Jake Watson 2007-08 Cross Country Roster

AS A JUNIOR: Had a huge year for the Irish cross country and track teams, highlighted by his first career All-America honor … led the team with a second-place showing at the National Catholic Championship … ran well at the Notre Dame Invitational, placing 21st in 24:20 … ran 24:23 at the NCAA Pre-National meet to take 45th, finishing third on the team for the second-consecutive meet … earned All-BIG EAST honors at the league meet, placing ninth in 23:54 … took 40th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, serving as the team[apos]s fifth runner in their second-place, NCAA automatic-qualifying performance … was again third on the team at the NCAA Championship, finishing 151st in his first ever appearance at nationals … emerged as one of the nation[apos]s top milers during the indoor season … ran 4:03.30 to take second at the Notre Dame Invitational … won the prestigious Meyo Mile at the Meyo Invitational, posting the fifth-best time in school history of 4:00.71 … earned his first indoor all-conference honor at the BIG EAST indoor meet, finishing third in the mile (4:05.30) … ran on the distance medley relay team that established the third-fastest time in school history at the Alex Wilson Invitational … ran the 1,600-meter anchor leg and posted a time of 9:35.71 with teammates Todd Ptacek, John Cavanaugh, and Ryan Postel … qualified individually for the NCAA Indoor Championship in Fayetteville, Ark. … was fourth in the preliminaries of the mile in 4:03.66 … then placed 10th in the final with a time of 4:03.97, earning his first career All-America citation … ran well in both the 1,500 meters and steeplechase during the outdoor season … top 1,500-meter time was 3:43.59, which he ran at the Oregon Invitational … the time stands as the eighth best in the school record book … set a school record in the 4×1,600 relay with Patrick Smyth, Todd Ptacek, and Kurt Benninger by winning the event at the prestigious Drake Relays … earned two all-BIG EAST honors at the BIG EAST outdoor meet, bringing his career total to four … placed second in the 1,500 meters and set a career best with his third-place showing in the steeplechase (9:01.00) … opted to run the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Mideast Regional … set a new Mideast Region record in the preliminaries, running 3:43.90 … came back with a 3:45.96 to finish seventh in the final, just missing out on NCAA meet qualification but earning all-Region honors … broke four minutes in the mile at the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville, Tenn. … joined his older brother Luke as members of that exclusive group, the two becoming just the 15th pair of brothers in history to run sub-fours and the second duo in American history (the first to achieve the feat were twins John and Sean Jefferson of Indiana University, who both broke four in the 2005 Meyo Mile at Notre Dame) … the time meets the USA ‘B’ standard, qualifying him for the US Outdoor Track and Field Championships to be held June 21-24 … the sky is the limit for his senior season with the Irish … will be counted on to provide leadership to the distance corps.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Ran in three cross country meets for the Irish, highlighted by an outstanding effort at the BIG EAST Championships where he took 18th overall in 25:14 and helped the team win the league title … focused on the mile during the indoor track season … did manage to qualify for the BIG EAST meet in the 800 meters at the Notre Dame Invitational (1:52.78) … competed in the prestigious Meyo Mile at the Meyo Invitational, nearly posting an NCAA provisional qualifying mark with a time of 4:04.96 (qualifying is 4:04.90) … at the BIG EAST indoor meet, finished fifth in the mile with a time of 4:06.90 in the final heat … added another sub-4:10 mile at the Alex Wilson Invitational (4:07.65) … ran the 1,500 and 3,000-meter steeplechase during the outdoor campaign … set a career best in the steeplechase at the Stanford Invitational, running 9:01.64 to finish fifth in his heat and qualify for the NCAA Mideast Regional … won the 1,500-meter competition at the Indy Relays in a time of 3:49.91 … placed fourth in the steeplechase at the BIG EAST outdoor meet, scoring points for the eventual team champion … placed 11th among a field of 28 athletes in the steeplechase at the NCAA Mideast Regional, running 9:05.52.

AS A FRESHMAN: One of Notre Dame[apos]s most versatile distance runners … competed in three cross country meets during the fall … best finish was a second-place effort at the National Catholic Championship (25:06) … ran 24:54 on the Irish home course at the Notre Dame Invitational … ran several different events during the indoor track season … ran 4:12.71 for third place in the mile at the Notre Dame Invitational … ran the 1,000 meters at the Meyo Invitational, finishing fourth in 2:25.98 (eighth-fastest in school history) … qualified for the BIG EAST indoor meet in the 1,000 meters and the mile run … raced the 1,000 meters at the league meet and finished seventh … concentrated on the 3,000 meter steeplechase throughout the outdoor season … also ran a solid 3:50.19 in the 1,500 meters at the Indy Relays … placed seventh in the steeplechase at the Drake Relays (9:10.44) and ran a 4:09.6 1,600-meter split in the 4×1600 meter relay (Eric Morrison, Brett Adams, Todd Ptacek) … earned all-BIG EAST honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase by finishing second behind teammate Ryan Johnson … ran his career best in the event with a time of 9:04.60 … also placed fifth in the 4×800 meter relay with fellow freshmen Adam Currie, Jamal Afridi, and Brett Adams (7:40.22) … qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional in the steeplechase and finished ninth in 9:07.40.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL: Outstanding scholastic athlete who collected 13 varsity letters (cross country, track, Nordic skiing) at Stillwater (Minn.) Area High School … three-time all-state runner in cross country … earned all-state recognition twice in both track and Nordic skiing … garnered all-conference honors 17 times total as a prep athlete … conference and regional champion in track as a junior and senior … member of the state record-setting 4×800 relay team … conference and regional cross country champion as a senior … finalist for Minnesota runner of the year in 2004 … team MVP of his track and cross country teams as a senior … section 4AA cross country champion in 2003 … cross country team ranked 21st in the nation during his junior campaign … 3,200 meters section champion in 2003 and 2004 … Nordic skiing team MVP for three seasons … captained all three of his teams as a senior … born Jan. 27, 1986 in St. Paul, Minn. … youngest of four children … brother, Luke, was an accomplished cross country and track athlete at Notre Dame from 1998-2003 and currently serves on the Irish staff as an assistant with the distance runners … enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters as an anthropology major.