Online only: Youthful squad gains valuable experience at Notre Dame Invitational
When the women's cross country team had their first practice in August with 11 new runners, no one predicted that six of them would be among the team's top nine. However, after last week's redshirting of upperclassmen Britany Williams, Becky Wade, Nicole Mericle and Allison Pye, Head Coach Jim Bevan turned to the numerous fresh faces to step up. Bevan tested the young runners immediately, running five freshmen, three sophomores and one senior at last weekend's Notre Dame Invitational. Not only was the meet highly attended, with 22 schools competing, but it also boasted the most elite competition in the nation last weekend. Ten ranked schools were in the field, including top-ranked University of Washington, No. 5 Princeton University and No. 9 University of Florida.