The Notre Dame mens cross country team couldn't overcome a young lineup and an injury to its All-American in the NCAA Championships held at Terre Haute, Ind., Monday.

While the Irish did not place as high as they had hoped, their 22nd place finish in a field of 31 still showed the other teams that Notre Dame belonged among the nation's best after being the last at-large team to qualify for the national championship race.

Monday marked the first time that Notre Dame has finished lower than 15th in the last 10 times the Irish have competed in the NCAA Championships.

Freshman Tim Moore led the Irish with his 63rd-place finish and 10 kilometer time of 30 minutes 50 seconds. Junior Todd Mobley, who achieved All-American status at the same meet last year, crossed the line in 80th. Mobley has been recovering from an injury for the past weeks, and ever since his injury he has not been able to lead the team in his accustomed style.

"We finished in the top eight percent of all cross country teams in the nation," Irish coach Joe Piane told und.com. "I don't think we ran as well as we could. But I am thrilled with our finish after thinking that we might not make the meet."

Notre Dame finished with a team total of 527 points, while Stanford won the national title with its low total of 47.

The Irish have had high expectations given their previous success in the post-season. Last year, with the efforts of All-Americans Luke Watson, Ryan Shay and Mobley, the Irish climbed to sixth in the national championships. Shay graduated though, and Watson has used up his cross-country eligibility, leaving Mobley and a talented, but young, squad.

"We only had one senior in the race for us today," Piane said. "We will be very strong in the future."

With Mobley's injury-related struggles, Moore, the national high school champion, has stepped up his performances and led the Irish to a disappointing but still respectable fourth place finish at the Big East Championships, as well as to an eighth place finish at the Great Lakes Regional Championships. Had Notre Dame finished one place at the regional tournament, they would not have qualified for the national championships.

Moore and Mobley were followed by junior David Alber, freshman Eric Morrison, sophomore Ryan Johnson, junior Brian Kerwin and senior John Keane.

• Irish turn in mixed results