Sept. 29, 2003

The University of Notre Dame men's and women's cross country teams play host to the 48th-annual Notre Dame Invitational at the Burke Memorial Golf Course this Friday, Oct. 3. There will be 37 men's teams and 32 women's teams scheduled to compete in five different races this weekend.

MEET SCHEDULE:

There are five races on Friday afternoon. An Open Race will be run at 3:30 p.m. with the men and women running together (women run 5K, men run five miles). The Women's Gold Division Race begins at 2 p.m., followed by the men's Gold Division at 2:45 p.m. The Women's Blue Division starts at 4:15 p.m., followed by the Men's Blue Division at 5 p.m.

2003 Notre Dame Invitational Schedule:

2:00 p.m. - Women's Gold Division

2:45 p.m. - Men's Gold Division

3:30 p.m. - Open Race

4:15 p.m. - Women's Blue Division

5:00 p.m. - Men's Blue Division

PARTICIPATING TEAMS:

The Notre Dame Invitational has developed into one of the stronger non-conference meets in the Midwest. This season, 16 ranked teams (combined men's and women's teams) will participate in the event. The Irish women, ranked third in the nation, will be tested by #6 Wake Forest, #16 Duke and #30 Washington. Notre Dame's 17th-ranked men's team will run against #9 Central Michigan, #10 Eastern Michigan and #27 Duke.

Only Division I teams have been mentioned so far, but a number of highly-rated Division II and III schools will be in attendance at this weekend's meet, including Division III #1 North Central men and #2 Calvin College men. North Central will run in the men's Blue Division, while Calvin might be the team to beat in the Gold Division.

Nationally ranked teams competing in the 2003 Notre Dame Invitational:

Men's Division I: #9 Central Michigan, #10 Eastern Michigan, #17 Notre Dame, #27 Duke.

Women's Division I: #3 Notre Dame, #6 Wake Forest, #16 Duke, #30 Washington.

Men's Division II: #13 Hillsdale College, #14 Truman State University

Women's Division II: #18 Hillsdale College

Men's Division III: #1 North Central, #2 Calvin College, #7 Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Women's Division III: #4 Calvin College, #10 Wisconsin-Oshkosh

RACE LINEUPS:

Women's Gold Division (2:00 p.m.)

Alabama-Birmingham

Anderson

Arkansas State

Calvin College

Hillsdale College

IUPU-Fort Wayne

Malone

Michigan State "B"

Northern Illinois

Notre Dame "B"

St. Francis - PA

Valparaiso

Windsor

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wisconsin-Oshkosh

Wright State

Youngstown State

Men's Gold Division (2:45 p.m.)

Akron

Anderson

Arkansas State

Augustana

Ball State

Calvin College

Heidelberg

IUPU-Fort Wayne

Malone

Michigan State "B"

Mankato State

Notre Dame "B"

Siena Heights

Valparaiso

Wabash

Windsor

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Wright State

Women's Blue Division (4:15 p.m.)

Akron

Ball State

California

UC Santa Barbara

Central Michigan

Duke

Memphis

Mississippi State

Notre Dame

Oakland

Penn State

St. Joseph's - PA

South Florida

Vanderbilt

Wake Forest

Washington

Western Carolina

Western Michigan

Men's Blue Division (5:00 p.m.)

Alabama

California

UC Santa Barbara

Central Michigan

Duke

Eastern Michigan

Hillsdale College

Michigan

Mississippi State

North Central College

Notre Dame

Oakland

Penn State

St. Joseph's - PA

St. Francis - PA

South Florida

Truman State

Western Carolina

Western Michigan

Wisconsin-Oshkosh

Youngstown State

MEET HISTORY:

The Notre Dame Invitational is one of the oldest and largest intercollegiate cross country races in the nation. The Invitational was started by former Irish coaching great Alex Wilson in 1956.

The Irish men have won the meet title 14 times, the most recent in 2001 behind individual winner Luke Watson. Stanford claimed the men's team title in 2002 behind individual winner Ryan Hall. A Notre Dame men's runner has won the individual title three out of the last four seasons.

The women's race began in 1987 and the Irish women's team has won the team title four times. Notre Dame won the team title last season, while Sara Bei from Stanford claimed the individual crown. Notre Dame's last individual winner was Lauren King in 2001 (King will be in the field this Friday).

DIRECTIONS TO THE MEET:

The Notre Dame Invitational will be run on the Burke Memorial Golf Course on the far west side of the Notre Dame campus. Admission to all Notre Dame cross country/track and field events is free.

FROM THE EAST/WEST/NORTH: Use Indiana Toll Road 80/90 to exit 77. After paying the toll, take a right at the first traffic light, follow SR 933 through two additional lights to Dorr Road. Take a left at Dorr Road and utilize the large parking lot, walking around to the entrance of the golf course.

FROM THE SOUTH: Use US 31 north to South Bend. US 31 will turn into SR 933, follow it through downtown South Bend. Once you cross the St. Joseph River, Dorr Road will be the third light - you will see the cross country course on your right as you approach Dorr Road.

RESULTS: Complete results of all five races will be available for team coaches and media representatives ONLY on race day. The results will be distributed when each team returns its set of results chips to the race management crew. Complete results of all five races also will be available as soon as possible on www.und.com.

Competing SIDs: If you wish to have the results e-mailed to you, please send a request to - Wasielewski.3@nd.edu - Results will not be faxed unless a request is received as well. That request can be sent to the above e-mail address.

COURSE MAP: A course map will be available at the meet location, but can also be downloaded via PDF on the Notre Dame cross country website at www.und.com