Harriers look to improve at Notre Dame
With two first-place wins under its belt, the Utah State University cross country team will travel to South Bend, Ind. to run at the Notre Dame Invitational Friday afternoon.
Friday’s meet will be USU’s first since it came home from the UC Riverside Invitational with both the men’s and women’s team finishing in first place.
Even with the first-place finishes, USU Head Coach Gregg Gensel said he is excited to see both teams improve, especially the women.
On the women’s side, Gensel said he is expecting Melanie Marek to break out. Gensel is also looking for Lida Clapier, who finished fourth at UCR, and Audrey Golightly, who finished 10th, to do even better at Notre Dame.
“If the women and men don’t get too overconfident, I think they’ll both do really well,” he said.
For the men’s team, Dusan Hlubocky, recently recovered from an injury, will be making his first appearance this year, along with Steve Prescott, who finished ninth at UCR, and Clark Bryner, who finished 14th, said men’s captain Mike Nielsen.
But possibly the most exciting part of going to Notre Dame is the recognition it brings, Nielsen said.
“Our team is still a secret, people don’t know about us yet,” he said. “This is a chance to show ourselves to the nation.”
Last year at the Notre Dame Invitational, the Aggies finished second behind Notre Dame, which was ranked fifth at the time. This year the Aggies feel like they can do even better, Nielsen said.
-csmo@cc.usu.edu