This past Friday, Notre Dame cross country hosted the annual Joe Piane Invitational at Burke Golf Course. The event began in 1956 under the leadership of head coach Alex Wilson was renamed in 2015 to honor the retirement of longtime coach Joe Piane. This year’s rendition of the meet brought 18 teams to compete in both the men’s and women’s races.
In the Irish’s third meet of the season, the men and women once again came away victorious, sweeping the field for the first time since 2003. The men captured first place in the 8k with a team score of 40 points, followed by Boise State with 71 points and Wyoming with 125 points. The Irish women topped the field in the 5k with a team score of 29 points, followed by South Carolina with 47 points and Boise State with 108 points.
In the men’s race, Irish runners claimed four of the top eight finishing positions to help propel the Irish to victory. Junior Ethan Coleman led the way for Notre Dame, finishing second with a time of 22:40.6. This time marks a personal record for Coleman, shaving almost nine seconds off his previous best time. Junior Izaiah Steury was next to cross the finish line for Notre Dame, finishing fifth in a time of 22:53.7. Senior Dylan Throop and junior Daelen Ackley rounded out the top eight, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively, with times just under 23 minutes. Cincinnati’s Nickson Kogei won the race, narrowly beating out Coleman with a time of 22:39.4.
The women’s 5k race was headlined by Notre Dame sophomore Mary Bonner Dalton, who claimed the individual title with a time of 15:53.1. Bonner’s time was the fastest time ever run in the invitational’s history by a margin of four seconds. Bonner’s victory also marked the first time since 2016 that an Irish woman won the individual title.
The Irish had four other women place inside the top 10 alongside Bonner. Freshman Amaya Aramini just missed the podium, finishing fourth in a personal best time of 16:01.3. Three Irish runners finished consecutively in the No. 7, 8 and 9 positions, as junior Gretchen Farley finished seventh in 16:10.6, senior Siona Chisholm finished eighth in 16:12.9 and sophomore Arianne Olson finished ninth in a time of 16:13.5.
The week three U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association rankings see the Irish men ranked No. 9 in the nation and No. 2 in the Great Lakes Region. The women’s team comes in at No. 10 nationally and No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region.
The men’s and women’s teams will return to action on Oct. 17 at Wisconsin’s Nuttycombe Invitational and the Bradley Pink Classic.
