16:54; 4. Bona Jones (North Carolina State 16:55; 5. Angela Bizzari (Illinois) 16:56; 18. Sunni Olding (Notre Dame) 17:15; 47. Julie Opet (Notre Dame) 17:44; 79. Lindsey Ferguson (Notre Dame) 18:04; 86. Heidi Rocha (Notre Dame) 18:12; 94. Becca Bauman (Notre Dame) 18:20; 98. Ann Mazur (Notre Dame) 18:22; 104. Beth Tacl (Notre Dame) 18:24; 126. Molly Sullivan (Notre Dame) 18:51; 151. Jacqueline Carter (Notre Dame) 19:59.