For Immediate Release: September 21, 1999
Contact: Peggy Curtin - (219) 631-7516

Notre Dame Men's and Women's Cross Country Squads Sweep Titles at the
National Catholic Championships; Prepare for Notre Dame Invitational



Notre Dame, Ind. - - The Notre Dame men's and women's cross country teams
dominated the National Catholic Championships with first-place finishes at
the Notre Dame Golf Course last Friday, Sept. 17. It was the fifth
consecutive team win for the men and the fourth consecutive win for the
women. Both teams will return to action at home on Friday, Oct. 1 for the
Notre Dame Invitational.

NATIONAL CATHOLIC RECAP:  In addition to the Notre Dame teams extending
their National Catholic win streaks, individually senior All-American
JoAnna Deeter (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) won her fourth straight title with a 5K
time of 16:52, while junior Ryan Shay (Central Lake, Mich.) captured his
third consecutive individual title with an 8K time of 24:41. Deeter was the
first women's runner to ever repeat as champion, while Shay joined
Marquette's Keith Hanson (1983-85) as the only three-time men's winners.
	Finishing just behind Deeter was senior Alison Klemmer (Troy,
Mich.), who logged her second runner-up finish of her career (1999, 1997)
in a time of 17:42 . Freshman Jennifer Handley (Barrie, Ont.) continued her
impressive debut season placing third in 18:01, following a win at the
Valparaiso Invitational, September 11. Senior Erin Luby (Inverness, Ill.)
was another Irish runner in the top 10 with an eighth-place finish in a
time of 18:19. The final scoring runner for the Irish was junior Erin Olson
(Eden Prarie, Minn.), who placed 16th.  The Notre Dame women took first
place overall with 30 points, 100 points lower than its nearest competitor
St. Thomas.
	Also claiming a runner-up finish for Notre Dame was sophomore Luke
Watson (Stillwater, Minn.), who completed the course in 25:04. Senior Ryan
Maxwell (Staten Island, N.Y.) was right behind Watson, finishing third in
25:14, while senior John Dudley (Westwood, Mass.) placed in the top 10 for
the second consecutive meet (sixth - 25:26). Freshman Antonio Lopez
(Albuquerque, N.M.), in his first career home meet, rounded out the top
five Irish harriers in eighth place with a time of 25:35. The Irish team
score of 20 outdistanced Lewis University, which was second with 66 points.
	The Irish began their domination with outstanding performances in
both the men's and women's junior varsity races. The women, led by senior
Cara Motter (Brawley, Calif.) and freshman Kari Eaton (Wadsworth, Ohio),
placed all 10 of their runners in the top 11, while the men's team's two
entries, John Beck (Torrington, Wyo.) and Kevin Brown (San Jose, Calif.),
were first and second respectively.

NOTRE DAME INVITATIONAL PREVIEW: The 44th running of the Notre Dame
Invitational, one of the nation's oldest and largest intercollegiate cross
country races, is scheduled for October 1 at the Notre Dame Golf Course.
The invitational was started by former Irish coach Alex Wilson in 1956,
which makes it one of the oldest cross country invitationals in the nation.
The Notre Dame men have won 13 team titles in the history of the meet and
finished second in 1998.  The Notre Dame women, who started competing in
1987, have two team titles. Senior All American JoAnna Deeter also has two
Notre Dame Invitational individual titles ('96,'98).
	Junior Ryan Shay, who finished second last year, will be looking
for his first Notre Dame Invitational win. The Irish men were edged by
North Carolina State last year and finished second.  Sophomore Luke Watson
finished 19th in last year's race. The women will be out to improve upon
their 1998 fifth-place finish. Senior Patty Rice (Mishawaka, Ind.), who  is
expected to run her first race of 1999, finished as Notre Dame's number two
runner with a 22nd in 1998.

NOTRE DAME INVITATIONAL RECENT HISTORY:
Men's Champions
Year 	Team 		Individual				Time
1995	Notre Dame	Charles Mulinga (Lewis)		24:50.3
1996	Michigan		James Njoroge (Taylor)		23:34
1997	Eastern Michigan	Elly Rono (Southern Indiana)		24:10
1998	North Carolina St.	Julius Mwangi (Butler) 		22:49

Women's Champions
Year	Team			Individual				Time
1995	Wake Forest		Cindy Moreshead (Wake Forest)		17:13.0
1996	Notre Dame		JoAnna Deeter (Notre Dame)       	16:27
1997 	Bowling Green		Lisa Petsche (Edinboro)		17:11
1998	North Carolina St. 		JoAnna Deeter (Notre Dame)
	16:50


1999 Schedule/Results
SEPTEMBER
11		Valparaiso Invitational  	       M 1st
		(Valparaiso, IN) 	       	      W 2nd
17		National Catholic Invitational
					       M 1st
					       W 1st
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 Notre Dame
Golf Course.