University of Notre Dame - Dome Yearbook (Notre Dame, IN)

Page 157 text:

C R O S S C O U N T R Y Running Togeth Unity and tear r ni- fh rish to vi By Nicole Phillips er ictory Tlic Nutrc L Hiic ucnncn ' s cri«s country- tciuii wiis tniK ' tliiit this season -- a team. Tlic uonicn came tiH ethcr and continually impro cd throujjhout the course o( their entire sa scT . Both the rookies and the etenms of the squad put jxTceptions iuid ejjos aside to truly work as a unit ;md have one of the most successful seasons in the past decade. The te im began its season with a second place finish at V ' alparais . tolloued b ' another second place finish at home in the National Catholic Invitational, and a fourth place finish at the Central Collegiate meet in Kalam;ox Micliigim. The Notre Dame Invitational was the second home meet of the seastn and it was truly a chance for the team to shine. It tcx k first place b - almtwt fift ' p nnts, heat- ing out second place Michigan 104-58. Tliis meet w first time all season that the entire team had Iven able to par- ticipate in the race. Freshman Lauren King ran in her first collegiate race and impressed ever ' one involved hy taking first place individu- ally. But she was not the cmJy caie con- tributing to the Notre Dame victory. Our four and five runners did a great job, head coach Tim Qmnelly said. The ' didn ' t get a very good start, but just kept in the race and really showed what they are ca- pable (i{ doiny. he IS also the commental after the race. Tlie teim continued onto two more meets, the Pre-National Meet and the Big East Championship Meet, where they placLxJ eleventh cind fourth, respectively. They then continued their impressive run into the NCAA Great Lakes Re- gional meet, where they finished second. With the second place finish in the regional race, the team was guaranteed a trip to the NCAA meet, its third in the last four yeiirs. Their ninner-up finish ries the best finish the Irish have ever earned Star Makers -Valparaiso Invitaticnal- secixid place -Nacitmai Qitholic InxitatiiruJ- secimd place -Hitre Dame bi itati(T al- f irst place -Kg East Ch;impicTiship- fourth place -Grciit Likes R onal Chiunpiaisliip- secimJ place -NCAA Championships- iiineteenth place in the regional meeting, match- ing the 1993 team ' s efforts. The NCAA Championship meet, held in late November in Greenville, South Carolina marked the closing of the 2001 season for the Lidy Irish ruraiers. They finished in nineteenth place, the highest showing the team has had since the Irish tcx)k fifteenth in 1993. The team workcxl hard all sea- son to continually improve and achieve the goal of appearing at the NCAA meet. The women drew strength from each and ev- ery member of their squad and workal together to surj ass i ny expectations that had been set for them. Over the course of the three- month competing season, the squad leamal what it meant to be successful in ever - sense of the word. Ke%dy to Start Idmit er Filxidi , Jennifer H;uuUe , Meliss;! Scluilidt, Mesan Jol ' uxsmi, ;md Eniily Sliowntm line up to begin the race at the National Catliolic Invitational. The Irish p(«ted ;in impressive ■ ec(ind place finish overall It the race. cros gntry

Page 156 text:

Going for the Win Sophomore Megan Johnsin attempts to repeat last year ' s first place finish in the NatioHL-J Githnlic InxitationiJ. Photo courtesy ot Sports Intomianon Junior Jennifer Handley was the top distance and cross comitry specialist for the Irish in 2000-2001 , and she continued to be an asset to the team in die 2001 -2002 season. Piiiiing Ahead Junior Jainif er Fibuch pulls ahead of another runner in tlie highly competi- tive National Catholic Invitational.

Page 158 text:

c) © (o) dl (D (C) (O) (U) (N) Q © (D Going the Distance The Irish hc, ...jch tn rp Uhmte at end of season Tlie 2001 season was defiiiitely one to remember for the Notre Dame men ' s cross country ' team. With yet another team finish in tlie top ten, two runners earning Ail-American honors, and their coach being named the National Cross Qiuntr ' Qiach of the Year, the squad had a number of achievements to celebrate by the end of the season in November. The men started their season on a very strong note when they earned first place at the Valparaiso Invitational in early September. Taking five of the top eight finisliing spots, they made an impressive showing, de- spite the absence of Luke Watson and Ryan Shay, two of the team ' s top runners. Tliroughout the rest of its sea- son, the squad went five other meet titles, two of which were the Big East and the Great Lakes Regional Championsliips. All of these impres- sive showings not only helped secure the Irish a ranking as high as fifth in, the Mondo Men ' s Cross Qimitry Top 25 and prepared them for the national meet in November, they also helped the team earn much-de- served recognition for head coach Joe Piane as well. For the second time in l iis career, the first By Nicole Phillips on to win Ixnng Star Makers -Valpiiraiso Invitational- first place -National Catliolic Invitational- first place -Notre Dame Invitational- first place -Big East Championship- first place -Great Lakes Regional Championsliip- first place -NCAA Chanpionships- L sixth place 1987, coach Piane re- ceived the honor of being named Na- tional Cross Country Coach of the Year. In addition to this award, he was also named the Mondo Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year and, along with assis- tant coach Matt Althoff, earned the Big East Cross Country Staff of the Year award. The team con- cluded its season with the NCAA Championship in Greenville, South Girolina on Novem- ber 19. TTie squad earned a sixth place finish and took home two inilividual Ail-American honors when seniors Luke Watson and Ryan Shay finished fifth and sixth. Tliis was the seventh time the team has finished in the top ten nationally in the last ten sea- sons. Watson ' s and Shay ' s honors marked the second time both have been named Ail-Americans. Shay ' s first came in 1 999 with a twelfth place finish at the NCAA meet and Watson ' s came in 2000 when he finished seventh. With the individual honors, as well as the overall team ' s success from start to finish throughout the year, the 2001 men ' s cross coimtry season was a memorable one for everyone iiivolved. Phi Hi I court lm of Spcirts Information yj t. ivitii J wiuaa vumiLiy jii,ciiii (I ' Rint tow) iVlaHo BitJ, TodJ Mohley , Ryaii Shay , Jolin Keanc, David Alber (Second row) Coach Joe Piane , Marc Striowsld , Patrick Conway , Luke Watson , Sean Zanderson , Brian Kerwin