Starting Off the Year Strong
The Notre Dame Running Club was so excited to begin another year. We started the year with record growth, welcoming all new members on both the competitive and non-competitive levels. One of our goals is to welcome runners of all abilities which we strive to do every day. If you are a Notre Dame student who loves running you are welcome to join us at any time. New members join throughout the year. Now let's get into the race recaps.
The National Catholic Invitational - Our First Ever Home Meet
Our first cross country meet of the year was our first ever home meet. Both the men and women competed as unattached runners against NCAA competition at Notre Dame on September 16th. The running club is so grateful for Notre Dame Cross Country to allow us to run at in home meets. It was a great opportunity for our runners to run against DI-DIII competition. When the scores were tallied, with the Running Club team score included, the women placed 12th out of 17 and the men placed 7th out of 15. We also had 29 runners race, the most in club history!
Results
Little Tens Invitational - 22 Runners 22 PRs
Our next race of the season was the Little Tens Invitational at the University of Michigan on September 24th. This was a great opportunity to run against the top clubs in the region during the regular season. Women were 2nd and men were 3rd. It was a fast course that was true to distance and all 22 runners PRed. The women received the team runner-up trophy and several individuals received top ten awards.
Individual Top 10:
Women: Sarah Mirkin - 6th, Emily Arenas - 7th, Karson Girvin - 8th, Claire Reid - 9th, and Lucy Noris - 10th
Men: Pieter Heesters - 10th
Club Records:
Sarah Mirkin - 2nd fastest 6km in club history
Emily Arenas - 3rd fastest 6km in club history
Pieter Heesters - 2nd fastest 8km in club history
Joe Piane Invitational - Our Top Runners Race at Notre DameOur top runners had the opportunity to compete against the top Division I runners from across the country at the Joe Piane Invitational here at Notre Dame. The running club is appreciative of the Notre Dame Cross Country staff for allowing us to run at another Division I home meet.
Bethel Invitational - First Ever Cross Country Win
The Notre Dame Running Club went back to the Bethel Invitational this year and were stronger than ever. Thanks to the team creating a Direct Athletics account, the team can now officially score in NCAA and NAIA meets. At Bethel, women were 1st, winning in a landslide against NAIA competition, and men were 8th. This was the first ever cross country win for the Notre Dame Running Club.
Individual Top 15:
Women: Emily Arenas - 1st, Sarah Mirkin - 2nd, Laura Arenth - 4th, Karson Girvin - 5th, Gracie Wetli - 10th, Lucy Noris - 11th
Men: Ryan Fryer - 8th
NIRCA Regionals - The Stepping Stone to Nationals
The Running Club went to the NIRCA Great Lakes Regionals on October 22nd and punched their ticket to Nationals. The women placed 2nd and the men placed 5th as predicted, and it was the highest regional finish for both men and women in club history (regional predictions
here). The team performed well despite the course being a tenth of a mile long and the hot conditions. This was the second time that both the women and men qualified for NIRCA Cross Country Nationals, the other being 2014 (when excluding auto-qualifying due to Covid). The teams excitement was carried into Nationals in Richmond, Virginia.
Individual Awards:
Women Top 10: Shea Aquilano - 2nd, Emily Arenas - 3rd, Sarah Mirkin - 6th, Karson Girvin - 9th
Women Top 20: Claire Reid - 16th, Gracie Wetli - 20th
Men Top 10: Max Petrosky - 5th
Men Top 20: Sean Uhran - 12th
NIRCA Nationals - Another Record Breaking Performance
We were so excited to go to Nationals in Richmond, Virginia. Entering Nationals the women were ranked 3rd and men were 14th (national predictions
here). Prior to this year, Notre Dame's best performance at Nationals was 5th for women in 2021 and 16th for men back in 2014. At Nationals we performed above expectations, the women were 3rd and the men were 7th. This was the first time the women podiumed at cross country Nationals and the first time that the men beat arch-rival University of Michigan in a cross country meet! What a great way to finish a cross country season!
P.S. The course was a tenth of a mile long and it was another hot day (Does this sound like regionals).
All Americans:
Women 1st Team All American: Shea Aquilano - 3rd, Emily Arenas - 8th
Women 2nd Team All American: Karson Girvin - 21st
Men 1st Team All American: Max Petrosky - 13th
Cross Country Season Recap
This past cross country season was a record breaking season on every level. We had over a 75% growth rate in the number of club cross country results compared to last year (62 in 2021 and 109 in 2022). We also became eligible to officially score in NCAA and NAIA meets. Thank to the Fighting Irish women, we won our first ever cross country race at the Bethel Invitational. We had fun on our first ever team cross-country road trip to Nationals in Richmond, Virginia. At Nationals we had our highest team finish. Most importantly, we had fun and are continuing to build a great running community. You can also check out our brand new database here, which was created this past summer and contains all of Running Club Results going back to 2014.
Blue Gold Invitational - 3 Runners 3 Club Records
Our runners had the unique opportunity to compete here at the University of Notre Dame Blue and Gold Invitational here on campus. Given that it was less than three weeks after NIRCA Cross Country Nationals most of our distance runners were still resting up after the big race. But this was a great opportunity for our top sprinters to start the season, and they came out in full force setting 3 indoor track club records. This was a great experience for our club runners to race against NCAA Division I competition. It has been a privilege getting to work with the Notre Dame Cross Country and Track & Field staff on getting our top runners officially entered into Division I meets. We are excited that we have the opportunity to continue to do this in the future.
Club Records:
60m Indoor Hurdles: Jack Schafer - 9.64
200m Dash: Joe Lohman - 25.16
800m Run: Pieter Heesters - 2:02.47
Looking Forward - To A Bright Future
We are excited to announce our official club schedule for the spring! We will have two indoor meets and one regular season outdoor meet. Our spring season will culminate with NIRCA Track & Field and Half Marathon Nationals in April!
If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us anytime at runclub@nd.edu
We look forward to sharing with you future meet recaps as we continue to compete throughout the spring.
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