For Immediate Release: September 15, 1999
Contact: Peggy Curtin - (219) 631-7516

 20th Consecutive National Catholic Cross Country Championships this Friday
at Notre Dame

Notre Dame, Ind. - - The Notre Dame men's and women's cross country teams
will run the first of two consecutive home meets this Friday, Sept. 17 when
the National Catholic Championships take place on the University of Notre
Dame's Burke Golf Course. The five-mile race was conceived by current Irish
coach Joe Piane and implemented in the fall of 1980.  It features prominent
Catholic institutions throughout the United States. Top returning teams
from last year's race: Dayton, Loras, Holy Cross, Lewis, Duquesne and
Detroit-Mercy.

VALPARAISO INVITATIONAL RECAP:  Notre Dame swept the top spots in both the
men and women's race at the Valparaiso Invitational last weekend. The men
took first place overall and were led by sophomore Marc Striowski (Toronto,
Ont.), who finished first in a time of 24:48.44 on the 8K course. It was
Striowski's first collegiate win. Junior Sean McManus (Hernando, Fla.),
sophomore Pat Conway (Springfield, Va.), senior John Dudley (Westwood,
Mass.) and freshman Antonio Lopez (Albuquerque, N.M.), rounded out the
Irish runners finishing in the top 10.
	The women finished second overall without many of their top
runners, including All-American JoAnna Deeter (Glen Ellyn, Ill.). Freshman
Jennifer Handley (Barrie, Ont.) had an impressive debut for the Irish,
winning the women's 5K title in 18.00.27. Senior Erin Luby (Inverness,
Ill.) finished sixth in a time of 18.24.60. The rest of the Irish runners
finishing in the top 15 included: Bridget O'Brien (Bellevue, Wash.),
Chrissy Kuenster (Wheaton, Ill.), Muffy Schmidt (Miles City, Mont.),  Kari
Eaton (Wadsworth, Ohio) and Cara Motter (Brawley, Calif.).

NATIONAL CATHOLIC PREVIEW: Both the men and women will look to continue
their winning streaks at the National Catholic Championships on Friday. The
men have won the team title the last four years, the longest such streak in
the history of the meet. The women are pursuing their fourth straight title
to break their own record of three straight set between 1992 and 1994.
Senior All-American JoAnna Deeter also will be looking to extend her streak
of four straight National Catholic Championship title, while junior Ryan
Shay (Central Lake, Mich.) has also won two straight individual titles.
	The women will be running with most of its top competitors at
Friday's meet. Deeter, along with seniors Alison Klemmer (Troy, Mich.) and
Erin Olson (Eden Prairie, Minn.), will be among the favorites to win the
women's race. Freshman Jennifer Handley, coming off a win at the Valparaiso
Invitational, will be running her first race on the Notre Dame campus.
	The men boast a team win at the Valparaiso Invitational and will be
boosted by the addition of junior Ryan Shay (Central Lake, Mich.) and
sophomore Luke Watson (Stillwater, Minn.) into the top eight runners.
Watson finished third in last year's race and is running his first meet for
Notre Dame this season after attending the 1999 World Junior Cross Country
Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Marc Striowski, who finished
15th in the National Catholic last year, is looking for his second straight
win after finishing first at the Valparaiso Invitational last weekend.

NATIONAL CATHOLIC RECENT HISTORY:
Men's Champions
Year 	Team 		Individual				Time
1994	Boston College	Chris Georgules (Boston College)	24:54.07
1995	Notre Dame	Charles Mulinga (Lewis)		24:30.00
1996	Notre Dame	Jason Rexing (Notre Dame)	 	 24:29
1997	Notre Dame	Ryan Shay (Notre Dame)		 24:53
1998 	Notre Dame 	Ryan Shay (Notre Dame)		 23:46
Women's Champions
Year	Team			Individual			Time
1994	Notre Dame	Amy Lyman (Boston College)		18:06.02
1995	Marquette		Magdalena Paszta (Lewis)
	17:42.06
1996	Notre Dame	JoAnna Deeter (Notre Dame)         	16:39
1997 	Notre Dame	JoAnna Deeter (Notre Dame)          	17:39
1998 	Notre Dame	JoAnna Deeter (Notre Dame)           	17:25

Schedule

SEPTEMBER
11		Valparaiso Invitational  	       		M 1st
			(Valparaiso, IN) 	       		W 2nd
17		National Catholic Invitational
       		3:30 (JV), 4:15 (Women), 5:00 p.m (Men)

OCTOBER
1		Notre Dame Invitational
		2:45, 3:30, 4:15, 5:00 p.m.

15		Central Collegiates	      4:00 p.m.
		(Ypsilanti, MI)

16		Pre-National Championships
		(Bloomington, IN)	    10:00 a.m.

29		BIG EAST Championship
		(Bronx, NY)		    10:00 a.m.

NOVEMBER
13		NCAA Great Lakes Region
		(Terre Haute, IN)	    10:30 a.m.
22		NCAA Championships	    10:30 a.m.
		(Bloomington, IN)

Home meets in bold.  All times local to site. Home meets run at Burke Golf
Course.

MONDO NCAA Div. I
Men's Cross Country
Preseason Poll (9/14)
(Conducted by the United States
Cross Country Coaches Association)

Rank	School (First-Place)		Votes
1.	Arkansas (10)		394
2. 	Stanford (5)		384
3.	Colorado 			339
4.	North Carolina State	338
5.	Wisconsin (1)		335
6.	Northern Arizona		289
7. 	Providence		279
8.	Arizona			263
9.	Oregon			242
10.	James Madison		210
11.	Michigan			190
12.	Michigan State		174
13.	Minnesota			157
14.	Georgetown		142
15.	Butler			140

Others: Notre Dame 10