The Irish Women
By JOE LINDSLEY
Sports Writer
The Notre Dame womens cross country team turned in the program's best ever performance Monday as the Irish took third place at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.
Freshman Molly Huddle led the Irish with her sixth-place finish, the highest finish for a Notre Dame womens runner since former Irish standout Joanna Deeter finished third in the national championships in 1996. Huddle ran 19 minutes, 55.7 seconds and was 12 seconds behind the individual champion, Shalane Flanagan of North Carolina.
"We couldn't have hoped for more," sophomore Lauren King said. King, who led the team all season, earned All-American status for the second year in a row with her 19th-place finish. Deeter is the only other Irish womens runner to have achieved that honor twice.
The team had high expectations, but knew a third-place finish would be challenging.
"I thought we could finish in the top five," Huddle said. "That we finished third is awesome."
The Irish had 170 points behind national champion Brigham Young who had 85 and second place Stanford with a score of 113. The Irish finished just ahead of Colorado, which was a surprise to the team given the Buffaloes' storied program.
"The whole season has been such a cumulative realization of how good we are," King said. "Really early in the season, we had a third place ranking and we just kind of laughed it off, like `yeah right.' The fact that now we are sitting here and that's the reality… that is just amazing."
King said the team's great performance was due not only to the runners on the course, but also to the other team members who traveled down to Terre Haute to cheer for the Irish.
"I am just really proud of the girls on the team who ran and who didn't run," King said. The Irish fans were all wearing bright green shirts, and their presence and noise gave the Irish harriers confidence as they tackled the course.
"You feel the support. You feel the Notre Dame energy. It helps you along."
Jen Handley, the only senior who ran for the Irish, said that a whole new attitude was present this season, a demeanor which she said had been lacking in years past.
"I can't describe it," Handley said. "I was so emotional after the race."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, November 26, 2002
