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The University of Dayton men’s cross country team will compete this Friday, Sept. 16 at the 32
nd annual National Catholic Cross Country Invitational in South Bend, Ind. with the race to be held at the Notre Dame Golf Course. The JV race kicks off the invitational at 3:30 p.m. The Women’s 5K Championship Race will follow at 4:15 p.m. and the final event of the meet, the Men’s 8K Championship Race, will start at 5 p.m.
“It is a quality meet hosted on a good fast course. This gives our guys a chance to set some great 8K times,” said UD men’s cross country head coach
Rich Davis.
There will be 33 schools attending the invitational this year, including UD. The field includes host Notre Dame – ranked fourth in the Great Lakes and No. 23 in the latest national poll. Marquette, which the Dayton men tied for runner-up last year, is ranked 11th in the Great Lakes Region, followed closely by Xavier which is ranked 13th in the Great Lakes.
“Our expectation is to run better as a team,” said Davis. “This is our first 8K of the season. At the Flyer 5K we had a 38-second difference between our first man and fifth man. Our goal is to extend that to this race and set a school record (which is 43 seconds in the 8K).”
Last year in addition to the team finishing tied for second, UD’s Chris Lemon earned the individual champion honors at the National Catholic Invitational. Although Lemon has graduated, the Flyers expect similar excellence from their squad this year.
“I expect Greg Roeth to be in the Top 5 this year,” said Davis.
After each race throughout the season Coach Davis hands out two team recognitions – Tough as Nails and Team Glue. Tough as Nails goes to the runner who displayed the best physical and mental toughness during the race. Team Glue goes to the runner who, through the course of week, leading up to the race, makes sacrifices and gives encouragement and moral support.
The UD team recognitions for the Flyer 5K were freshman Matt Fakler for Tough as Nails, and junior Stephen Mackell for Team Glue.
“Matt’s training was disrupted by knee difficulties two weeks prior to the Flyer 5K,” said Davis. “He finished as our No. 9 and superseded our expectations. With his finish at the Flyer 5K, he earned a spot in the varsity race in South Bend this week.
“Stephen was not among the top seven runners last year,” added Davis. “He’s coming off a great track season and has worked hard over the summer. He was our second finisher at the Flyer 5K. He’s the team captain. We expect him to be up there.”
Flyer 5K - Sept. 3, 2011
Tough As Nails: Freshman Matt Fakler
Team Glue: Junior Stephen Mackell
