"My hat goes off to the Notre Dame administration for hosting this weekend," said UofL head coach Dale Cowper. "Our students and staff were excited to open the season and we got the opportunity to see exactly where each squad stacks up against a team that in clearly in contention for ACC and NCAA trophies later in the year."
On the women's side, the Irish, who were picked to finish third in the ACC preseason coaches' poll, won 15-46 in the 5K race. Senior Bailey Beery paced Louisville, finishing seventh with a time of 17:16.07 while redshirt junior Purity Sanga followed in eighth place, clocking in at 17:22.02. Juniors Emma Bryant (18:02.05) and Ivine Chemutai (18:17.69) finished 14th and 15th respectively.
"Bailey led the way for our women's squad," said Cowper. "She shows that continuous dedication and effort in the off season really pay off when students get the opportunity to line up competitively." Shadrack Kipkosgei led the UofL men's cross country team at the Irish Classic
On the men's side, preseason ACC favorite Notre Dame won the meet by a score of 15-50. The Cardinals were led by sophomore Shadrack Kipkosgei who posted a ninth-place finish with a 5-mile time of 24:27.93. Senior Cameron Stephens registered a time of 25:22.79 to finish 19th while senior Albert Kosgei (25:33.72) and Ben Ewert (25:39.59) finished 20th and 21st respectively.
"I was also pleased to see Shadrack with a quality finish in the men's race," said Cowper. "We know he is a talented young man who can grow to play a big role on our men's roster. Shadrack was able to start off right where he was at last year before being sidelined with a lower leg injury last October."
The Cardinals return to action on October 3 when they compete in the Live in Lou Classic at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville.
"It's going to be critical for us to get each squad to the start line at full health for the ACC championships in October and this weekend is simply a starting point for us to build off of," said Cowper. "Clearly we missed having Dorcas and Isaac on the start lines today."
