Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 SEPT. 16, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ND SPORTS BY TODD D. BURLAGE A s an incoming Notre Dame fresh- man in 2018, Danny Kilrea faced what he still calls both the "weirdest" and "most frustrating" two months of what had always been an unbeliev- ably successful and seamless career in distance running. As a prep senior in 2017, Kilrea was a two-time Illinois state champion (cross country and track) at Lyons Township High School near Chicago. He was also the lone prep runner in the country that season to place top five in both high school national cham- pionship races. Named the Gatorade Illinois Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year, Kil- rea came to Notre Dame with unthink- able expectations ahead. "Coming to college," said Kilrea, who also kept a 3.97 GPA in high school, "I wanted to be an All-Amer- ican my first season." A mysterious knee injury put those freshman plans in doubt and put Kil- rea on the shelf to start last season. Nu- merous MRIs came back negative, but a nagging pain kept him off the train- ing course and in the swimming pool for essentially all of July and August. Doctors were baffled. "That was the frustrating part," Kil- rea said. Finally, after first and second opin- ions provided little feedback, a third doctor recognized that Kilrea had a slightly dislocated kneecap. "I was angry that the doctors didn't figure it out earlier," Kilrea added, "be- cause I wanted to get running again. It's such a big part of my life." A simple procedure to reset Kilrea's patella bone had him training again, kept him from taking a redshirt season and put him back on track to become the nation's best freshman runner. "In a way, the injury kind of helped Danny a bit," Irish head cross country coach Sean Carlson said. "Danny is al- ways kind of chomping at the bit to be good all the time, and sometimes pull- ing the reins back a little bit helps him. "In some ways, maybe the injury was a blessing in disguise." Kilrea recovered and improved quickly, and in October he earned All- ACC honors with a 10th-place finish at the conference meet. However, his highlight of that day — and of the sea- son — was his Irish upsetting Syracuse to claim a surprising team title at the ACC Championships. "Celebrating with all of my team- mates, I'll never forget that," Kilrea re- called. "It was the coolest thing I have ever been a part of and hopefully we can keep that trend going." As an encore last season, Kilrea paced all Notre Dame runners and be- came the top true freshman finisher in the nation at the 2018 NCAA Cham- pionships, finishing 33rd to reach his preseason goal of placing in the top 35 to earn All-America honors. The Irish finished 14th as a team. Injury, relocation, adjustment and academics all could have all taken their toll on Kilrea, but he was unfazed by it all. "Which is impressive in this sport, especially at Notre Dame," Carlson said. "To take on all of those challenges of being a first-semester freshman and to still have that kind of performance speaks to Danny's will and character." Injury-free and better acclimated to college life as a sophomore, there is no reason to believe Kilrea won't improve upon his rookie results both individu- ally and at the team level. Notre Dame checked in at No. 9 nationally in the first NCAA cross country poll of the season, but the expectations that come along with that type of ranking bring pressure. "The thing I do," Kilrea said of han- dling any pressure, "is ignore every- thing on the outside and just run for the team. That always pushes me to be my best. "We just know that being the hunted makes you put the extra work in ev- ery day because you know that you have an expectation to live up to and you just want to meet those goals. The work never really stops. This sport re- ally is 24/7." ✦ Early Success Driving Danny Kilrea Kilrea was the top true freshman finisher in the nation and earned All-America accolades with a 33rd-place showing at the 2018 NCAA Championships. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA Irish Roundup CROSS COUNTRY The men and women enter the season ranked No. 9 and No. 11, respectively. The men's team is coming off a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, which followed their first ACC title in program history. The women's team will try to build off their eighth-place finish at last year's NCAA Championships. Both teams will open the season Sept. 6 at the Crusader Invitational at Valparaiso University. MEN'S SOCCER (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC) The No. 9-ranked Irish enter the season know- ing they have a loaded schedule that will prepare them to build on their first quarterfinals ap- pearance last year since the 2013 national title. Second-year head coach Chad Riley even took the team to England over spring break to play some of the top club teams, as well as take in some Premier and Champions League matches. First up for the Irish was a road contest against Saint Louis Aug. 31. WOMEN'S SOCCER (3-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC) Notre Dame opened with shutout victories against Saint Louis (1-0) Aug. 22 and Northwest- ern (4-0) Aug. 25, and then used two goals by grad transfer Autumn Smithers to defeat West- ern Michigan (2-1) Aug. 29. Senior goalkeeper Brooke Littman made four saves in 90 minutes against the Billikens, then sophomore goal- keeper Mattie Interian matched that total while going the distance versus the Wildcats. The Irish hosted St. John's Sept. 1. VOLLEYBALL (0-0, 0-0 ACC) The squad is seeking to build off last year's 16- 12 season with three sophomores named to the preseason All-ACC Team in Sydney Bent, Charley Niego and Zoe Nunez. Notre Dame opens the season by hosting La Salle, Wright State and Bowling Green for the Golden Dome Invitational Aug. 30-31. — Vince DeDario