Notre Dame XC InvitationalOct 2, 2015 by Lincoln Shryack
Ryen Frazier Surprises, New Mexico Dominates Notre Dame Invite
Ryen Frazier Surprises, New Mexico Dominates Notre Dame Invite
RESULTS
Ryen Frazier Is No Ordinary Freshman, #1 New Mexico Dominates
N.C. State freshman Ryen Frazier scored the biggest victory of her young collegiate career on Friday at the Notre Dame Invitational, winning the 5K race in 16:22.9 over a field that included three of the top ten ranked women in the country.
Frazier and the field had to endure gusty conditions (15-20 mph) in South Bend, but that didn’t prevent the 4:38 miler from sprinting away from several of the NCAA’s most experienced runners. The frosh beat runner-up Courtney Frerichs of New Mexico, who was making her Lobo debut after transferring from UMKC, by five seconds, as the All-American was second in 16:27.0. Frerichs was 13th at NCAA XC last fall.
Notre Dame senior Molly Seidel was third in 16:28.3, followed by New Mexico’s Rhona Auckland in 16:28.9. Seidel is the reigning NCAA 10K champion, while Auckland, making her NCAA debut, was 19th at the World Cross Country Championships in March.
We figured Frazier would compete with these ladies on Friday, but beat them? Not many could have seen that coming. The freshman did run a 16:06 5K PR two weeks ago at the adidas XC Challenge that broke Juliet Bottorff's course record by 22-seconds, but conventional wisdom suggests that newcomers ultimately take their lumps against athletes with the experience advantage. Not the case today.
Ironically, the woman whose course record Frazier beat two weeks ago, Bottorff, went on to win the Notre Dame Invitational in her next outing as well back in 2013.
We figured Frazier would compete with these ladies on Friday, but beat them? Not many could have seen that coming. The freshman did run a 16:06 5K PR two weeks ago at the adidas XC Challenge that broke Juliet Bottorff's course record by 22-seconds, but conventional wisdom suggests that newcomers ultimately take their lumps against athletes with the experience advantage. Not the case today.
Video of @ryenmfrazier at the finish. pic.twitter.com/GysjDkbr6r
— Wolfpack XC (@PackXC) October 2, 2015
Ironically, the woman whose course record Frazier beat two weeks ago, Bottorff, went on to win the Notre Dame Invitational in her next outing as well back in 2013.
Auckland, Frerichs, and Seidel entered Friday’s race ranked 1st, 3rd, and 8th, respectively, but the 12th-ranked Frazier managed to beat them all in a race that proves she cannot be counted out of the individual title hunt at NCAAs.
Listen to Ryen Frazier talk about her victory:
The #1 New Mexico Lady Lobos passed their first test in their pursuit of an NCAA title in November, as Joe Franklin’s team easily won the team competition with 29 points. Behind Frerichs and Auckland, All-Americans Alice Wright and Calli Thackery were 5th and 6th, respectively, in 16:29.5 and 16:40.6. Harvard transfer Molly Renfer was 12th for the Lobos in 16:52.7 to complete the scoring.
Led by Frazier, N.C. State was 2nd with 74 points, followed by Notre Dame in a distant 3rd with 143 points.
Rounding out the top eight was Utah sophomore Sarah Feeny (7th, 16:44.0) and Notre Dame freshman Anna Rohrer (8th, 16:46.8).
Rohrer had never lost to Frazier in cross country before Friday, which isn’t a knock on the Irish frosh, but instead shows just how impressive Frazier’s run at Notre Dame was. The last time the pair met on the XC course, Rohrer beat Frazier by 35-seconds, but now the script has been completely flipped.
Right now, there’s little doubt who the best freshman in the nation is.
We'll have more updates from Notre Dame shortly, including interviews and archived races.
Anthony Rotich Leads UTEP To Victory In Men's Race
It was a much tighter finish in the men’s 8K in both the individual and team races, as UTEP senior Anthony Rotich narrowly beat Purdue senior Matt McClintock and UTEP teammate Jonah Koech. Rotich would ultimately win in 23:49.1, with McClintock and Koech finishing 2nd and 3rd in matching 23:49.5 times.
For Rotich, who won his third straight NCAA steeple title this past spring, the victory was his second career Notre Dame Invite win as he was the champion in South Bend back in 2013.
The men's race from the 2015 Notre Dame Invite:
The men's race from the 2015 Notre Dame Invite:
Led by Rotich’s W, the #20 UTEP Miners scored a somewhat surprising team victory over a slew of ranked teams on Friday. UTEP got a brilliant performance from the freshman Koech, who was third today in just his third collegiate race. The Kenyan 18-year-old is known for his mid-distance prowess, as he owns a 1:46 800m PR that he set back in February in Nairobi. His finish today suggests that he’s not just a one trick pony, especially in a year when NCAAs will be run on a flat, fast course in Louisville. Remember the name.
The Miners won with 89 points, beating a surprising N.C. State squad that was second with 97 points.
The #30 Wolfpack were led by Washington transfer Meron Simon, who was 4th today in 23:53.8. It’s an encouraging race for the senior in his first outing as a member of N.C. State considering that he was 154th at NCAAs last fall. N.C. State was incredibly strong through their first four finishers today, as they all were in the top-13, but they were ultimately doomed by their 5th man being all the way back in 63rd place. If this team can somehow work that kink out, they could be dangerous.
The Miners and ‘Pack likely gained big points towards NCAA qualification today, as they each beat previously ranked Colorado State (#24, 3rd today) and Southern Utah (#19, 4th today). NC State failed to qualify for NCAAs last fall, so today's race was especially important for them as they compete in the tough Southeast regional.
We'll have more updates from Notre Dame shortly, including interviews and archived races.