Sept. 29, 1998

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Almost 60 men's and women's collegiate cross country teams will travel to the Notre Dame Golf Course for the 43rd Notre Dame Invitational this Friday, Oct. 2, 1998 beginning at 2:45 p.m.

The invitational was conceived by former Irish coach Alex Wilson in 1956, making it one of the oldest invitationals in the nation. Last year's winners included Elly Rono of Southern Indiana, who won the men's race, while Eastern Michigan picked up the men's team title. On the women's side, Lisa Petsche of Edinboro won the individual title and Bowling Green came away with the team championship.

Among this year's field are a number of ranked teams both on the men's and women's side. Along with the 32nd-ranked Notre Dame women, #10 North Carolina State, #22 Baylor and #25 Bowling Green will all compete. The 15th-ranked Notre Dame men, meanwhile, will be challenged by fourth-ranked North Carolina State.

The first race of the afternoon will begin at 2:45 p.m. with the gold men's race, followed by a junior varsity men's and women's race at 3:30 p.m. The women's race will start at 4:15 p.m. with 23 teams entered and the men's blue race will begin at 5:00 p.m. with 19 teams.

NCAA DIV. I Cross Country Polls

FinishLynx Women's Cross Country Rankings 
(As of Sept. 28, 1998)
 1.   BYU             225
 2.   Stanford        216
 3.   Providence      199
 4.   Colorado        197
 5.   Michigan        192
 6.   Wake Forest     166
 7.   Georgetown      161
 8.   Arizona         145
 9.   Wisconsin       144
10.   NC State        135
11.   Dartmouth       132
12.   Arkansas        127
13.   Northern Ariz.  126
14.   Washington      116
15.   Missouri        112
16.   Oregon           88
17.   Minnesota      73.5
18.   William & Mary   67
19.   Florida          65
20.   UCLA           46.5
21.   West Virginia    39
22.   Baylor           30
23.   Utah State       24
24.   Cornell          22
25.   Bowling Green    18
Others:  34. NOTRE DAME   

Martin Surfacing Men's Cross Country Rankings 
(As of Sept. 29, 1998)
 1.   Stanford        397
 2.   Arkansas        385
 3.   Colorado        367
 4.   NC State        311
 5.   Arizona         300
 6.   Providence      297
 7.   Michigan        280
 8.   Oklahoma State  279
 9.   Oregon          244
10.   Michigan St.    241
11.   Northen Ariz.   240
12.   Wisconsin       193
13.   William & Mary  192
14.   Montana         191
15.   NOTRE DAME      190
16.   Iona College    152
17.   Portland        144
18.   Washington St.  111
19.   BYU             101
20.   Georgetown      100
21.   Minnesota        89
22.   Illinois St.     53
23.   Washington       50
24.   Utah             48
25.   Princeton        44