Nov. 24, 1997

Notre Dame Men's Cross Country Places 12th at NCAA Cross Country Championships

Jason Rexing.

FURNAM, S.C.- The Notre Dame men's cross country teams finished 12th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships at Furman, S.C., marking the sixth straight top-15 finish for the Irish. Notre Dame finished with 309 points, while first place Stanford finished with 53.

Senior All-American Jason Rexing was the top finisher for the Irish for the second consecutive year as he ran to a 40th-place finish in the team competition with a time of 30:43. Junior Ryan Maxwell came home in 50th place with a time of 30:57 and freshman Ryan Shay ran well in his first NCAA championships as he finished 51st with a time of 30:58. Junior Antonio Arce and senior Mike Conway rounded out the top five for the Irish as they finished 80th and 89th places respectively.

"It was a solid day," said coach Joe Piane. "We would have liked to finish four places higher, but we had some we had some kids run well so that is exciting. Ryan Maxwell and Ryan Shay ran particularly well for us."

1997 NCAA Men's Cross Country Team Results
1.   Stanford                53
2.   Arkansas                56
3.   Colorado               108
4.   Michigan               116
5.   Wisconsin              201
6.   North Carolina State   214
7.   Michigan State         257
8.   Oregon                 266
9.   William & Mary         274
10.  Weber State            278
11.  Nebraska               294
12.  NOTRE DAME             309
13.  Iona                   340
14.   Oklahoma State        346
15.  Iowa State             357
Notre Dame Men's Team Finishers
40. Jason Rexing    30:34
50. Ryan Maxwell    30:57
51. Ryan Shay       30:58
80. Antonio Arce    31:28
88. Mike Conway     31:35
89. Scott Grace     31:36
96. Anthony Alt     31:42