The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Joe Piane Invitational
Cross Country Heads to South Bend for Joe Piane Invitational
10/1/2026 3:26:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
SOUTH BEND – UAB Cross Country comes off its 4-week hiatus with a trip to South Bend, Indiana for the Joe Piane Invitational. The meet is hosted by Notre Dame. The trip to South Bend is the Blazers' first since the 2013 season and also traveled to the Fighting Irish's home meet in 2011 and 2004.
THE FIELD
Along with the Blazers, almost two dozen teams will be making the trip to Indiana this weekend to compete in the Gold Division race. Eastern Michigan, Purdue-Fort Wayne, UTSA, Marquette, Northern Illinois, Kent State, Toledo, Central Michigan, Omaha, and Valparaiso are among the teams competing with UAB on Friday morning.
THE LAST TIME OUT
For the third straight year, UAB finished third in the Foothills Invitational in Oxford, Ala. on September 4. Katie Keur placed sixth overall for the second consecutive season and Lidia Longo finished 18th. Keur's time of 17:46 was her personal best while Longo finished in 18:38.
Kaitlyn Wende had a strong finish on Friday morning securing the third spot in the Blazers' lineup. Wende finished with a time of 18:45 and placed 23rd overall. True freshman Liana Matura completed her first career race by coming in 28th overall. Matura set her initial 5k time coming in at 19:06.
Rounding out the top five for UAB was Anna Pierce. In her first race as a Blazer, Pierce finished 50th overall with a time of 20:09.
MEET INFO
All meet info, schedules, and maps can be found on uabsports.com/sports/womens-cross-country/schedule.
FOLLOW THE BLAZERS
Stay up to date with UAB Cross Country by following @UAB_TF_XC on Instagram and X.
