Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 22, 2025 49 BY TODD D. BURLAGE N ot even Mary Bonner Dalton her- self can guess which course her life might've set if she didn't unex- pectedly discover all the way back in elementary school how fast and gifted she was at distance running. Looking to stay active, Bonner Dal- ton — now a Notre Dame sophomore cross country star — joined "Girls on the Run" back in grade school, a youth program that promotes better fitness through exercise. Bonner Dalton was a competitive swimmer at the time, and a good one. But when she cruised to victory in her first-ever 5K foot race as part of the program, she found a new love. And the Charlotte, N.C., native has been on the run ever since. After finishing 22nd in the 2024 ACC Cross Country Championships as an Irish freshman, Bonner Dalton cut almost a full minute off her time at the meet this year, ran the 6K course in Louisville in 19:14.9 Oct. 31 and jumped 20 spots to finish runner-up in the 2025 league meet. So, what's the secret to success and impressive improvement? "I think now that I'm going through my sophomore year, I have a year of experience under my belt," Bon- ner Dalton explained. "That's really helped give me more confidence, and more comfort. I know the routine of things. I know what works for me." From winning her first-ever 5K race as a grade schooler, to breaking mul- tiple state records while at Myers Park High School, to eyeing a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships Nov. 22, running comes easy for Bonner Dalton. Or does it? Bonner Dalton — who as a high school senior in 2023 broke a 27-year- old North Carolina record in the state cross country meet by 30 seconds — said a lot of love, sweat, and commit- ment went into becoming one of the best distance runners in the country. "I didn't even start running until high school, so I really had no idea what proper training was all about," Bonner Dalton explained. "The tran- sition [to college] was challenging. But having terrific teammates here [at Notre Dame] to push me in practice has definitely made it so much better. I couldn't do any of this alone." WOMEN'S SOCCER FALLS SHORT OF ACC TITLE The second-ranked Notre Dame women's soccer team saw its valiant comeback versus top-ranked Stanford fall short and lost 5-4 on penalty kicks in an epic ACC Championship match Nov. 9 at Cary, N.C. After the nation's top two programs played 90 minutes of regulation time and 20 minutes of overtime to a 2-2 draw, Stanford clinched the league title by making five of its six penalty kicks compared to four of six for the Irish. The Irish trailed 2-0 in the second half before Notre Dame sophomore midfielder/forward Izzy Engle and ju- nior midfielder/forward Charlie Codd both scored within seven minutes of each other to tie the game and set up the dramatic but heartbreaking finish. ✦ Familiarity Helps Mary Bonner Dalton Make Big Strides N O T R E D A M E S P O R T S After finishing 22nd in the ACC Cross Country Championships as a freshman last year, Bonner Dalton jumped 20 spots to finish as runner-up at the 2025 league meet. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Irish Roundup CROSS COUNTRY Both the men and women placed first in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Nov. 14 at Evansville, Ind. HOCKEY (3-6-1 OVERALL, 0-4-0 BIG TEN) Dropped a pair of contests at Minnesota, falling 3-0 Nov. 7 and 4-1 Nov. 8. MEN'S SOCCER (8-6-4 OVERALL, 3-3-2 ACC) The Irish await their fate for the NCAA Tournament, with the field being announced Nov. 17. WOMEN'S SOCCER (14-1-3 OVERALL, 8-1-1 ACC) No. 2-ranked Notre Dame earned the No. 1 seed in the top left quadrant of the NCAA Championship, marking the fifth straight year they are a seeded team … The Fighting Irish were set to face Missouri Valley Conference champion Illinois-Chicago (8-7-6) in the first round Nov. 15 in South Bend. SWIMMING & DIVING (MEN: 1-2 OVERALL; WOMEN: 1-2 OVERALL) Both the men's and women's squads lost by a score of 213-84 at Louisville Nov. 7. VOLLEYBALL (9-13 OVERALL, 6-8 ACC) Split a pair of road matches, losing 3-1 at Wake Forest Nov. 7 before a 3-2 triumph at NC State Nov. 9.