Cross Country Teams Head to Southern Neighbor for Joe Piane Invitational

SOUTH BEND, IND. – Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams will be back in action Friday at the Joe Piane Invitational 5K, running with national competition at the prestigious race hosted by Great Lakes region foe Notre Dame at the Burke Golf Course. 

The men are coming off two week’s rest after starting the season with two consecutive team wins to start the season. It is the first time the men have accomplished the feat since also starting the 2019 season with consecutive wins. 

The women will be lining up in what will be their fourth meet of the season in as many weeks. Last time out on Saturday, Sept. 23, the Spartans placed seventh in their first higher-level competition of the season in a field of several nationally-ranked teams. During the week the women were ranked by the U.S. Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association as the second-best team in the Great Lakes Region and nation’s No. 14 through week two of rankings, behind just the Joe Piane hosts and national No. 4 Notre Dame. The men were ranked fifth in the region.

The last time the teams competed in a 5K race was the season-opneing Jeff Drenth Memorial on Sept. 1 in Shepherd, Michigan, at which the men finished first and the women third.  

Live results will be displayed via PrimeTime Timing.