Notre Dame Cross Country Teams Win National Catholic Invitational Titles
Prepare for the Notre Dame Invitational
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame’s men’s and women’s cross country teams continued their impressive seasons as they swept to the titles at the National Catholic Invitational at Notre Dame. The men placed six runners in the top ten, led by junior Jason Rexing (Pickerington, Ohio) who finished first. The women’s were led by a pair of freshmen, Joanna Deeter (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Nicole LaSelle (Dayton, Ohio), who finished first and fourth in the race.
Up Next: The Irish will play host to the Notre Dame Invitational which will be run on the University’s golf course on Friday, October 4. Michigan’s 15th-ranked men’s team and eighth-ranked women’s team should be among the challengers in the 20-team men’s field and women’s field. Duke and West Virginia should also contend for the titles. Notre Dame’s men’s squad won the 1995 title for the sixth year in a row and the thirteenth time overall. Notre Dame’s women’s team, which won its only title in 1993, was beaten by 1995 champion Wake Forest.
National Catholic Review: Notre Dame claimed both titles at the National Catholic Invitational. In the men’s division, the 10th-ranked Irish led the field with 18 points while Marquette and Lewis were second and third with 64 and 94 points, respectively. It marked the second consecutive year and the seventh time in nine years that Notre Dame won the men’s title. Irish runners took six of the top ten spots, led by 1996 track All-American Jason Rexing. Matt Althoff (Yankton, S.D.), Derek Seiling (Allison Park, Pa.), and Joe Dunlop (Grand Island, N.Y.) all finished in the top five for the Irish. Ryan Maxwell (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Scott Grace (Oakland, Mich.) both finished in the top ten while Mike Conway (Springfield, Va.) finished 15th. Notre Dame’s women team continued to run well, placing four runners in the top ten and finishing with a score of 36. Marquette was second with 46 and Lewis University was third with 112. Notre Dame was able to reclaim the title from 1995 champion Marquette. The Irish had won three straight titles since 1992 before the Golden Eagles claimed first place last year. After the freshmen Deeter and LaSelle, Heidi Reichenbach (Plainfield, Ill.), was eighth followed by Mieke Walsh (York, Pa.), Kelly Peterson (Escondido, Calif.), Erin Luby (Inverness, Ill.) and Janel Kiley (Somerville, Mass.).
Freshmen Spark Women’s Squad: A pair of freshmen have given Notre Dame’s women’s team immediate results. Joanna Deeter and Nicole LaSelle have finished one-two for the Irish in both races they have run so far. Deeter’s time of 16:39 was the fastest finish in the 11-year history of the race.
Irish in the Rankings: Notre Dame’s men’s cross country team, who finished tied for eighth at the 1995 NCAA cross country championships, is ranked 10th in the latest men’s NCAA poll after entering the preseason poll at 11th. Arkansas is first followed by Northern Arizona and Stanford. Providence is the highest ranked BIG EAST team at ninth with Georgetown behind Notre Dame at 11th.
Martin Surfacing NCAA MEN'S TOP 25September 23, 1996 No. Team Pts. LW 1. Arkansas 450 1 2. Northern Arizona 414 4 3. Stanford 412 2 4. Wisconsin 382 3 5. Oregon 338 5 6. Oklahoma State 320 6 7. Colorado 297 7 8. North Carolina St. 294 8 9. Providence 274 9 10. NOTRE DAME 262 11 11. Georgetown 260 10 12. Iowa State 244 13 13. Nebraska 238 14 14. Michigan State 231 12 15. Michigan 208 16 16. Portland 207 20 17. Arizona 189 15 18. Wake Forest 181 17 19. BYU 95 19 20. Boise State 92 21 21. Tennessee 91 18 22. Penn State 87 24 23. William & Mary 69 22 24. Dartmouth 39 25 25. East Tennessee St. 28 NR |
NCAA WOMEN'S TOP 25Preseason No. Team Pts. 1. Providence 200 2. Colorado 188 3. Stanford 181 4. BYU 167 5. Georgetown 164 6. Michigan 137 7. Villanova 146 8. Oregon 139 9. Dartmouth 126 10. North Carolina State 124 11. Arizona 122 12. Wisconsin 117 13. Arkansas 107 14. Auburn 100 15. Boston College 78 16. Washington 72 17. Florida 70 18. Iowa State 64 Southern Methodist 64 20. Penn State 60 21. Missouri 35 22. Bowling Green 30 23. Weber State 24 24. UCLA 18 25. Illinois State 15 |
Men's ResultsNational Catholic (Sept. 20)SENIORSMatt Althoff 24:31 (2)Joe Dunlop 24:52 (5)Jeff Hojnaki 25:42 (3)*Jonathan Kraas 26:45 (10)*Derek Seiling 24:45 (4) JUNIORSMike Conway 25:58 (15)Scott Grace 25:07(9)Jim Pilla 26:29 (9)*Jason Rexing 24:29 (1)SOPHOMORESDan AmbricoAntonio Arce 25:36 (2)*Ryan Blaney 25:45 (4)*Mike Dreznes 26:10(8)*Tim Englehardt 25:32 (1)*Ryan Maxwell 24:59 (6)Tim MousawChris Utz FRESHMANMario ArceTom DietrichJohn Dudley 26:08 (7)*Michael EvangelistNick FehringMike Greiwe 27:20 (23)*Brian HolinkaTimothy KoberMichael KoenigRobert Lythgoe 26:54 (16)*Sean McManus 25:51 (5)*Phil MishkaEamon O'ReillyTEAM 1st of 26 teams Number in parentheses indicates finish in race.* indicates open/JV division finish. |
Women's ResultsNational Catholic(Sept. 20)SENIORSEmily Dodds 19:06 (4)* Lindsay DuttonMichelle Lavigne 19:24 (6)*Carolyn Long 18:54 (2)*Heidi Reichenbach 17:51 (8)JUNIORS Amanda Enscoe Janel Kiley 19:02(35)Melissa Hanna 20:19 (22)*Christa MargieMegan SmedleyMieke Walsh 17:59 (10)Gretchen Weiher 19:40 (12)*SOPHOMORESNatalie DietschEmily Edwards 19:26 (7)*Katie HellandColleen McBrideErin Newman 19:39 (10)*Kelly Peterson 18:19(13)Marisa PoschMary VollandFRESHMANDenise Bakula 18:37 (1)*Rebecca Bea 19:45 (14)*Joanna Deeter 16:39 (1)Charlotte Kelly 19:35 (9)*Alison KlemmerNicole LaSelle 17:33 (4)Erin Luby 18:23(15)Dana McSherry 19:44 (13)* Cara Motter 19:20 (5)*Patti Rice Valerie Siqueira 19:34 (8)*Anna Yates TEAM 1st of 28 teams Number in parentheses indicates finish in race.* indicates open/JV division finish. |
UPCOMING SCHEDULE Oct. 4 NOTRE DAME INVITATIONAL NOTRE DAME, IND. Oct. 18 at Central Collegiate Championships Kalamazoo, Mich. Oct. 19 at Arizona Invitational Tucson, Ariz. Nov. 1 at BIG EAST Championships Boston, Mass.