SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Oct. 1 -  The Southern Utah Cross Country team competed against nationally ranked teams from around the country at the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday afternoon. Finishing in 20th and 22nd places respectively, the men's and women's teams had a rough day but still managed to break several school records on the course.

"It wasn't our best race by any means, especially when compared to what we did at Riverside, so I may need to tweak some of the little changes I made to the workout programs," said head coach Eric Houle shortly after the meet. "This meet was not indicative of what our team is really capable of."

Dallas Eborn led the men across the finish line in 96th place, finishing with the seventh fastest Southern Utah time on this course, 25:34. Eborn was followed by Kevin Sandall in 125th place with a time of 26:10. Eric Sandall (26:37) and Robby Lee (26:42) finished in 144th and 145th place, shortly followed by Graham Cheever (26:56) in 148th place.

The women were led by Jamie Smith, breaking her school record on this course by finishing in 90th place with a time of 17:58. Sylvia Bedford came next, also breaking her record, and finished in 104th place with a time of 18:08. Kirsten Bradford finished in 116th place with a time of 18:16, only three seconds behind the record she set during the 2008 season. Danielle West (18:53) and Steffi Minson (19:00) wrapped up the women's top five in 162nd and 166th places respectively.

"This a good time in the season to let us know that we need to make some adjustments," Coach Houle continued. "We need to keep our confidence up and we need to believe in the workouts and what we're doing." 

The Thunderbirds will compete again next weekend while hosting the only home meet of the season, the Color Country Invitational, at the Cedar Ridge Golf Course on Oct. 31.

-Suu Media Relations