March 12, 2005
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Notre Dame’s Kurt Benninger (Chepstow, Ontario/Walkerton D.S.S.) completed an outstanding weekend at the NCAA indoor championships by placing fourth in the one-mile in a time of 4:02.24 to garner his second All-America honor of the meet. The sophomore was also part of the Fighting Irish distance medley team that placed sixth on Friday night to achieve All-America status. Irish junior Stephanie Madia (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny), a late addition to the crew of Irish athletes at the championships, placed 12th in the 3,000-meters with a time of 9:36.67 on Saturday evening at the Randol Tyson Track and Field Complex.
“Yesterday I just wanted to go out and race as best as I could to make it to the finals,” stated Benninger following competition on Saturday. “I also just wanted to do whatever I could to get the job done in the DMR. Today the mile didn’t go like I had planned but I made a strong move at the end.”
“This is just a great meet to be at for the first time,” said Benninger. “It was incredible to be here and see things like a world record in the 400. Seeing things like that is impressive and makes you want to work even harder.”
In the first day of competition on Friday, five Notre Dame student-athletes earned All-America honors at the NCAA indoor track and field championships. Senior Selim Nurudeen (Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood) collected All-America honors by placing sixth in the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 7.78. Benninger was part of the All-America distance medley team by running his leg in 3:58 to go along with winning his one-mile heat in a time of 4:03.79 earlier in the evening. Notre Dame sent seven student-athletes to the NCAA meet in six events. Below is a complete list of how each Fighting Irish athlete faired during Friday and Saturday’s competition.
SATURDAY, MARCH 12
Men’s one-mile final: Outstanding performance by sophomore Kurt Benninger, who posted a time of 4:02.24 to place fourth and earn All-America status in the event. He also took home All-America honors with his distance medley relay team on Friday night. This was Kurt’s second trip to an NCAA meet (first indoor) and his first All-America accolades.
Women’s 3,000-meter: Junior Stephanie Madia placed 12th in a time of 9:36.67 in her first-ever NCAA meet.
FRIDAY, MARCH 11
Women’s high jump: Junior Stacey Cowan (Ferndale, Wash./Ferndale) placed in a tie for 19th with a jump of 5-feet, 7.75-inches (1.72m). This was her second consecutive trip to the NCAA indoor meet.
Men’s 60-meter hurdles: Decorated senior Selim Nurudeen, who was making his third trip to an NCAA championship, garnered his first-ever All-America honor by placing sixth in a time of 7.78. He posted a time of 7.77 in the preliminaries earlier in the day.
Men’s one-mile preliminaries: Sophomore Kurt Benninger was victorious in his heat as he crossed the finish line in 4:03.79.
Men’s 200-meter dash: Selim Nurudeen did not advance to the finals after clocking in a time of 21.91.
Men’s distance medley relay: The team of Benninger, seniors Eric Morrison (Ancaster, Ontario/St. Mary’s) and Trevor McClain-Duer (Olmstead Falls, Ohio/St. Ignatius) along with freshman Adam Currie (Verdun, Quebec/Richelieu Valley) placed sixth to reach All-America status in a time of 9:36.67. It was the first such honor for each individual. Benninger ran his leg in a time of 3:58.
Full results from the championships are posted on www.ladybacks.com. Log onto www.und.com for additional information.
— ND –