Spartans Sixth At Notre Dame Invitational

Oct. 1, 2005

South Bend, Ind. - The Michigan State women's cross country team picked up a sixth place finish, in its first scored meet of the season, at the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, Sept. 30. The Spartans were led by junior Michelle Rafferty (Carmel, Ind.), who completed the 6k course in 17:30. Classmate Katie Kelly (Port Austin, Mich.) also ran a strong race, finishing 35^th with a time of 17:44.

"Rafferty showed us how to compete and how to stay with a race even when the going gets tough," said head coach Rita Arndt-Molis. "She is just getting going and I'm excited about the prospects of her and Katie Kelly leading this team for the next two years."

Michigan won the meet with 77. Illinois (82) finished second, while host Notre Dame (91) was third. Wake Forest (151), Arkansas (205) and Michigan State (230) rounded out the top six.

The Spartans, ranked ninth heading into the meet, got clutch runs across the board. Rafferty shaved 11 seconds off her time at last season's Notre Dame Invitational to improve her finish by 22 spots. Senior Brittany Ballard (Midland, Mich.) finished 55th, a 50 place improvement from last season, and ran a sub-18 minute 5K for the first time in her career. Sophomore Lisa Senakiewich (Davison, Mich.) was 61st, while freshman Michelle Mercer (Muskegon, Mich.) placed 65^th to round out the Spartans' five scorers. Michigan State's Emily Adama clocked in at 18:09, a new personal best, while improving her time from last year's race on the same course by more than a minute.

"We got pushed around a lot and really had to fight for position," Arndt-Molis said. "We fought hard; that attitude of 'never say die' will help them to a great race when those elements don't come into play. As a team, we focus on running hard in the final stages of the race and getting into position."

The Green and White returns to action in two weeks, when they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 15, to take part in the Pre-NCAA Meet on the campus of Indiana State University.

2005 NOTRE DAME CROSS COUNTRY INVITATIONAL

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WOMEN TEAM RESULTS - BLUE
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1. MICHIGAN
3 13 14 20 27 (32) (56) = 77
2. ILLINOIS
5 7 21 23 26 (46) (76) = 82
3. NOTRE DAME
1 2 9 11 68 (86)(113) = 91
4. WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
6 31 35 36 43 (45)(117) = 151
5. ARKANSAS
24 30 42 52 57 (63) (69) = 205
6. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
18 34 54 60 64 (75)(109) = 230
7. BUTLER
4 17 38 80 94 (108)(115) = 233
8. WISCONSIN
16 33 44 61 99 (105)(116) = 253
9. MISSOURI
10 28 65 78 90 (98)(130) = 271
10. VANDERBILT
22 41 48 85 104 (136)(144) = 300
11. COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
29 50 62 74 93 (95) (96) = 308
12. FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
8 58 66 87 102 (111)(127) = 321
13. RICE UNIVERSITY
15 40 83 84 112 (135)(138) = 334
14. UTAH SATE
19 55 82 91 97 (128)(133) = 344
15. KENTUCKY
25 70 73 81 121 (160)(166) = 370
16. INDIANA UNIV.
37 71 72 89 140 (150)(157) = 409
17. ARIZONA
39 47 106 118 123 (124)(145) = 433
18. AKRON
12 51 129 159 161 (162)(167) = 512
19. PURDUE
49 79 114 125 148 (156)(158) = 515
20. UAB
59 101 110 119 141 (165)(168) = 530
21. GEORGIA TECH
88 100 103 131 137 (147)(151) = 559
22. FLORIDA
77 92 120 132 139 (146)(154) = 560
23. MIAMI (OHIO)
67 107 126 142 152 (163)(164) = 594
24. MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY
53 122 134 143 149 (153)(155) = 601