Meet Information
Race: National Catholic Championship 5K
Location: South Bend, Ind.
Short Story: Claire Walters finished in 14th while beating several Division I and II runners in her first National Catholic Championship appearance at Notre Dame

Race Highlights
The Franciscan Women's Cross Country team competed at Notre Dame on Friday afternoon in the National Catholic Championships. In total 16 women's teams were there to compete, seven of them being NCAA Division I and the other nine being Division II or III, which they categorized as the Collegiate Division. Among the ten teams in the Collegiate Division, Franciscan placed 6th out of nine with a team point total of 355 points. 

Claire Walters led the way for Franciscan with a 14th place finish in the 5K race. Among Division III runners, she placed second to the reigning NCAA Individual National Champion for Loras, who also finished in first again on Friday at Notre Dame. Walters beat several Division I runners in the 187 runner field. Her 14th place finish is the best finish from a Franciscan Women's runner at this event, since Theresa Evans placed 12th in 2009. 

Next to cross for Franciscan was Jessica Campbell in 84th place, and not too far behind was Rachel Hurley in 96th. Rounding out the top five runners for the Barons were Catherine London in 146th and Allison Sommer in 152nd. 

Host Notre Dame sat a top the Division I team leaderboard with an impressive score of 20 team points. Division II school Lewis would win the Collegiate Division, as they had 78 points. Franciscan '22 in her fifth year of eligibility competed for Loras and placed 38th. 

Baron Top Finishers (By Overall Place) 
14th   Claire Walters            18:31.08
84th  Jessica Campbell       20:36.70
96th  Rachel Hurley            20:56.98
146th  Catherine London      22:10.52
152nd Allison Sommer         22:24.67
160th  Angelina Toole           22:35.03
161st  Anne O'Boyle            22:43.08
162nd Clara Gross              22:49.09
182nd Sofia Lawson            25:02.19

Up Next
Franciscan will now have a couple of weeks off before they compete at Lehigh for the Paul Short Invite in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It will be another deep, talented field for Franciscan to prove their talents against many of the best team across all Divisions. The last time Franciscan has ran on this course was in 2019 when they hosted the NCAA Mid-East Regional.

15th Annual Kelly Roggensack Memorial Races
The Annual Kelly Roggensack Memorial Races will take place for the 15th time in its history, once again kicking off a busy Saturday on Homecoming Weekend. The races will begin at 8 am on October 1st, 2022, with the 1K Kids Fun Run followed by the 5K Run & 3K Walk at 8:20 am. Click here for more info and to signup

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