Texas A&M Invitational
College Station, Texas
TBA

Rice Invitational
Houston, Texas
TBA

Notre Dame Invitational
South Bend, Ind.
TBA

Pre-National
Terre Haute, Ind.
TBA

Sept. 28, 2007

GALLERY

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- With senior Marissa Daniels leading the way, the unranked Rice women's cross country team upset eight nationally ranked teams, including No. 2 Michigan, to win the 52nd Notre Dame Invitational on Friday afternoon in South Bend, Ind.

The Owls won the 21-team meet with 118 points, 21 better than second-place and seventh-ranked Illinois. No. 12 Florida State was third with 141 points, and the Wolverines were fourth with 148. The other ranked teams to fall to Rice were Boston College (No.26), Providence (No.11), North Carolina State (No.16), Baylor (No.22), and the host Irish (No.27).

The Owls received a single vote in the most recent national poll and rank third in the South Central Region. In addition to the national competition, Rice also defeated Conference USA foes SMU and UAB, and regionally ranked opponent Texas A&M (3rd).

"Person for person, we stepped up and competed at the highest level today," said head coach Jim Bevan. "Marissa had the best race of her life, and overall this was the one of the best performances ever by a Rice team."

Marissa Daniels

Daniels, a 2004 graduate of Pearland High School, completed the 5,000 meter course in 16:59 to finish seventh overall. Freshman Allison Pye (Cypress Creek HS) led the pack of Rice runners which finished within 44 seconds of one another. Pye was 16th overall with the time of 17:22. Senior Lennie Waite (Austin, Texas) was next in 17:31 to finish 23rd, followed by freshman Becky Wade (Dallas, Texas) in 17:40 (35th), and senior Callie Wells (The Woodlands HS) in 17:43 (37th) to wrap up the scoring.

The competition doesn't get any easier for the Owls as they next travel to Terre Haute, Ind. on Oct. 13 for the Pre-Nationals Invitational where Rice will face many of the same teams they defeated today.

52nd Notre Dame Invitational -- Rice Finishers
7. Marissa Daniels, 16:59
16. Allison Pye, 17:22
23. Lennie Waite, 17.31
35. Becky Wade, 17:40
37. Callie Wells, 17:43
56. Nicole Mericle, 17:56
68. Britany Williams, 18:00
123. Claire Shorall, 18:49
158. Lea Garcia, 19:49

52nd Notre Dame Invitational -- Team Finishes
1. Rice, 118
2. #7 Illinois, 139
3. #12 Florida State, 141
4. #2 Michigan, 148
5. #26 Boston College, 176
6. #11 Providence, 177
7. #16 North Carolina State, 221
8. #22 Baylor, 234
9. Oklahoma State, 246
10. North Carolina, 272