Women take 1st, earn automatic NCAA Championship berth
By JOE LINDSLEY
Sports Writer
It has been a month of firsts for the Notre Dame womens cross country team.
Not only did the Irish win their first ever Big East Championship two weeks ago in Boston, but now they have also won their first ever Great Lakes Regional — the most competitive district qualifier for nationals in the country.
The fifth ranked Irish took first place on Saturday in West Lafayette with their score of 63. The Wolverines of Michigan were their closest competitor, finishing with 107.
Another first for the Irish — freshman Molly Huddle beat All American sophomore Lauren King. King and Huddle have run right next to each other all season, but Saturday was the first time Huddle was able to edge out King, who as the elder teammate has served as the freshman's guide on the various courses they have run this season. Huddle, running 20 minutes, 47.1 seconds for the 6K, took second place overall, behind Toledo's Briana Shook. King, finishing in third, ran 21:01.9.
The Irish entered the race knowing that the top two teams would automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships and believing that they, as a team, possessed the attributes needed to win the race.
"We knew they would run at the top," freshman Lori King (no relation to the sophomore) said. "We knew that [senior Jen Handley] would stay up with them, and if she did that, that would help us out a lot. We needed our four and five runners to be up there. [Irish coach Tim Connelly] told us the night before that if we did that, we'd have a chance of winning."
Handley, who has helped give the young Irish team confidence with her experience, completed the course in 21:28.6 to finish in sixth overall, and in third for Notre Dame. King crossed the line next for the Irish with her 25th place. Freshman Stephanie Madia rounded out the Irish scoring top-five as she finished in 27th place.
The Irish had been expecting a successful season, but were not confident they could make program history in the manner that they have.
"When we first got here we all said, `We want to be this good' and, `We think we can be this good,' but it was, `We don't know if we can be,'" the younger King said. "As we got further into the season, we got more confidence in ourselves and we knew that we were capable of doing something good, and so far, we've been doing it."
The Irish, while serious about preparing for the national championships, which take place in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 25, are not hiding their enthusiasm.
"It's been such a rush, this year," King said. "Knowing that we've never done it before, it just makes it so much more exciting."
All Sports Stories for Monday, November 18, 2002
