Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1037156
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 15, 2018 49 ND SPORTS Irish Roundup CROSS COUNTRY Both the men's and women's squads finished in the top five of the Joe Pi- ane Invitational at Notre Dame Sept. 28. The women were fourth out of 19 teams thanks to top-10 performances from Anna Rohrer (third,) and Jacqueline Gaughan (ninth). The men were third out of 17 squads, with two Irish runners — Yared Nuguse in 12th and Tyler Keslin in 15th — claiming spots in the top 15. The Fighting Irish will return to action Oct. 13 to participate in Pre-Nation- als at Madison, Wis. WOMEN'S GOLF Notre Dame finished 10th out of 15 teams at the Schooner Fall Classic Sept. 28-30 at Norman, Okla. The top finishers for the Irish were senior Emma Albrecht and freshman Abby Heck, who tied for 25th place with a 2-under-par 211. Both Albrecht and Heck carded 2-under 69s in the final round. The Irish took part in the Bettie Lou Invitational Oct. 5-7 at Lexington, Ky. MEN'S SOCCER (6-3-1, 2-1-0 ACC) The No. 15 Fighting Irish notched a 1-0 win over Boston College Sept. 28 and a 3-0 victory at Northwestern Oct. 2 to extend their winning streak to three matches. Next up for Notre Dame was a home matchup with No. 6 Louisville Oct. 6. WOMEN'S SOCCER (6-6-0, 2-2-0 ACC) Notre Dame defeated No. 23 North Carolina State 2-1 Sept. 30, notching their first victory versus a ranked opponent this season. The Irish were set to host No. 3 North Carolina Oct. 4 and No. 8 Virginia Oct. 7. VOLLEYBALL (9-5, 3-1 ACC) Notre Dame picked up a 3-0 triumph at Clemson Sept. 28 and then edged Georgia Tech 3-2 Sept. 30 in Atlanta to improve to 3-1 in ACC play. The Irish returned home to face Wake Forest Oct. 5 and Duke Oct. 7. — David McKinney BY TODD D. BURLAGE F rom taking up cross country in the first place, to ending up run- ning it at Notre Dame, budding Irish distance star Yared Nuguse has ex- perienced a high school and college athletic career that has been kind of an accident waiting to happen. A sophomore studying biochem- istry, Nuguse eventually landed at Notre Dame because it provided him everything he wanted — a place to study hard for a career someday in dentistry and a place to compete hard for perhaps a spot someday in the Olympics. There was just one snag for Nu- guse as a prep senior back at vener- able duPont Manual High School in Louisville, Ky., that kept him from realizing that Notre Dame was his perfect match. "At the time I didn't even know where Notre Dame was," Nuguse ex- plained with a laugh. "I didn't have a whole lot of information." The first inkling of even looking into what Notre Dame had to offer didn't come until about October of his high school senior year when the Irish coaches reached out to express interest in bringing Nuguse up for a campus tour. "After that, I was totally attracted to this place," said Nuguse, who made his visit during an Irish football week- end. "I loved everything about it." The path for Nuguse to becoming a competitive distance runner in the first place is equally as serendipi- tous as having him eventually land at Notre Dame. A blissful high school freshman, Nuguse was dominating his class- mates so thoroughly during gym class that the Rams track coach took notice and offered an invite to join his team. Nuguse knew he was fast, but to actually compete? Yet on the urging of family and friends, Nuguse de- cided to accept the invitation, and the rest is Kentucky state history. Four years after taking up distance running on a whim, Nuguse swept the prep distance medals during his se- nior year, winning the Kentucky Cross Country state championship and strik- ing gold in the 800 meters, 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters at the Kentucky Class AAA Track and Field Championships. Upon his arrival last year, Nuguse admits to not knowing what to expect as an incoming freshman. Like Nuguse at duPont Manual, every runner on the Irish team dominated in high school. "I'm here with all of these great guys, and you have to have a level of respect for them, for all of what they have done so far, and think of it as something to look up to," Nuguse said. "But I completely found out that I was faster than I thought." Nuguse paced all Irish runners last month with a 12th-place finish at the highly competitive Joe Piane Invi- tational. But it's the stretch that lies ahead that will show Nuguse where he stands not only on his team, but in his country and conference. Up next for Notre Dame is the Pre- Nationals cross country meet Oct. 13 in Madison, Wis. This isn't a qualify- ing or elimination race, but rather a trial run for the competitors to learn the course and their surroundings for a return trip to Madison for the NCAA Championships Nov. 17. Sandwiched in between the Pre-Na- tionals and the NCAA Championships is the ACC Championships Oct. 26 in Chestnut Hills, Mass. This marks the six-week homestretch to the season Nuguse said he's ready to handle. "My times now are where they were at the end of last season," he said. "I expect to continue to improve from here and perform very well." ✦ Yared Nuguse Savoring His Fateful Journey To Notre Dame During his senior year at duPont Manual High School in Louisville, Ky., and just four years after taking up competitive running, Nuguse won the cross country state title and captured state championships in the 800 meters, 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH DIGITAL MEDIA