Irish enter Notre Dame Invitational this weekend at full strength

It is
the halfway point of the 2001 cross country season and the Notre Dame men's
and women's teams are ready to put their best foot forward at this
weekend's Notre Dame Invitational. Run at the Notre Dame Golf Course on the
west side of campus, this weekend's race is not just the last home meet of
the season for both Irish teams. This Friday's meet marks the last
non-championship level race of the season and the last opportunity for the
top Irish runners to develop their team chemistry.

It will be the first time the Irish women's team will be at full strength
this season.  Junior Jen Handley has developed into the team leader after
winning the 2001 National Catholic Invitational (on the same course as the
Notre Dame Invitational) two weeks ago.  Right behind Handley at the
National Catholic was sophomore Megan Johnson, Notre Dame's top finisher in
the Invitational last season. Johnson and Handley will be running just
their second races of the season and will be anxious to show the field just
how talented the Irish women's cross country roster is.

Handley and Johnson will not be alone at the head of the pack when the
Irish run this weekend. Freshman Christi Arnerich and junior Jennifer
Fibuch should be among the leaders of the Notre Dame contingent as well.
Arnerich was Notre Dame's top finisher at the Valparaiso Invitational
earlier this season and placed 19th in the National Catholic. Fibuch posted
an 11th-place finish at the National Catholic - the third-best finish on
the team.

The Irish women also will have freshman Lauren King in the blue division
race this weekend. King, who finished 26th at the World Junior Cross
Country Championships last year, has not competed yet this season due to a
prolonged high school track and field schedule that ran late into the
summer.

The men's team is coming off an impressive showing at the Central
Collegiates last weekend. The Irish "B" team dominated the field, placing
all of its runners in the top 15 to earn the team title. It was a chance
for many of the Notre Dame harriers to earn a spot as one of the top eight
runners entering the championship season. The performance last weekend by
all of the Irish runners might make that decision a difficult one for men's
head coach Joe Piane. A solid performance by any Notre Dame runner in the
gold or blue division race on Friday could propel him into the top eight of
the fifth-ranked team in the nation.

The men's team also features two returning Notre Dame Invitational
Champions in this Friday's race - senior Ryan Shay, the '99 champ, and
classmate Luke Watson, who out ran a highly-competitive field to claim the
individual title in 2000. Shay and Watson, along with sophomore Todd
Mobley, finished shoulder-to-shoulder two weeks ago as Shay captured his
fourth National Catholic Invitational title.

The veteran leadership does not end with the top three Irish runners.
Seniors Marc Striowski and Pat Conway give Notre Dame one of the top-five
groups in the nation. Sophomores Mario Bird and Brian Kerwin also have been
very impressive this season.

Notre Dame Invitational overview: Traditionally one of the top meets in the
Midwest, the Notre Dame Invitational is a perfect tune up for any cross
country team that plans to run the Pre-National meet in Greenville, SC, on
Oct. 13. The ND Invite features five races, beginning with the women's gold
division at 2 p.m.

The men's gold division will run at 2:45 p.m., followed by an open race at
3:30 p.m. The meet continues with the women's blue division race at 4:15
p.m. and wraps up with the men's blue division race at 5 p.m.

Among the top teams in attendance will be Indiana, Utah State, Michigan,
Edinboro College and Hillsdale College. Results will be available on the
official Notre Dame athletic website: www.und.com.

Alan Wasielewski, Publicity Assistant
University of  Notre Dame Sports Information
112 Joyce Center, Second Floor
Notre Dame, IN 46556
(219) 631-3397/(219) 631-7941 (fax)
cell phone: 219-315-5746
E-mail: [email protected]

"We have seen their kind before. They're the heirs of all the murderous
ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their
radical visions, by abandoning every value except the will to power, they
follow in the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism. And they will
follow that path all the way to where it ends in history's unmarked grave
of discarded lies. Americans are asking, "How will we fight and win this
war?"

We will direct every resource at our command -- every means of diplomacy,
every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every
financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war -- to the
destruction and to the defeat of the global terror network."

- George W. Bush