Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 SEPT. 30, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ND SPORTS BY TODD D. BURLAGE I f you need a case study in overcom- ing adversity through unshakable pa- tience and commitment, Notre Dame senior cross country ace Josh Methner provides a perfect one. A four-time prep All-American, a two-time individual Illinois state champion from Mt. Prospect John Hersey High School, and the 2019 Foot Locker National Cross Country Cham- pionship winner, Methner arrived as a freshman at Notre Dame in 2020 ready to hit the ground running. And he did. Only a Fighting Irish rookie, Methner still earned All-America honors that sea- son after a 36th-place finish in the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships. "That was very impressive," said Matt Sparks, Notre Dame's director of track and field and cross country. "He was running kind of blind as a freshman and naive to what college athletics is all about, and he still ran a great race." Improvement was in- evitable. Until it wasn't. M u l t i p l e n a g g i n g injuries to Methner's ankle, knees and hip — all up and down his legs — slowed his progress during his sophomore and junior years and forced him to miss time in all three of his sports seasons (indoor track, outdoor track and cross country). In fact, injuries kept M e t h n e r f ro m eve n competing in the 2022 NCAA Cross Country C h a m p i o n s h i p s l a s t November. " T h e se a c h e s a n d pains were kind of all over the place last year," Methner said of the ag- gravating but not neces- sarily severe ailments. "I didn't think any of it was a big deal and I thought I would get back to be- ing healthy as the season progressed. That wasn't the case." Methner admits feeling some frustra- tion the last two years when he was not able to train properly in the summer and was also missing time with his team- mates. But instead of moping, pouting and feeling sorry for himself, Methner stayed busy and engaged in ways be- yond sports. Methner got involved in the Notre Dame Student-Athlete Advisory Coun- cil (SAAC) two years ago and became the program's president this year. SAAC brings student-athletes together from all of the Notre Dame athletics pro- grams to provide a better and more in- clusive campus experience. Mental health initiatives, diversity programs or just hanging out to support and learn about each other's sports pro- grams are a few of the endeavors Meth- ner has become involved with through SAAC. "It provides a great opportunity to get to know other people outside of my own sport," Methner explained, "make friends and connections that way." And now that he's back at full health, with a full summer of proper training behind, Methner is expected to return to his freshman form, and then some. In his first competition of this sea- son, Methner won the individual title in the National Catholic Invite Sept. 15 at Notre Dame to lead the Irish to the team title. "Josh feels as strong as he's ever felt and he's looked that way in practice," Sparks said. "He's really firing on all cyl- inders and is ready to go now. He's set to enjoy a great cross country season." ✦ On Sept. 15, Methner won the individual title in the National Catholic Invite at Notre Dame to lead the Irish to the team championship. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Cross Country's Josh Methner Ready For A Breakout Season Irish Roundup CROSS COUNTRY Both the Notre Dame men and women took first place in the National Catholic Invite Sept. 15 in South Bend …. On Sept. 18, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches association ranked the Irish women No. 1 and Irish men No. 2 in the Great Lakes Region. MEN'S GOLF The Fighting Irish return to action at the Win- don Memorial Classic Sept. 25-26 at Skokie, Ill. WOMEN'S GOLF Notre Dame will compete at the Glass City Invitational Sept. 25-26 in Toledo, Ohio. MEN'S SOCCER (4-1-3 OVERALL, 1-0-1 ACC) Notre Dame played North Carolina to a 1-1 draw Sept. 15 in Chapel Hill, N.C. … The 15th- ranked Irish battled to a 0-0 tie at No. 4 Akron Sept. 19 before returning home for a match ver- sus Virginia Sept. 22. WOMEN'S SOCCER (5-1-2 OVERALL, 1-0-0 ACC) The Fighting Irish notched a 3-1 home victory over Wake Forest Sept. 15 and rose to No. 10 in the rankings … Notre Dame hit the road for matches at Duke Sept. 21 and at Pitt Sept. 24. VOLLEYBALL (6-2 OVERALL, 0-0 ACC) Notre Dame swept two matches with Toledo, winning 3-1 Sept. 15 in South Bend and 3-0 Sept. 17 in Toledo … The Irish will open ACC play by hosting Boston College Sept. 22 and Syracuse Sept. 24.