National Catholic Invitational Recap
Last Friday, the team had their first cross country meet of the season at Notre Dame’s own National Catholic Invitational. The team tested out the new and improved Burke golf course, racing against multiple D1 and D2 Catholic schools from around the country. Due to rain delays, both the men and the women raced at the same time, the women running a 5k and the men running an 8k.
The top women’s runner was Meagan McKenna, who ran 19:05 for 44th place. Soon after came Elizabeth Schmidt in 20:44 for 98th, Sarah Mirkin in 20:46 for 100th, Elena Rossen in 20:51 for 102nd, Lucy Noris in 23:37 for 138th and Katie Burke in 23:51 for 139th.
Overall, the women’s team had an outstanding performance, averaging a 21:01 5k and finishing in 12th place. Even with limited numbers, they placed only 59 points behind Bellarmine, a D1 team. Top women’s teams overall were Notre Dame in 1st (with a perfect 15 points), Loyola Chicago in 2nd, and Lewis in 3rd.
On the men’s side, Pieter Heesters led the team with a club record and NIRCA year-best time of 24:34, putting him in 22nd place and ahead of 2 Notre Dame varsity runners. Next up were Ryan Fryer in 26:25 for 71st, Owen Donaher in 26:47 for 8th, and Owen Augustine in 27:05 for 95th. Following closely were Sean Uhran in 27:45 for 110th, Julian Stedman in 28:01 for 113th, Carter Dauenhauer in 28:20 for 120th, Zach Wrobel in 28:33 for 124th, Jack Whitman in 28:36 for 125th, Carlos Jison in 28:44 for 129th, Jonah Blay in 29:00 for 134th, Patrick Boyd in 30:01 for 142nd, Hector Gonzalez Duenes in 30:14 for 144th, Winston Fairchild in 30:31 for 146th, Michael Cyrul in 30:36 for 137th, Ryan Soenen in 31:03 for 150th, and Ambrose Weidmann in 32:45 for 154th.
The men’s team averaged a 26:31 8k and placed 9th out of 12 teams, most notably beating Marquette, a D1 Big East team. The top teams on the men’s side were Notre Dame in 1st, Loyola Chicago in 2nd, and Lewis in 3rd.
The Notre Dame women’s and men’s teams were ranked 11th and 9th, respectively, in the Week 2 NIRCA Coaches’ Poll and are expected to rise after this performance.
For more information please see…
Race Photos by Jonathan Karr
Looking ahead, the team is going head to head with the infamous University of Michigan club team at one of the best NIRCA races of the year, the Little Tens Invitational, this Saturday, September 28th. Be prepared for an excellent showdown.
Go Irish and go Run Club!
Post by: Winston Fairchild
Photos by: Jonathan Karr
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