DETROIT -- Saturday marks the 25th anniversary for the Detroit Titan Cross Country Invitational, a race that first began back on September 12, 1987. The years have passed by, yet the course stays the same as nearly 800 athletes will travel to Cass-Benton Park to take part in what has become a great Titan tradition.
In order to get an in-depth look at the past 25 years Head Cross Country Coach Guy Murray reached out to some very important alumni members who helped create this great event.
Kevin Donner – Detroit Alum Class of '84
First Detroit Titan Head Cross Country Coach
Current Head Cross Country/Track and Field Coach at Bucknell University
"Back in the mid-1980's, I used to take our women's cross country teams to Cass-Benton Park to train and run some hills in grass terrain since there is not too much of that near the university to prepare for cross country meets.
I decided that it would be nice to host a meet since our athletes really enjoyed running at Cass-Benton, and there was already a set course. We were fortunate to get some great interest from some local teams as well as Notre Dame who was being coached by Detroit alum Dan Ryan, a teammate of mine at Detroit in the early 80's.
It's great to see that the meet is now very popular and there is also a high school and open division. Over the years I have brought some of the teams I have coached (St. Francis PA – Bucknell) back to the meet and each time it has been a very enjoyable experience for our athletes and coaches. I promise to bring my teams back sometime soon.”
Dan Ryan – Detroit Alum Class of '84
Former Women's Cross Country/Track and Field Head Coach at the University of Notre Dame (1984-1988)
Current 3rd Circuit Court Judge
"As a University of Detroit alum and then head coach of the women's cross country program at the University of Notre Dame, it was a privilege for my team to be invited and participate in the inaugural Tommy Titan Cross Country Invitational.
I remember that Theresa Rice was outstanding for us, winning the individual race and leading Notre Dame to a team championship.
University of Detroit coaches Kevin Donner and Earl Clark created what has become one of the premier cross country races in the region. With a challenging course, and competitive teams like the University of Detroit, Eastern Michigan, and Oakland University, it was a great opportunity early in the season to determine how fit the team was.
Coach Guy Murray has continued the tradition and expanded the race to include high school teams, open races, alumni runs, future Titan dashes, and events for runners of all ages - a true festival of running.
Congratulations and best wishes to Coach Kevin Donner and his Bucknell Bisons this season, and to Coach Guy Murray and his Detroit Titans as they participate in the 25th running of the Tommy Titan Cross Country Invitational."
Bonnie (Fitzpatrick) Wood - Detroit Alum Class of '91
Runner-up at the Inaugural Race
Detroit Titan Hall of Fame Member – Class of 2007
“I just remember the excitement/nerves about racing on the challenging course, and hoping there was home field advantage. I had a great deal of fun with my teammates at all cross country/track trips, and races. I still appreciate Kevin (Donner) and UDM for the college education, the awesome experiences, and friends made!”
Current Head Cross Country Coach Guy Murray
“Coach Donner started the meet my junior year and it was a novel concept as no one thought that we would ever host an event. We all trained at Cass-Benton but being from the west side of the state I wasn't familiar with the course for racing. It was amazing how the concept grew from a positive home meet experience for the team, parents, and alumni to the event it is now with about 800 competitors of all ages.
After the successful inaugural running, the men's team joined in the fun. Coach Clark set up a 5 miler all on the traditional 5k. I got to run this one and it was very hot and the hills and all the turns made it pretty tough. The blister I picked up in the race is still healing.
The next year, I helped design the men's 4 mile course incorporating the front part of the original Cass-Benton course. The new loop is all hills so we figured a hot and hilly 4 miler was enough to open the season. We also added the open 5k as a way to get more people involved. We had 52 total finishers with a large contingent of Coach Bob Parks' EMU redshirts including 1996 Olympian Paul McMullen, who ran his first cross country race after a high school football career.
In 1991 Detroit alum Gary Servais and Donner's teammate brought his Mercy High School team to compete and the concept of having the high school teams out was started. The meet was pretty low-key with a high school or two attending and we would run our track and field athletes to add numbers to the field until 1997 and that is when things took off. We marketed to teams looking for a lower key alternative to the annual West Bloomfield Invitational that was as tough as the state meet in many years.”
Timeline of Additions
1988 – Start of the Men's Race
1990 – Start of the Open Race
1991 – Mercy H.S. becomes the first high school team to join the event
1999 - After 325 finishers the men's and women's open races were split
2003 - Start of the Future Legends Race
2005 - Tommy Titan officially involved and running his races
2010 – Start of the Middle School Race
A Review of the Inaugural Running
September 12, 1987
Hazy - Humid 74 degree conditions
*Notre Dame was only in their second year as a varsity team
*The Tommy Titan Invite marked the first home meet in the history of the women's program at Detroit
Individual Finishers of Note:
1- Theresa Rice- Notre Dame- 18:49
2- Bonnie Fitzpatrick- Detroit- 19:14
4- Nancy Mandziara- Detroit- 19:53
5- Nancy Calder- Detroit- 19:57
8- Wendy Murray- Notre Dame- 20:08
11- Renee DeChambeau- Detroit- 20:18
13- Jean Wyckoff- Detroit- 20:25
15- Lisa Forner- Detroit- 20:48
16- Athalee Norman- Macomb- 20:52
17- Amy Sperry- Macomb- 20:53
18- Michelle Vogt- Detroit- 20:57
19- Louise Shaheen- Detroit- 21:01
29- Jennifer Hitzges- Detroit- 21:40
35- JoAnne Warren- Detroit- 22:19
41- Deanna McVicar- Detroit- 22:54
49- Kathy Morandini- Detroit- 30:26
Teams Results:
Notre Dame- 25
Detroit- 35
Macomb- 82
Cleveland State- 127
Schoolcraft- 131
Highland Park- 180
St. Mary's (IN) - DNF
