Cross Country
Cross Country To Face 17 Ranked Teams at the Notre Dame Invitational

Cougars look to continue strong showing after claiming LSU Tiger XC Festival title

Sophomore Stephanie Aldea
 
Sophomore Stephanie Aldea
  
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Oct. 1, 2009

HOUSTON - The University of Houston cross country team travels to Indiana to compete against 17 nationally ranked opponents in the Notre Dame Invitational at the nine-hole Notre Dame Golf Course on Friday, Oct. 2.

Among the schools receiving national accolades, as voted by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, are (on the men's side) No. 11 Tulsa, No. 15 Providence, No. 20 Butler, No. 22 Washington, No. 24 New Mexico, No. 28 Notre Dame and No. 30 Princeton, and (on the women's side) No. 1 Washington, No. 3 Florida State, No. 6 Princeton, No. 12 Providence, No. 13 Arizona State, No. 15 Florida, No. 22 Penn State, No. 24 Notre Dame, No. 25 New Mexico and No. 27 Rice.

"This is one of the best meets in the nation to compete in," head coach Ryan Turner said. "In fact, it's probably a deeper and tougher meet then our Conference and Regional championship meets."

Both the men and women's teams are split into two divisions - the Gold and the Blue Division. The UH men's squad, who will be competing the Gold Division, run first at 1:45 p.m. Competing in the Blue Division, against 10 ranked teams, the women's team race at 3:15 p.m.

"The four teams who beat our women at conference last year (SMU, Rice, Tulsa and UAB) will all run at Notre Dame," Turner said. "Those teams are coached well and will be ready to run, we have to be ready to compete tough right along with them."

This is the northern most meet for Houston this season and Turner is anxious to see how the Cougars adapt to the weather.

"It'll be interesting to see how we adapt to a milder climate," Turner said. "In my opinion, training in the heat and humidity of Houston has its advantages, especially when racing in cooler climates."

Houston is coming off a successful trip to Baton Rouge, La., where both the men and women's teams claimed first-place victories at the LSU Tiger XC Festival. Because of their performance, the men's team climbed the ranking in the USTFCCCA polls this week, making a five-place improvement to No. 9 in the South Central Region. The women's squad remained at No. 10, the same spot they debuted at in September.

 

 

Sophomore Stephanie Aldea was the individual medalist, finishing first, in the women's race with a time of 19:01. Turner has high hopes for the Windsor, Ontario native as she prepares for the highly competitive field.

"Qualifying for nationals last year was great for Stephanie, but she lacked the 'Big Meet Experience' because we didn't have a national caliber meet on our schedule," Turner said. "This year if she's fortunate enough to qualify for nationals again, she'll be better prepared for the opportunity."

Next up for the Cougars, the team travels to Bloomington, Ind., on Oct. 17 for the Sam Bell Invitational.

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