Oct. 14, 2017
By Matthew D’Alonzo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Notre Dame men’s cross country team (450 points) earned 15th place out of 41 teams at the Pre-National Invitational on Saturday at the University of Louisville.
In the Men’s Red 8,000m race, senior and co-captain Kevin Pulliam led the team with a time of 24:14.8, a personal record for Pulliam. This was enough to earn him 68th place overall.
The remainder of Notre Dame’s top five runners ran closely behind Pulliam, which was a key in the team’s 15th-place performance. Sophomore Tyler Keslin secured 86th place with a time of 24:23.1, and freshman Yared Nuguse ran to 92nd place with a time of 24:26.6.
Rounding out the top five were graduate student Bradley Wattleworth in 102nd place (24:30.0) and freshman Vince Zona in 113th place (24:34.7).
“Today was a step in the right direction that we’ve been looking for,” Irish assistant coach Sean Carlson said. “We are becoming a team and setting the program up for exciting things.”
In the Men’s Black 8k, freshman Andrew Alexander earned 45th place with his time of 25:13.3.
Top Irish Finishers
Men’s Red Race (8 Kilometers):
68. Kevin Pulliam- 24:14.8
86. Tyler Keslin- 24:23.1
92. Yared Nuguse- 24:26.6
102. Bradley Wattleworth- 24:30.0
113. Vince Zona- 24.34.7
124. Brent Kennedy- 24:42.8
241. Connor Sheryak- 25:38.0
Men’s Black Race (8 Kilometers):
45. Andrew Alexander- 25:13.3
49. Brian Griffith- 25:15.7
Coming Up Next
The Irish men’s and women’s cross country teams return to action on Oct. 27 at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in Louisville.
For behind-the-scenes coverage of the Irish cross country program, follow @NDXCTF on Twitter and @NDXCTF on Instagram.
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Matthew D’Alonzo is a junior student assistant for Fighting Irish Media, working with Athletics Communications Directors for Football, Cross Country, Track and Field, Basketball, and Tennis. A Computer Engineering/Music Theory Major, Matthew is from Mobile, Alabama.