NOTRE DAME, Ind.- The Ave Maria University cross country teams ran at the National Catholic Invitational on Friday evening, an annual event held on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. The competition featured over a dozen of the nation's top Catholic university cross country programs. The Gyrenes were one of only three NAIA programs to run in the race, which featured multiple NCAA Division I programs.
Mary Goetz was Ave Maria's top female runner in a field of more than 150, finishing in the top half of the field. The senior completed the 5k Notre Dame course in 20:15.3. She was the lone Ave Maria runner to place among the top 100 runners, placing 66th among the 181 runners that started the race. Goetz continued her streak of being Ave Maria's top runner, as she has finished first among Gyrenes in every race of her collegiate career.
Lily Burke finished second in the Ave Maria contingent, crossing the finish line in 21:53.8. Following Burke was fellow freshman Abigail Rall, who ran the Notre Dame course in 22:21.7. Next across the finish line for the Gyrenes was Grace McKillip at 23:44.8. Rounding out Ave Maria's team score on Friday was Lucia Zvonar, who finished moments after McKillip at 23:44.8. AMU's team score on the day was enough to top Mercyhurst, while host Notre Dame cruised to the team title.
On the men's side, the Gyrenes had their third different top finisher in as many weeks. Sophomore and reigning First Team All-Sun Conference selection Joseph Perreault was the first AMU runner across the line at Notre Dame, crossing the finish line at 27:55.9. Perreault was Ave Maria's lone runner to break the 28-minute mark, which earned him Ave Maria's best individual finish of the day at 59th in a field of 164.
Ave Maria's last two top finishers came in behind Perreault. Adam Paga finished in the top half of the field with a time of 28:22.6, while Jackson Pope ran the Fighting Irish's 8k course in 29:04.2. Thomas Walter was the number four AMU finisher at 30:18.7, while Erik Minter rounded out the Gyrene team score by recording a time of 30:49.0. As in the women's race, Notre Dame was the overall champion, thanks to boasting seven of the top eight finishers.
After three races away from home, the Gyrenes will get to run on their home course next weekend. The Ave Maria Invitational, which is beng held for the second year in a row, will be run at North Park in Ave Maria. The runners will kick off the action at 7:30 a.m. next Saturday morning.
