Michigan Places Fourth at Nationals

Michigan finished fourth (232 points) at the NCAA Championships to pace the Great Lakes Region schools. They were followed by Notre Dame (10th, 352), Michigan State (17th, 435), Marquette (22nd, 509), Wisconsin (26th, 528), and Indiana (27th, 571).

Michelle Carson from Michigan State was the top individual finisher from the region. She placed 12th in 20:13. Also earning All American honors by their performances were Rebecca Walter (Michigan), Jesse Allen-Young (Michigan), Lauren King (Notre Dame), Molly Huddle (Notre Dame), Mindy Peterson (Indiana), and Jessica Crowder (Indiana State).

NCAA Championships Results
Team | Individual

***

Connelly and Huddle Voted Region Coach and Runner of the Year

Notre Dame won the team title at the Great Lakes Regional Championships and Molly Huddle was the individual champion so it should come as no surprise that Tim Connelly was voted Coach of the Year and Huddle was voted Runner of the Year by the region's coaches.

Connelly coached the Irish to four team victories in 2003, including the Great Lakes Regional championship and the BIG EAST championship. In addition, they finished third in the Pre-National Purple race. Notre Dame's top five runners at the regional meet, Molly Huddle (1st), Lauren King (7th), Kerry Meagher (8th), Megan Johnson (12th), and Stephanie Madia (15th) were named to the All Region team. Notre Dame goes into the NCAA Championships ranked fourth in the country. In 2002 they placed third in the NCAA meet.

Huddle won the Great Lakes Regional Championships (20:14.7) and helped her Notre Dame team to its second consecutive team title. Earlier in the seaon she captured the prestigious Notre Dame Invitational, running 17:12 for 5km. She placed 10th in the Pre-Nationals Purple race (20:39.7) and third at the BIG EAST Championships (20:47). She was undefeated against competitors from the Great Lakes Region. In 2002 Huddle finished sixth in the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

***