Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 NOV. 5, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ND SPORTS BY TODD D. BURLAGE S enior Olivia Markezich prefers to stay in the present and savor every mo- ment of the rest of this cross country sea- son because she knows everything will be drastically different this time next year. Markezich plans on returning to Notre Dame and the cross country team in 2023 as a graduate student. But look- ing ahead is still bittersweet. "It's just so sad to think that it's already my senior year," said Markezich, whose fa- ther, Ron Markezich, ran cross country at Notre Dame in the late 1980s. "I couldn't have asked for a better experience." Those experiences are always height- ened this time of the year when the cross country postseason arrives. The postseason opened with the ACC Championships Oct. 28 in Charlottes- ville, Va., followed by the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Nov. 11 in Terre Haute, Ind., and the NCAA Championships Nov. 19 in Stillwater, Okla. In what was considered a disappoint- ing conference run last season, Notre Dame finished only fifth in the ACC Championship. Individually, Markezich crossed the finish 12th. From there, the Irish shocked the cross country world with a first-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional, with Markezich finish- ing second behind senior teammate and race winner Maddy Denner. Wi t h m o m e n t u m r u n n i n g h i g h , Notre Dame finished fifth in the NCAA Championship, with Denner placing ninth and Markezich 11th. Both ladies are back and poised to lead another ter- rific postseason performance this fall. "This season, we know that fifth- place is in reach again, and possibly even fourth place," Markezich said. Markezich explained how she and her team got a big confidence boost before this postseason at the Nuttycombe In- vitational Oct. 14 in Madison, Wis. This highly competitive meet attracted the top teams in the country, and Markezich responded with a team-best 17th-place individual finish for the fifth-place Irish. "That was a good benchmark to see where we are right now. We're all super excited," Markezich said. "This season is looking a lot different from last season. Last season, we were kind of underper- forming from our potential, and this year we are doing much better." Notre Dame finished 11th and Markezich was 55th at the Nuttycombe Invitational last year. From 55th in a regular-season meet to 11th at the NCAA Championship? Even Markezich could hardly believe it. "That was a huge surprise and a huge improvement from where I started the sea- son," said Markezich, who battled a knee strain last year. "I've been healthy all of this season, and it's a big help for your confi- dence to run well in those early races." Markezich and the Irish started their 2022 postseason in strong fashion with a second-place finish at the ACC Champi- onships. Notre Dame placed four runners in the top 10 — including Markezich's team-best third-place finish —but were edged (34-38) by North Carolina State. ✦ Olivia Markezich Is Ready For A Postseason Encore Markezich, who earned All-America honors with an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Championships last year, placed third at this year's ACC meet. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Irish Roundup Through Oct. 27 CROSS COUNTRY The Irish competed in the ACC Championships Oct. 28 in Charlottesville, Va. … The No. 6-ranked women's team finished in second place, while the No. 6 men's squad took fourth place with Carter Solomon winning the individual ACC title. WOMEN'S GOLF Notre Dame closed out its fall slate in seventh place out of 13 schools in The Club at Olde Stone Intercollegiate Oct. 24-25 at Bowling Green, Ky. HOCKEY (3-2-1 OVERALL, 0-0-0 BIG TEN) The Fighting Irish split a pair of games vs. West- ern Michigan, winning 2-0 Oct. 21 before falling 4-0 Oct. 22 … Notre Dame opened its Big Ten slate by hosting Michigan State Oct. 28-29. MEN'S SOCCER (8-6-1 OVERALL, 3-4-0 ACC) Notre Dame edged Virginia Tech 1-0 Oct. 21 and defeated Michigan 3-2 Oct. 25 … The Irish close the regular season with a match at Pitt Oct. 28. WOMEN'S SOCCER (14-2-1 OVERALL, 7-2-1 ACC) The No. 4 Fighting Irish extended their win- ning streak to six games with a 1-0 triumph at Virginia Tech Oct. 20 and 3-0 victory at Wake For- est Oct. 23 … Notre Dame closed out the regular season with a 2-2 draw vs. No. 11 Duke Oct. 27. MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING (2-0, 0-0 ACC) Notre Dame opened with a tri-meet Oct. 22-23 in Pittsburgh, and notched a 212.5-140-.5 win over Pitt and a 226-125 victory over Penn State … The Irish are off until hosting Louisville Nov. 11. WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING (2-0, 0-0 ACC) The Irish kicked off the season by notching a pair of wins — 206-147 over Pitt and 187-166 vs. Penn State — Oct. 22-23 in Pittsburgh … Notre Dame will next face Louisville Nov. 11 in South Bend. VOLLEYBALL (9-12 OVERALL, 4-7 ACC) Notre Dame suffered a pair of 3-0 defeats at Virginia Oct. 23 and at No. 4 Louisville Oct. 26 … The Irish will host Duke Oct. 30 and North Carolina Nov. 4. — Steve Downey