Outstanding images from the world of sport                                                                   updated 12/19/11

NCAA Championships The NCAA D1 Cross-Country Championships were held in Terre Haute, Indiana, on November 21. Villanova’s Sheila Reid won her 2nd straight individual championship by less than a second over Oregon rival Jordan Hasay. Both runners raced away from a pack of leaders which included Abbey D’Agostino of Dartmouth (3rd), Emily Infeld of Georgetown (4th), and Alex Banfich of Princeton (5th). Georgetown was the team champion.

In the men’s race, freshman Lawi Lalang of Arizona beat runner-up Chris Derrick of Stanford handily in near course record time. Leonard Korir of of Iona finished 3rd and Cameron Levins of Southern Utah finished 4rd. Wisconsin took the team title.

Oregon’s Luke Puskedra produced another fine performance in the nationals, finishing 6th. Puskedra won All-America honers for the 4th time in his college career, and also produced the 3rd top-10 finish as a collegian, having finished 3rd as a junior and 5th as a freshman.

The NCAA football regular season was dominated by LSU, which defeated Oregon and Alabama and finished the regular season undefeated. The Stanford Cardinal had their second straight 1-loss season, finishing the season ranked number 4 in the BCS. Star quarterback Andrew Luck was runner-up for the second year in a row in the Heisman Trophy voting.

The season was less successful for the Oregon State Beavers. The Beavers suffered their second straight losing season, finishing with only 3 victories and 9 defeats. Good performances were turned in by wide receiver Markus Wheaton, who caught 73 passes, and tight end Joe Halahuni, seen catching a TD pass in the Beaver’s victory against Arizona below.

Notre Dame improved from last year’s 7-5 regular season record with a 8-4 this year. The star player was senior wide receiver Michael Floyd, who caught 95 passes and established Notre Dame career records in several categories. In addition to their usual national schedule, the Irish competed under lights more frequently this past season, including against Boston College.

Markus Wheaton

Andrew Luck

Michael Floyd

Notre Dame vs. Boston College

Joe Halahuni