Cross country (W)
La Salle Athletics
CHARLOTTE, N.C.- The La Salle women's cross country team won the 2011 Atlantic 10 Conference Championships held at Frank Liske Park on the campus of Charlotte on Saturday morning. The title is the seventh Atlantic 10 Conference Championship for the program, the most by any school in the conference. La Salle's men's cross country team also captured the Atlantic 10 Championship on Saturday.
Head coach Dan Ireland also received honors from the Atlantic 10 Conference as he was voted Coach of the Year. This is the eighth time a coach from La Salle has been honored, following seven-time Coach of the Year Charles Torpey.
Before the races began, the Atlantic 10 had a moment of silence for Torpey, who passed away suddenly this summer. The Explorers continued to honor Torpey as they wore a patch on their uniforms as they had done all season for the former coach.
“It was a huge win coming in from the summer and what happened with Coach Torpey and being picked to be the preseason favorites," Ireland said. "The girls and guys both rose to the occasion."
"This win is something that Coach Torpey put together," Ireland continued. "He got them to this point. It was our job to finish the job."
La Salle Athletics
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The women's cross country team had a strong finish at the Navy Invitational, as Caitlin Storbeck and Meghan McGlinchey crossed the line first and second respectively in the race.
Senior Caitlin Storbeck beat the field to the finish line with a time of 22:04.67. McGlinchey came to the finish line just seconds after Storbeck, posting a time of 22:05.18.
La Salle Athletics
PHILADELPHIA - The expectations will be high surrounding the La Salle cross country team in 2011 as both the men's and women's squad were picked to finish first in the Atlantic 10, the conference announced today.
"We are excited about both our men's and women's cross country programs being ranked number one in the poll," said head coach Dan Ireland. "This season will present a new challenge for our student-athletes but they are both ready and look forward to the challenge of bringing both titles back to 20th and Olney."
La Salle Athletics
PHILADELPHIA – Dan Ireland, who spent the past 12 seasons as the Head Men's Cross Country Coach and Assistant Men's and Women's Track Coach at Yale, has been named the Head Men's and Women's Cross Country and Track and Field Coach at La Salle, Director of Athletics Dr. Tom Brennan announced today.
“We are delighted to have Dan join us to lead our program,” Brennan said. “It was a thorough search process that involved many stakeholder groups, including current student-athletes and alumni athletes. Dan emerged as the strongest candidate and we are excited to welcome Dan and his family to La Salle.”
“I am excited to have the opportunity to lead the La Salle University Cross Country and Track and Field programs,” Ireland said. “I am looking forward to the challenge of continuing the tradition that Coach Torpey worked so hard to establish over the past two decades.
“La Salle has an outstanding reputation in college athletics and academics and my family and I are excited to become a part of the La Salle community,” he continued. “I want to thank Dr. Brennan and John Lyons for this tremendous opportunity and I look forward to working with them and the entire La Salle staff.”
The Bulldogs have regularly placed in the top 10 at NCAA Cross Country Regionals, including a fourth and fifth place finish in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Yale has also performed well at the IC4A Championship, placing in the top eight every year since 2003, including third in 2006.
Ireland coached a pair of All-Americans, 11 NCAA Regional Track Qualifiers, three IC4A Champions, and six Ivy League Champions at Yale. A total of 137 runners earned All-East status under his guidance and 41 earned all-Ivy League honors.
In addition, his runners have set 17 school records and had 83 performances that placed among the top 15 in Bulldog history.
Ireland's teams have been outstanding in the classroom as well. The Yale men's cross country team has been named USTFCCCA All-Academic for the past 12 years, the only team in the country to do so. Additionally, nine individuals have earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors.
In 2010, Ireland served as the NCAA Northeast Regional Cross Country Meet Director, coordinating all aspects of the men's and women's championship. For the past two seasons, he has also served as the NCAA Northeast Region Cross Country representative.
Prior to coming to Yale in 1999, Ireland spent six years as an Assistant Cross Country and Track and Field Coach at Georgetown. During his time there, the Hoyas won 14 Big East team championships in men's and women's cross country and track.
In cross country, Georgetown finished in the top 10 at NCAAs five times on the women's side and once on the men's side. In track, the Hoyas finished in the top 10 nationally as a team a total of six times.
He also spent time coaching the preeminent distance running club in the country, the Reebok Enclave in Washington, D.C. for two seasons. During this time he worked with four Olympians.
Ireland ran for the Hoyas from 1988-91, qualifying for NCAAs three times in cross country. He won the 1991 Big East 10,000m outdoors and was a two-time All-Big East selection in cross country.
Ireland graduated from Georgetown in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in international relations and received his master's in liberal arts from GU in 1998. A native of Woodbridge, Va., Ireland was inducted into Woodbridge High School's Hall of Fame in 2009.
