Bee sting, cramp drop Irish to 11th place finish
KATIE HUGHES
Sports Writer
The uncontrollable controlled the Irish during Saturday's race. Competing in Pre-Nationals at the Furman cross country course in Greenville, S.C., No. 24 Notre Dame took 11th place, scoring 385 points, despite individual struggles that kept the team from performing to capability.
Junior Jen Handley, consistently a top finisher for the Irish, got a cramp two miles into the race, freshman Christi Arnerich wasn't feeling well and junior Jen Fibuch was stung by a bee during the race.
"Jen was running really well, 'til she got a stitch," said head coach Tim Connelly. "There wasn't a whole lot she could do but hope it works itself out."
Freshman Lauren King, running in her second collegiate cross country race, took first for the Irish and 15th overall in the nationally competitive race, finishing the 6000 meter course in 21:20. Sophomore Megan Johnson stepped up to finish second for the Irish and 52nd overall in 22:13. Despite Handley's cramp, she finished third for the Irish and 65th overall.
"I thought [Lauren] ran well. I was a little worried about 6000 meters," Connelly said. "She didn't feel like she was on top of her game, but I was glad she got through it. The same with Megan, she got through it well."
Notre Dame's fourth and fifth scoring runners finished in 121st and 132nd place to give the Irish a team score of 385, just 13 points out of a berth in the top-10.
Despite the unusual situation on Saturday, the Irish come away from
Pre-Nationals with a solid perspective on where they stand in comparison to their closest competitors.
"We didn't light world on fire, but we didn't hurt ourselves either," Connelly said. "Every kid said, alright, it's a good reality check. They know what they need to do."
Villanova was the only team ranked ahead of Notre Dame going into Pre-Nationals that they did not end up finishing ahead of the Irish in the meet.
"It was a good experience for the team in general, "said King. "This is where we realized that if we can put it together we can be a really good team ... We're gonna work hard and concentrate on doing everything we need to do to be the best."
All Sports Stories for Monday, October 15, 2001
