AT NOTRE DAME, THREE IS COMPANY; KNIGHTS' CROSS COUNTRY TRIO RUNS WILD.Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News Bob Macias has a way with words A Way With Words is a nationwide, weekly public radio show about language, originally produced by KPBS in San Diego, CA, from 1998 to 2007. The show was originally hosted by authors Richard Lederer and Charles Harrington Elster. and a penchant for spotting talent. The ninth-year Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame High coach has used both to lift the Knights' cross country program out of the Mission League cellar to among the state's elite with a senior trio of Kevin Lelles, Adam Rose and Gene O'Neill. All three were swayed to cross country by Macias from other sports. Lelles, the two-time defending Mission League champion, originally went out for the tennis team. Rose was a soccer player, O'Neill a sprinter. ``I hated cross country at first,'' Rose said. ``It was the worst pain and suffering.'' Macias doesn't mind the thievery Thievery See also Gangsterism, Highwaymen, Outlawry. Alfarache, Guzmán de picaresque, peripatetic thief; lived by unscrupulous wits. [Span. Lit. , especially at Notre Dame, where cross country plays second fiddle second fiddle n. Informal 1. A secondary role. 2. One who plays a secondary role. second fiddle Noun Informal a person who has a secondary status Noun to other sports. ``Sometimes it's frustrating frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: ,'' Macias said. ``As good as we are, we could be so much better if we had numbers.'' Macias has done well with what he's had. Last season, the Knights reached the state meet for the first time in school history. This season, Notre Dame is third in the state Division IV rankings and has clinched a share of its first league title since 1977. Notre Dame shows what it can do at the Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (commonly called Mt. SAC; pronounced as the word "sack") is a community college located in the Los Angeles suburb of Walnut, California, next to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona which is just over a hill. Mt. Invitational in·vi·ta·tion·al adj. Restricted to invited participants: an invitational golf tournament. n. An event, especially a sports tournament, restricted to invited participants. Adj. 1. on Friday. The Knights are running the Division IV sweepstakes in a field that includes eight of the state top 10 teams, including top-ranked Riverbank, defending state champion Nordhoff as well as McFarland and Central Valley, ranked fourth and fifth. ``Deep down inside, I think we can win everything, CIF (1) (Common Intermediate Format) A standard video format used in videoconferencing. CIF formats are defined by their resolution, and standards both above and below the original resolution have been established. The original CIF is also known as Full CIF (FCIF). and state,'' Macias said. ``Whether we do or not depends how we perform on a particular day. My goal is to instill in·still v. To pour in drop by drop. in  stil·la tion n. some confidence in
them early and put that goal in their mind. I know the talent is there
and we can take a shot at it.''
Lelles, who is leaning toward attending Arizona State, has been the foundation of the cross country program for the last three years. He came out for track after being cut from the tennis team. As a sophomore the following fall, he won the Mission League title and has been undefeated in league competition since. For Rose and O'Neill, their passion for the sport didn't come as quickly. Both came close to quitting their first season but changed their minds after a pep talk by Macias. ``I almost bailed a couple of times, but it's hard to say no to the guy,'' O'Neill said. ``It wasn't easy to run 10 miles every day, and I didn't have the best of times out there.'' For Rose, who has also played freshman baseball, cross country has been the perfect complement to soccer, where he has played midfielder on the varsity the last three years. For the tall and lanky lank·y adj. lank·i·er, lank·i·est Tall, thin, and ungainly. See Synonyms at lean2. lank i·ly adv. O'Neill, his success in distance
running has been a surprise. O'Neill initially wanted to become a
sprinter, but the 800 meters was the shortest event with any openings in
his first competition. Macias bumped him up to the distances from there.
``He is gangly gan·gly adj. gan·gli·er, gan·gli·est Gangling. [Alteration of gangling.] Adj. 1. and has an awkward stride,'' Macias said. ``His stride is not a thing of beauty, but somehow he does run. He has a lot of heart and when we ran our first invitationals, he was up there.'' As sophomores, the unlikely combination of Lelles, Rose and O'Neill propelled the Knights to sixth in the Southern Section championships. Last year, Notre Dame rebounded from a one-point loss to Loyola in the league championships to finish third in the Southern Section finals and sixth in the state championships. This season, Notre Dame (6-0) breezed through the Mission League dual meet campaign undefeated, clinching a share of the league title for the first time since 1977. ``The first year was confusing why I was doing cross country,'' O'Neill said. ``Over the years, I have developed some sort of team focus on why we run this sport and what we're going for. Everyone's goal is to make it as far as we can and make an impact.'' UPHILL CLIMB What: Mt. San Antonio College Invitational. When: Friday (Divisions III, IV, V Sweepstakes); Saturday (Divisions I,II Sweepstakes). More than 8,000 competitors and nearly 400 schools are competing in the two-day event that starts at 2 p.m. on Friday and at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. The La Canada girls, the defending State Division III
Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. champions, and the Notre Dame boys, third in the State Division IV rankings, are among the top entrants in Friday's sweepstakes competition. On Saturday, the Saugus boys face top-ranked Santa Ana Santa Ana, city, El Salvador Santa Ana (sän'tä ä`nä), city (1993 pop. 129,873), W El Salvador. It is the second largest city in the country and the commercial and processing center for a sugarcane, coffee, and cattle region. and defending State Division I Long Beach Poly champion in the team sweepstakes race. CAPTION(S): Photo, Box PHOTO Notre Dame runners (from left) Eugene O'Neill, Adam Rose and Kevin Lelles have turned the Knights' program into a perennial winner. Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News BOX: UPHILL CLIMB (see text) |
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