Irish set sights on top 10 finish
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Associate Sports Editor
Ten is the magic number for Notre Dame today.
The men's cross country team needs to run error-free to finish among the top 10 in today's NCAA Championships in Ames, Iowa. The Irish can do that if they run consistently without getting out too fast and find a fifth runner to step up.
"The national meet is about whoever makes the fewest mistakes," leading runner Luke Watson said.
Notre Dame is ranked No. 18 in the nation heading into today's 10,000-meter race. But a top-10 finish isn't out of reach.
"I think we can be a top 10 team at nationals if everything falls right," junior Pat Conway said. "We can easily be in the top 10."
In the Great Lakes Regional meet Nov. 11, Watson captured the individual title and junior Marc Striowski finished in the top 10. Conway and freshman Todd Mobley also finished in the top 25, earning all-Regional honors, but the fifth runner for the Irish barely broke the top 100, as the final three Irish runners took off too fast out of the chute.
The Irish hope to avoid the same mistake today.
"We have to start with a very low stick with Luke getting a very low stick, then we have to have Marc run very well, then we need three solid performances," head coach Joe Piane said.
A third-place finish at regionals paired with strong team performances all season long put the Irish in the national meet, where they have finished in the top 10 five of the past eight seasons. Last year, they placed eighth overall.
In this year's Pre-National Meet, held on the same course as today's championships, the Irish took 10th.
Another No. 10 would send the Irish home for Thanksgiving with something to be grateful for.
All Sports Stories for Monday, November 20, 2000
