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    Notre Dame Cross Country Teams Win National Catholic Invitational Titles

    Prepare for the Notre Dame Invitational

    NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Notre Dame's men's and women's cross country teams continued their impressive seasons as they swept to the titles at the National Catholic Invitational at Notre Dame. The men placed six runners in the top ten, led by junior Jason Rexing (Pickerington, Ohio) who finished first. The women's were led by a pair of freshmen, Joanna Deeter (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Nicole LaSelle (Dayton, Ohio), who finished first and fourth in the race.

    Up Next: The Irish will play host to the Notre Dame Invitational which will be run on the University's golf course on Friday, October 4. Michigan's 15th-ranked men's team and eighth-ranked women's team should be among the challengers in the 20-team men's field and women's field. Duke and West Virginia should also contend for the titles. Notre Dame's men's squad won the 1995 title for the sixth year in a row and the thirteenth time overall. Notre Dame's women's team, which won its only title in 1993, was beaten by 1995 champion Wake Forest.

    National Catholic Review: Notre Dame claimed both titles at the National Catholic Invitational. In the men's division, the 10th-ranked Irish led the field with 18 points while Marquette and Lewis were second and third with 64 and 94 points, respectively. It marked the second consecutive year and the seventh time in nine years that Notre Dame won the men's title. Irish runners took six of the top ten spots, led by 1996 track All-American Jason Rexing. Matt Althoff (Yankton, S.D.), Derek Seiling (Allison Park, Pa.), and Joe Dunlop (Grand Island, N.Y.) all finished in the top five for the Irish. Ryan Maxwell (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Scott Grace (Oakland, Mich.) both finished in the top ten while Mike Conway (Springfield, Va.) finished 15th. Notre Dame's women team continued to run well, placing four runners in the top ten and finishing with a score of 36. Marquette was second with 46 and Lewis University was third with 112. Notre Dame was able to reclaim the title from 1995 champion Marquette. The Irish had won three straight titles since 1992 before the Golden Eagles claimed first place last year. After the freshmen Deeter and LaSelle, Heidi Reichenbach (Plainfield, Ill.), was eighth followed by Mieke Walsh (York, Pa.), Kelly Peterson (Escondido, Calif.), Erin Luby (Inverness, Ill.) and Janel Kiley (Somerville, Mass.).

    Freshmen Spark Women's Squad: A pair of freshmen have given Notre Dame's women's team immediate results. Joanna Deeter and Nicole LaSelle have finished one-two for the Irish in both races they have run so far. Deeter's time of 16:39 was the fastest finish in the 11-year history of the race.

    Irish in the Rankings: Notre Dame's men's cross country team, who finished tied for eighth at the 1995 NCAA cross country championships, is ranked 10th in the latest men's NCAA poll after entering the preseason poll at 11th. Arkansas is first followed by Northern Arizona and Stanford. Providence is the highest ranked BIG EAST team at ninth with Georgetown behind Notre Dame at 11th.

    Martin Surfacing 
    NCAA MEN'S TOP 25
    September 23, 1996
      No.   Team               Pts.  LW
       1.   Arkansas           450    1
       2.   Northern Arizona   414    4
       3.   Stanford           412    2
       4.   Wisconsin          382    3
       5.   Oregon             338    5
       6.   Oklahoma State     320    6
       7.   Colorado           297    7
       8.   North Carolina St. 294    8
       9.   Providence         274    9
      10.   NOTRE DAME         262   11
      11.   Georgetown         260   10
      12.   Iowa State         244   13
      13.   Nebraska           238   14
      14.   Michigan State     231   12
      15.   Michigan           208   16
      16.   Portland           207   20
      17.   Arizona            189   15
      18.   Wake Forest        181   17
      19.   BYU                 95   19
      20.   Boise State         92   21
      21.   Tennessee           91   18
      22.   Penn State          87   24
      23.   William & Mary      69   22
      24.   Dartmouth           39   25
      25.   East Tennessee St.  28   NR
    NCAA WOMEN'S TOP 25
    Preseason
      No.  Team                   Pts.
       1.  Providence             200
       2.  Colorado               188
       3.  Stanford               181
       4.  BYU                    167
       5.  Georgetown             164
       6.  Michigan               137
       7.  Villanova              146
       8.  Oregon                 139
       9.  Dartmouth              126
      10.  North Carolina State   124
      11.  Arizona                122
      12.  Wisconsin              117
      13.  Arkansas               107
      14.  Auburn                 100
      15.  Boston College          78
      16.  Washington              72
      17.  Florida                 70
      18.  Iowa State              64
           Southern Methodist      64
      20.  Penn State              60
      21.  Missouri                35
      22.  Bowling Green           30
      23.  Weber State             24
      24.  UCLA                    18
      25.  Illinois State          15
    
    Men's Results
    National Catholic (Sept. 20)
    SENIORS
    Matt Althoff   24:31 (2)
    Joe Dunlop     24:52 (5)
    Jeff Hojnaki   25:42 (3)*
    Jonathan Kraas 26:45 (10)*
    Derek Seiling  24:45 (4)
              
    JUNIORS
    Mike Conway    25:58 (15)
    Scott Grace    25:07(9)
    Jim Pilla      26:29 (9)*
    Jason Rexing   24:29 (1)
    SOPHOMORES
    Dan Ambrico
    Antonio Arce   25:36 (2)*
    Ryan Blaney    25:45 (4)*
    Mike Dreznes   26:10(8)*
    Tim Englehardt 25:32 (1)*
    Ryan Maxwell   24:59 (6)
    Tim Mousaw
    Chris Utz     
    FRESHMAN
    Mario Arce
    Tom Dietrich
    John Dudley    26:08 (7)*
    Michael Evangelist
    Nick Fehring
    Mike Greiwe    27:20 (23)*
    Brian Holinka
    Timothy Kober
    Michael Koenig
    Robert Lythgoe 26:54 (16)*
    Sean McManus   25:51 (5)*
    Phil Mishka
    Eamon O'Reilly
    TEAM           1st of 26 teams
         
    Number in parentheses indicates finish in race.
    *  indicates open/JV division finish.
    
    Women's Results
    National Catholic
    (Sept. 20)
    SENIORS
    Emily Dodds       19:06 (4)*               
    Lindsay Dutton
    Michelle Lavigne  19:24 (6)*
    Carolyn Long      18:54 (2)*
    Heidi Reichenbach 17:51 (8)
    JUNIORS 
    Amanda Enscoe     
    Janel Kiley       19:02(35)
    Melissa Hanna     20:19 (22)*
    Christa Margie
    Megan Smedley
    Mieke Walsh       17:59 (10)
    Gretchen Weiher   19:40 (12)*
    SOPHOMORES
    Natalie Dietsch
    Emily Edwards     19:26 (7)*
    Katie Helland
    Colleen McBride
    Erin Newman       19:39 (10)*
    Kelly Peterson    18:19(13)
    Marisa Posch
    Mary Volland
    FRESHMAN
    Denise Bakula     18:37 (1)*
    Rebecca Bea       19:45 (14)*
    Joanna Deeter     16:39 (1)
    Charlotte Kelly   19:35 (9)*
    Alison Klemmer
    Nicole LaSelle    17:33 (4)
    Erin Luby         18:23(15)
    Dana McSherry     19:44 (13)*          
    Cara Motter       19:20 (5)*
    Patti Rice     
    Valerie Siqueira  19:34 (8)*
    Anna Yates     
    TEAM              1st of 28 teams
         
    Number in parentheses indicates finish in race.
    *  indicates open/JV division finish.
    
    UPCOMING SCHEDULE
      Oct.  4   NOTRE DAME INVITATIONAL                NOTRE DAME, IND.      
      Oct.  18  at Central Collegiate Championships    Kalamazoo, Mich.
      Oct.  19  at Arizona Invitational                Tucson, Ariz.
      Nov.  1   at BIG EAST Championships              Boston, Mass.
    

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