Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ND SPORTS BY JORDAN WELLS T he buzz started as soon as Anna Rohrer inked her letter of intent to Notre Dame. A hometown star at Mishawaka High, the Irish freshman cross country runner collected numerous accolades during her prep career. She was the National Gatorade Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2014-15, the Foot Locker national champion in both 2012-13 and 2014-15, a two-time Indiana state champion and the cross country state record holder with a time of 17:08 in the 5,000-meter race. Those honors compared quite nicely when put side by side with Notre Dame star senior Molly Seidel, a 2014-15 All-American and All-ACC performer. Like Rohrer, Seidel earned the title of Gatorade National Female Runner of the Year in 2011 during her prep days at Hartland (Wis.) University Lake School. So when Rohrer committed to Notre Dame, the comparisons were natural. It was only fitting that the duo combined for a one-two finish at the 2015 ACC Championships, with Seidel winning the 6,000-meter race in a time of 19:36.2 and the freshman Rohrer placing sec- ond with a 20:08.3. "Through probably the first half or so, Anna and I were working well to- gether," Seidel told UND.com. "We kept it pretty controlled. We wanted to get out fast and assert ourselves from the start. Probably at the halfway point, I was feeling really good so I started opening it up a bit and cruising. I wanted to go my own pace and have a little fun out there. "Turning around and seeing Anna blow away the rest of the competition was so cool. It's always special seeing your teammates do well and to see Anna finish so well as a freshman is really awesome. I'm looking forward to her future on our team." Considered a five-star recruit by Flo- track.com — a website that's dedicated to cross country and track and field coverage — Rohrer certainly had her pick of colleges to choose from. In the end, however, she couldn't turn away her hometown school that not only fea- tured great academics and a quality program, but also the opportunity to learn everything she could from a run- ner as successful as Seidel. "I think that's a big reason Anna came here," associate head coach Matt Sparks said. "She saw the success that Molly had. But the challenge for each of them — especially for Anna — is to let yourself learn from Molly. "You didn't come here just to run next to her, you came here to learn ev- erything she does. The way she trains, the way she prepares, the way she rests, the way she eats. How she takes care of all the details 24 hours a day and seven days a week." Molly Seidel And Anna Rohrer Form A Potent Duo