The UW Oshkosh men’s and women’s cross country teams took respectable finishes at the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 2, which consisted of teams from all three divisions. For the men’s team, senior Jordan Carpenter led the Titans with a fifth-place finish in the 5-mile run. He now has three top-five finishes this year, setting the pace for the 14th-ranked Titans. The conditions did not seem to be ideal for the runners, but coach Eamon McKenna, who oversees both teams, said that is not what made the race. “The course was actually in decent condition, and the ground was firm,” McKenna said. “The only negative is that it was a windy day.” The men’s team took home sixth-place, while the women scored 12th. Five of the men and three of the women scored in the top 70 for their respective teams. Junior Charlend Howard (25th), freshman Wal Khat (38th), senior Roberto Lara (41st) and junior Joe Zack (66th) were the top runners for the men while sophomore Hannah Kuenzi (36th), senior Kylee Verhasselt (47th) and sophomore Erica Munyan (58th) were the leaders for the women. Hannah Kuenzi said being able to run down at Notre Dame is quite a unique experience. “Being a part of the Notre Dame Invitational is something that our team considers a blessing, and it’s both inspiring and eye-opening to attend a meet of its caliber,” said Kuenzi. “Though obviously many of us will never run the times that some of the top runners at this meet run, having the opportunity to see them compete is very motivational for us to strive to be better.” Carpenter said regardless of the schools the Titans face, the talent level will always be there for Oshkosh and it’s fun to go in and beat Division I teams. “I think as long as we have good competition, it doesn’t matter the division,” Carpenter said. “Our home meet on the 17th will be even more competitive than Notre Dame, and it is only Division 3 schools. Just because a team is D1 does not mean they are better than D3 teams.” Both the men’s and women’s teams will compete at the Lawrence University Gene Davis Invitational on Oct. 10.