Notre Dame Course Map
DAYTON, Ohio – The University of Dayton men’s and women’s cross country teams will be competing in the National Catholic Invitational this Friday on the campus of University of Notre Dame.
The women’s 5K race will start at 3:30 p.m. and the men’s 8K will follow at 5 p.m.
The National Catholic Championship meet was conceived by current Irish head men's cross country coach Joe Piane and began in the fall of 1980 and has been held for 30 consecutive years. It features teams from prominent Catholic institutions throughout the United States.
The last time the teams competed at the National Catholic Invite was in 2008 when the women finished as runners-up and the men were fifth of 33 teams.
Both squads are coming off recent victories.
The women’s squad claimed the Miami Invitational with a perfect score of 15. Senior Maureen Bulgrin led the way with a first place finish.
“I'm excited for Friday. The team is looking great as a pack. They're really beginning to understand how much stronger they are as a group rather than individually,” said UD women’s cross country head coach Sarah Hinkley. “We're using all of our races leading up to the championship season as opportunities to refine ourselves as a team.”
The men’s team won the Mel Brodt Invitational at Bowling Green State University for the second consecutive season. Chris Lemon finished first for the second consecutive race and five Dayton runners finished in the Top 10.
“We’re going to use the success we earned at the Mel Brodt Invitational to take our team effort to a higher level at the National Catholic Invitational,” said UD Head Coach Rich Davis. “We want to get single-digit finishes out of Chris and Matt and have a solid pack of three following close behind.”
After each race throughout the season Coach Davis hands out two team recognition awards – Tough as Nails, and Team Glue. The Tough as Nails Award goes to the runner who displayed the best physical and mental toughness during the race. The Team Glue Award goes to the runner who, through the course of week, leading up to the race, makes sacrifices and gives encouragement and moral support.
This week’s winners are sophomore Derek Bornhorst for Tough as Nails, and sophomore Nate Addessi, who was named Team Glue for the second consecutive week.
“Derek improved on his personal best 8K time by 1:13,” said Davis. “Nate is holding the pack together real well within our top seven.”
BGSU Mel Brodt Invitational - Sept. 11, 2010
Tough As Nails: Sophomore Derek Bornhorst
Team Glue: Sophomore Nate Addessi
Flyer 5K - Sept. 4, 2010
Tough As Nails: Sophomore Kyle Lowry
Team Glue: Sophomore Nate Addessi
