Printer-Friendly Format     E-mail this article     Head coach Joe Piane led the men's team to it's 12th-consecutive top five BIG EAST finish.

Patrick Smyth, Jake Watson and Lindsey Ferguson each earned all-BIG EAST honors.

Oct. 27, 2007

Men's Results | Women's Results

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Notre Dame men's cross country team finished fourth, while the women placed sixth at the 2007 BIG EAST Championship meet Saturday morning at the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.

The 13th-ranked men's team finished with 93 points, 38 points from the BIG EAST Champion, Louisville. The men have now finished in the top five in all 12 years of BIG EAST competition. The Irish women finished with 142 points, behind West Virginia who took the team title with 77 points.

Once again, leading the Irish men was Patrick Smyth (Salt Lake City, UT/Judge Memorial). Smyth, who has led the team all season, finished third overall with a time of 23:28.50. Following closely behind was teammate Jake Watson (Stillwater, MN/Stillwater Area) who finished 12th with a time of 24:05.65. Both earned all-BIG EAST honors. Max Smith of Providence won the men's individual title with a course record time of 23:29.55.

Coming in first on the women's side of the competition for the Irish was sophomore Lindsey Ferguson (Greenfield Center, NY/Saratoga Springs). Ferguson had a 14th-place finish with a time of 21:13.35 to earn all-BIG EAST honors, the first of her cross country career. Freshman Marissa Treece (Maple City, MI/Glen Lake) was next for Notre Dame, finishing 26th with a time of 21:35.15. Melissa Grelli of Georgetown was the individual crown winner with a time of 20:05.55, also setting a course record.

The Notre Dame men's and women's teams will return to action on Nov. 10 when they travel to Bloomington, Ind., for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional cross country meet. The top two teams will receive automatic berths to the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championship. The Irish men have placed in the top two the past three seasons.