Sept. 30, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State men's and women's cross country teams will head to South Bend, Ind., for the 54th running of the Notre Dame Invitational, at the Notre Dame Golf Course. The five-race meet will kick-off with the Gold Division women's 5K and men's five-mile races at 1 p.m. and 1:45 p.m. CST, respectively. The Blue Division races will begin with the women's 5K at 3:15 p.m. and the men's five-mile race at 4 p.m.
A total of 44 men's and women's teams are scheduled to participate in the Blue Division of the Notre Dame Invitational, 18 of which are currently ranked in the top-30 of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Men's and Women's Polls.
"This will be the most competitive meet in the country on both the men's and women's side up until the Pre-National meet in a couple of weeks," said head coach Jeff Bovee. "The women's field is loaded with the No. 1, 3 and 5 teams in the country. The men's side is similar with quite a few of the top-30 ranked teams in the nation. We are looking to gain experience and run against the best in the country at the invitational. It is an opportunity to see where we are and where we want to be."
The invitational is broken down into two divisions-the top-tier Blue Division and the second-tier Gold Division. The ISU men's and women's teams will both be competing in the Blue Division. It will be the first time the women's team competes in the Blue Division.
The Notre Dame Invitational is one of the nation's oldest and largest intercollegiate cross country meets. It was started in 1956 and has been run continuously ever since. The men's race originally began as a four-mile event before being extended to five miles in 1968, with the 5K women's race being added in 1987.
Illinois State will compete against Missouri Valley Conference rivals Bradley in the women's event, while the men's team will compete against Southern Illinois and Indiana State. In the Gold Division, representing the MVC will be Creighton, Indiana State and Southern Illinois on the women's side and Creighton on the men's side.
"This meet will be an opportunity to see what the best way is for us to race," said Bovee. "We need to take chances and see what can happen at Notre Dame."
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