Runners to host annual Invite
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
The Irish cross country squads will need all their firepower today to knock off the top teams in the country.
The Irish host the Notre Dame Invitational at the Notre Dame Golf Course. This will be the 44th running of the meet, which is among the oldest invitationals in the nation.
On the men's side, Georgetown, Michigan and Missouri are all ranked higher than Notre Dame. Ohio State and Clemson have strong teams as well, teams which Notre Dame will need to overcome in order to wind up with a victory.
"The men are going to give it [winning] a try," men's head coach Joe Piane said. "Georgetown, according to the national polls, is head and shoulders above anybody else in the meet. But we're not going to roll over and give it to them."
Running varsity for the Irish on the men's side will be seniors John Dudley, Ryan Maxwell and Sean McManus, junior Ryan Shay, and sophomores Marc Striowski, Luke Watson and Pat Conway. This will be the first meet this season in which all seven of Notre Dame's top runners have competed.
Shay is shooting for the individual title. He won his third consecutive title at the National Catholic Invitational, but this would be his first win in the Notre Dame Invitational. Although the Irish men won as a team in 1995, they have not had an individual champion in recent years.
"For me, Coach wants me to go out with the lead runners, because no one from Notre Dame has won in a number of years," Shay said. "But basically, coach Piane would like us to run as a nice pack group and go out a little conservatively. We should stay within striking distance of the lead, though, and just keep moving up as the race goes on."
The Notre Dame men have won 13 team championships in the history of the Notre Dame Invitational. They finished second last season, and have five of their top seven runners back from 1998. The racing crew for the Irish today is experienced —without a freshman among the bunch.
Striowski won the Valparaiso Invitational in the team's first competition this year. Maxwell and Watson are also top competitors for the Irish.
Head women's coach Tim Connelly will also be sending out his top seven athletes for the first time this year. The Irish did not lose a single senior to graduation, and are a strong contender to qualify for the NCAA championships at the end of the year. Seniors JoAnna Deeter, Alison Klemmer, Erin Luby and Patty Rice will be running today, along with freshman Jennifer Handley and juniors Erin Olson and Bridget O'Brien.
"They've got a legitimate shot at winning it," Piane said.
The main teams standing in the way of a Notre Dame title are Oregon, Missouri and Cornell.
Deeter is an All-American in cross country and track who won an individual title in this meet her freshman and junior years. She has already qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in track and field next summer. She also won the National Catholic Invitational two weeks ago.
Klemmer was the runner-up in Notre Dame's last meet. Rice did not compete in the first two meets of the season because she was recovering from an injury.
"There are teams coming in that we're really competitive with, so it'll be a good chance to see where we are," Handley said. "We're excited because we haven't really run against much top competition yet."
Handley finished third both for Notre Dame and overall in the National Catholic Invitational Sept. 17. Notre Dame won that meet on the women's side and the men's side, and this is the first time back in action for the team since then.
All Sports Stories for Friday, October 1, 1999
