Oct. 1, 2008
After its third-consecutive win of the season, the undefeated Miami University men's cross country team heads to Notre Dame, Ind. on Friday to compete in the Notre Dame Invitational.
At Notre Dame, Miami will face seven teams that are currently ranked in the top-30 nationally. The lineup includes eighth-ranked Michigan, 10th-ranked Georgetown, 15th-ranked New Mexico, 18th-ranked Providence, 20th- ranked host Notre Dame and 24th- ranked Florida State.
"This meet gives us an opportunity to go head to head with a number of nationally-ranked teams at the same time and see just how good our squad is," said Miami head coach Warren Mandrell. "I believe that we have a national-level team this year and the Notre Dame Invitational will provide the opportunity to showcase the program."
The RedHawks' strong start to the season has earned them both regional and national recognition. The team is currently ranked fourth in the Great Lakes region, and has received three votes in the USTFCCCA Men's Division I Cross Country National Poll, making them 36th in the nation.
Commenting on his squads performance thus far, Mandrell explained, "So far we have competed very well, with the guys running tough against some top flight competition, but this will probably be the best meet in the country so far this fall. It will give us a chance to pick up some wins against out-of-region teams that may be critical for NCAA at-large selection. "
"On the individual level, the Notre Dame Invitational will also allow Pat Sovacool to run with some of the nation's top runners and will be a great preparation for the postseason championships.
Sovacool won the University of Tennessee Invitational in the RedHawks last outing, leading the RedHawk to a win over Tennessee and Georgia Tech, among others. The senior took the race with a time of 24:54.22 in the 8K competition. He has been the individual champion of each of Miami's competitions this season.
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Junior Kevin Silver was in the top-5 for the third-straight race as he finished fourth at Tennessee with a time of 25:08.96. Close behind in seventh, senior Brad Untrauer finished in 25:25.28.
Chris Dennison, Adam Martin, Ryan Dezso and Paul Krebs also finished in the top-20 for the RedHawks with times of 25:44.15, 25:49.68, 25:52.07 and 25:55.87, respectively.
The gun sounds on the Notre Dame Invitational at 5 p.m. CT.
After the meet at Notre Dame, the next stop for the RedHawks will be the Pre-NCAA Invitational held in Terre Haute, Ind. at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19.
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