Notre Dame cross country got its 2022 season underway on Friday, competing in the Winrow-Valparaiso Invite just 58.7 miles west of South Bend. The Fighting Irish are no strangers to the Valpo course, having opened the season there all but twice in the 21st century (2002 and 2020). Both the men’s and women’s teams – coming off top-10 finishes at the 2021 NCAA Championships – flexed their muscles with a sweep of this year’s invite, even with a host of new names leading the charge.
On the men’s side, a seventh consecutive Winrow-Valparaiso title may be just another feather in the cap. But Friday’s triumph is especially relevant to the program’s development. Much of Notre Dame’s success this fall will hinge upon its ability to replace the star-powered core of Dylan Jacobs, Danny Kilrea, and Yares Nuguse; the performance of ND’s highly-touted recruiting class provided a strong first step toward accomplishing that. Freshman Izaiah Steury, an Indiana native, took home 1st place with a time of 17:52.3 in the six-kilometer race.
Nine more Domers followed in a pack to paint the top ten blue and gold – junior Carter Cheeseman (17:52.9), sophomore Robbie Cozean (17:59.3), freshman Ethan Coleman (17:59.6), junior Jake Renfree (18:06.3), freshman Ryan Schumacher (18:07.3), freshman Gabe Hinrichs (18:11.8), freshman Daelen Ackley (18:22.6), and junior Henry Chapman (18:29.3). Chapman also competed in last season’s invite, and his 2022 time would have actually won what was a significantly slower race in 2021. The men’s team was rounded out by freshman Luke Schildmeyer, who checked in at 18:44.2 to claim 12th place as the Irish cleared Purdue by a whopping 49 points.
The women’s team, returning several key pieces from a late-blooming 2021 team, reclaimed the invite crown from the Boilermakers after a second-place result last September. Graduate student Katie Ryan paced the squad with an 18:10.7 in the five-kilometer race, crossing the finish line behind only Makayla Perez of Western Michigan.
Behind her, a collection of Fighting Irish runners populated the top 20. Freshman Sophie Novak (3rd, 18:16.3), freshman Charlotte Turesson (5th, 18:22.0), freshman Molly Grant (7th, 18:39.0), freshman Elizabeth Schmidt (18:44.3), senior Emily Eberhart (11th, 19:05.0), freshman Paige Grant (14th, 19:17.8), sophomore Isalina Coleman (15th, 19:28.3), and junior Catherine Coffey (19th, 19:53.6) delivered Notre Dame it’s third women’s victory in the last four meets at Valparaiso.
The Irish topped Purdue by 19 points and Western Michigan by 26 to secure a golden start to 2022. Ryan, Eberhart, and Coffey all ran there last year too when the event was comparatively faster for the women (this year’s 2nd place time would have placed 9th at the 2021 invite).
After Friday’s meet, Notre Dame cross country is already a quarter of the way through its regular season schedule. Next up are two home contests – the National Catholic Invite on September 16, and the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite on September 30 – before a trip to Madison for the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invite on October 14.