After a strong performance at the ACC Conference Championships on Nov. 1, Notre Dame heads to Madison, Wis., today for its most important meet of the season in the Great Lakes Regional.
At the conference championship, the Irish ran toward the front of the pack, with the men finishing third out of 14 teams and the women finishing fourth out of 15.
On the men's side, senior Martin Grady led the way in the eight-kilometer race, finishing fifth overall with a time of 24:13.2. Graduate student Jeremy Rae followed Grady with a time of 24:21.8, good enough for an 11th place finish. Both Grady and Rae earned All-ACC honors, the third time each of them have been given all-conference honors.
For the women, senior Kelly Curran was the top Irish runner in the six-kilometer race, finishing in 16th place with a time of 20:55.8. Junior Hannah Eckstein finished in 20th place with a time of 21:14.1. Both girls earned All-ACC honors as well, which is the second all-conference designation for Curran.
Now Notre Dame sets its eyes on Madison for the Great Lakes Regional. A finish in the top-two would automatically qualify the team for next week's NCAA Championships, while both teams can potentially earn at-large bids even if they don't automatically qualify.
The men and women will each bring eight runners. The men will run Rae, Grady, graduate student J.P. Malette, seniors Walter Schafer and Patrick Lesiewicz, sophomores Tim Ball, Michael Clevenger and Jake Kildoo.
The women will run Curran, Eckstein, juniors Emily Frydrych and Gabby Gonzales, sophomores Danielle Aragon, SydniMeunier, Molly Seidel and Alexa Aragon.
The Irish look to qualify for the NCAA Championships at the Great Lakes Regional meet today at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Madison at noon and 1:15 p.m. central time.
