The Canisius College men and women's cross country team competed in the 32nd annual National Catholic Championship on the campus of the University of Notre Dame on Friday afternoon. The women's team finished ninth overall out of 32 teams with the men's team finishing 13th among 32 teams.

The senior trio of Christine Mulvihill, Julie Dahlkemper, and Jill Shea led the way for the Griffs for their second-straight race this season. Mulvhill led the women's team, finishing in 23rd place with a time of 18:17, a mere two seconds behind her personal best. Also finishing in the top-50 among 272 runners were Dahlkemper and Shea. Dahlkemper finished in 18:45 to place 45th overall while Shea set a 5K-career best with a time of 18:47, finishing in 48th place.

Leading the men for the second straight race was freshman Chad Maloy. The freshman knocked over a minute off his personal best (26:47) at the Duquesne Duals, crossing the line at 25:42 to place 40th among 255 runners.

For the 22nd time, host Notre Dame captured the men's title for the 20th time in the last 25 years. The individual champion was senior Matthew Graham of DePaul University with a time of 24:15.

In the women's race, six Notre Dame runners occupied six of the top-10 slots, leading the Irish to their 18th team victory at the race. Junior Jessica Rydeberg became Notre Dame's 17th top-individual finisher with a time of 17:16.

Next weekend at the Little Three Championships, the men's team will defend its fifth-consecutive overall title while the women's team will defend its fourth-straight title when they meet up with St. Bonaventure and Niagara at Lewiston, N.Y. on Sept. 24.