SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Flames Cross Country program delivered strong performances Friday at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, highlighted by top-five finishes from the men's team in the Gold 8,000-meter and a top-ten finish in the Women's Gold 5,000-meter races.

The women's team placed ninth out of 24 teams in the Gold 5,000-meter race and finished eighth out of 11 teams in the Open 5,000-meter competition. On the men's side, UIC took 5th^th place among 21 teams in the Gold 8,000-meter race.

WOMEN
Senior Emma Dubie led the Flames with a program-record performance in the Women's Gold 5,000-meter, placing ninth overall in 17:30. The mark broke the previous school record set by UIC Hall of Fame member Tess Ehrhardt in 2014.

Senior Praise Oyebanji finished 25^th in 17:54, moving to No. 5 on UIC's All-Time list, while junior Korima Gonzalez crossed the finish line in 18:11 to place 36^th  and move into the No. 10 spot in program history.

The Women's Open 5,000-meter featured a trio of personal-best records led by senior Colette Lampa who finished 58^th in 19:28. Junior Tianna Wilson placed 59^th in 19:33, while senior Jazmin Diaz crossed the finish line 64^th in 19:37.

MEN
In the Men's Gold 8,000-meter race, senior Theodore Cunningham led the Flames with a third-place finish in 24:02, moving to No. 2 on UIC's All-Time list. Senior Alexander Das followed closely in fifth place with a time of 24:11, moving into the No. 4 spot on the program's All-Time list.

Junior Zachary Close added a strong performance, placing 22^nd overall in 24:33 as the Flames secured a fifth-place team finish against a nationally competitive field.

Results are available through PrimeTime Timing.
 
COACH'S COMMENTS
"I am excited to have several team members achieve new personal best this morning as well a big congratulations to Emma for setting a new school record in the 5,000m," said Coach Paul Zavala. "Overall, we put together a great team effort today and positioning ourselves for a strong performance on the championship portion of our season."
 
The Flames compete next at the Bradley Pink Classic on Friday, Oct. 16, in Peoria, Ill.


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