Nov. 3, 1999

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - - The Notre Dame men's cross country team won its second BIG EAST title in three years at the BIG EAST championships last Friday at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, N.Y. Junior Ryan Shay (Central Lake, Mich.) won the men's individual 8K title and head coach Joe Piane was named BIG EAST men's coach of the year. The women, who finished fifth, were paced by senior Alison Klemmer (Troy, Mich.) who placed a career-best fourth in the 5K race.

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP: Shay became the first Notre Dame runner to win the BIG EAST individual title since the Irish began BIG EAST competition in 1995. His winning time of 24:22 was the third-fastest in course history.

Notre Dame had six runners place in the top 20, while all 12 men's harriers recorded career-best finishes at the BIG EAST meet. Sophomore Luke Watson (Stillwater, Minn.) finished third in the race with a time of 24:36, senior Ryan Maxwell (Staten Island, N.Y.) finished ninth (24:59), sophomore Marc Striowski (Toronto, Ont.) was 11th (25:02), senior John Dudley (Westwood, Mass.) finished 19th (25:33) and senior Sean McManus (Hernando, Fla.) 20th (25:35). Shay, Watson, Maxwell and Striowski earned all-BIG EAST honors (top 15) for their performances.

Coach Joe Piane, in his 25th season as head coach, was named the BIG EAST men's coach of the year for the second time. He also won the award in 1997 when the Irish captured their first BIG EAST team title also at Van Cortlandt Park.

The women bounced back from a disappointing finish at the pre-national meet with some impressive performances. Klemmer had her career-best finish at the BIG EAST championships, placing fourth in 17:39. Freshman Jennifer Handley (Barrie, Ont.) continued her outstanding rookie season, earning all-conference honors along with Klemmer for her 12th-place finish (17:59). Senior Patty Rice (Mishawaka, Ind.) finished 23rd, classmate Erin Luby (Inverness, Ill.) 26th and junior Chrissy Kuenster (Wheaton, Ill.) was 33rd. The team finished fifth in the 13- team field. The Irish were without the services of senior All-American JoAnna Deeter (Glen Ellyn, Ill.), who missed the BIG EAST championship because of an Achilles injury.

IRISH MOVE UP IN THE POLLS: The men made their first appearance in the top 20 after their third-place finish in the Notre Dame Invitational, Oct. 1. After having not been ranked in the preseason MONDO NCAA poll, the Irish moved up from 17th to 10th following the pre-national meet on October 16th. The BIG EAST team title last weekend raised the Irish up to eighth.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE: Both varsity teams have two weeks off before heading to the District IV championships in Terre Haute, Ind. The top two teams at the districts receive automatic bids to the NCAA championships, Monday, Nov. 22, in Bloomington, Ind.

BIG EAST Top Team Results

1. Notre Dame       43
2. Georgetown       57
3. Villanova        60
4. Providence       61
5. Boston College  146

Women

1. Georgetown      41
2. Providence      59
3. Villanova       74
4. Boston College  78
5. Notre Dame      98

FinishLynx NCAA Div. I
Women's XC Poll (11/1)

Rk  School (First-Place)   Pts
 1.  Stanford (11)         299
 2.  Arkansas (1)          288
 3.  BYU                   277
 4.  Colorado              262
 5.  Wisconsin             253
 6.  Georgetown            229
 7.  Kansas State          224
 8.  North Carolina        217
 9.  Arizona State         208
10.  Washington            199
11.  North Carolina State  174
12.  James Madison         168
13.  William & Mary        157
14.  UCLA                  142
15.  Michigan              128
16.  Minnesota             118
17.  Providence            107
18.  Boston University      98
19.  Michigan State         84
20.  Northern Arizona       77
21.  Missouri               54
22.  Villanova              43
23.  Nebraska               38
24.  Arizona                20
25.  Oregon                 16

MONDO NCAA Div. I
Men's XC Poll (11/2)

Rk   School (First-Place) Pts
 1.  Arkansas (16)        400
 2.  North Carolina St.   380
 3.  Colorado             364
 4.  Arizona              356
 5.  Stanford             335
 6.  Wisconsin            323
 7.  Michigan             300
 8.  Notre Dame           290
 9.  Georgetown           248
10.  James Madison        246
11.  Oregon               234
12.  BYU                  223
13.  Villanova            196
14.  Northern Arizona     191
15.  Arizona State        188
16.  Weber State          148
17.  William & Mary       131
18.  Portland             124
19.  Minnesota            103
20.  Providence            92
21   Princeton             75
22   Tennessee             67
23   Utah                  54
24   Dartmouth             49  
25   Southern Mississippi  17

SCHEDULE

SEPTEMBER
11    Valparaiso Invitational             M 1st
      (Valparaiso, IN)                    W 2nd
17    National Catholic Invitational 
                                          M 1st
                                          W 1st
OCTOBER
1     Notre Dame Invitational
                                          M 3rd
                                          W 1st        
    
16    Pre-National Championships  
      (Bloomington, IN)     
                                          M 6th
                                          W 22nd

29    BIG EAST Championship
      (Bronx, NY)                         M 1st
                                          W 5th
NOVEMBER
13    NCAA Great Lakes Region  
      (Terre Haute, IN)                   10:30 a.m.  
22    NCAA Championships                  10:30 a.m.
      (Bloomington, IN)