Cross country
The preseason-ranked No. 16 Notre Dame women’s and No. 8 Notre Dame men’s cross country teams began the 2025 campaign in the Winrow Valparaiso Open, with team victories in each category. In the National Catholic Invitational, senior Daelen Ackley finished in first place in the 8k at 23:48.4, barely edging out teammate sophomore Cameron Todd, who finished second at 23:48.5. Ackley earned the ACC athlete of the week award for his performance to lead the Irish. The women’s team recorded an equally impressive finish, sweeping the first five places. It was led by the electrifying sophomore trio Arianne Olson, Mary Bonner Dalton and Amaya Aramini, all within four seconds at the top.
The Irish hosted the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitation on Oct. 3 and won both the men’s and women’s sides for the first time since 2003. The women’s division was led by Bonner Dalton, who took home first, and Aramini, who finished fourth and improved by 38 seconds. On the men’s side, four runners finished in the top 10, led by senior Ethan Coleman running 22 minutes, 40.6 seconds to finish second. The next race was in Nuttycombe, Wisconsin, and was again led by Bonner Dalton and Aramini, finishing fourth and eighth, respectively, in the 6k. In the men’s 8k, Coleman once again led the Irish, finishing 11th and helping the team finish 10th overall.
Next up was the ACC Championship, where the No. 5 women’s team and No. 16 men’s team raced in Louisville. Bonner Dalton jumped from fifth to second place with an impressive final kick, leading the women with a time of 19: 14.9. Bonner Dalton’s stellar race helped the Irish finish second overall behind No. 2 NC State. The men’s team was led by Ethan Coleman, who came in seventh, running 22: 55.6, helping the Irish finish fourth in the men’s category.
Aramini and Dalton were once again a formidable duo at the top for Notre Dame, taking home first and second place in the Great Lakes Regional. The Irish men also put together a strong team performance, winning the regional title by beating three higher-ranked teams. Coleman, Throop and Sanchez led the Irish in third, ninth and 13th.
In the NCAA Championships, the No. 5-ranked Notre Dame women finished in seventh in the team category, with 278 points. Mary Bonner Dalton finished 10th overall with a personal-record time of 18:58.0, and Amaya Aramini posted a personal-record time of 19:12.8 for 25th. Both runners’ performances were enough to clinch them All-American honors. On the men’s side, the No. 13 Irish placed 13th as a team, with a score of 459. Ethan Coleman set a personal record in the 10K, running 28:58.8 for 28th overall. Steury, Sanchez and Todd were next for the Irish, all finishing under 30 minutes.
Head coach Matt Sparks earned his fifth consecutive Great Lakes Regional women’s coach of the year, leading the Irish to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA championship and the regional title. He said, “Periodization is what it’s all about to get each athlete ready at the appropriate time. We had some athletes finish their season in October. And Mary Bonner Dalton was our top NCAA finisher this year, and that race took her all the way to November.”
Track and field
In track and field, the Irish began the indoor season at the University of Michigan’s Simmons-Harvey Invitational. Senior Titus Bretzke ran a personal record 1:19.2 in the 600-meter, clinching the overall victory. Junior jumper Gabriella Zeller also posted a distance of 12.08 meters in the triple jump for third overall. The highlights of the Notre Dame invitational were three top-10 Irish performances. Sophomore Isabel Allori ran a 4:34.7 in the mile, while senior Jillian Stafford threw 17.13 meters in the women’s weight throw. Freshman Rosie Mucharsky closed out the meet with an 800-meter time of 2:06.3.
In the Meyo Invite, the Irish set a new program record in the women’s 800m, where junior runner Gretchen Farley ran a 2:0 4.77. She is the first Notre Dame woman to break the 2:05 barrier in the 800. Additionally, Allori won the 1-mile championship with a 4: 34.1, followed by Mucharsky in second at 4:34.49. The next weekend, senior Ben Pable broke the school record in the men’s weight throw at Arkansas. His distance of 21.94m eclipsed the previous record of 21.37m in 2019.
Over Valentine’s Day weekend, senior Reese Sanders took first place overall in the women’s 400-meter race, running 55.61 seconds. Sanders followed up on her performance, helping the Irish 4x400-meter relay secure the top time. In the final regular season event at the Alex Wilson Invitational, Bonner Dalton led the Irish, running a personal best mile at 4:38.45 in the home Loftus Sports Center. Other impressive runners included the men’s distance medley relay team of senior Matthew Smith, junior Jack Ahart, senior Reed Cherry and freshman Benji Anderson, who ran a 9:24.6 time that placed it among the nation’s top 10 medley finishes.
In the ACC Championships, senior Lauren Huber placed second in the pentathlon, earning First Team All-ACC honors. In women’s distance, Bonner Dalton and Aramini both captured All-ACC honors on Thursday, running 15:48.14 and 15:48.54, respectively, for second and fourth overall. Pable set a school record in the weight throw at 22.94 meters. Smith later set a Notre Dame indoor record in the 800m, running 1:47.42 and bringing home First Team All-ACC honors. Pable and Bonner Dalton both competed in the NCAA Championships for the Irish. Pable finished 10th in the weight throw at 21.98 meters, while Bonner Dalton finished 11th in the women’s 5,000-meter run, running 15:39.86. While the outdoor season is still in progress, the Irish have already had some impressive early results. In the Raleigh Relays, senior Sophie Novak set a program record with a time of 4:08.90 in the 1,500-meter run. Stafford once again finished first in the women’s hammer throw at 55.94 meters. The team looks to finish the season strong and will continue racing and competing outdoors until the middle of June.
