Feb. 23, 2017
By Megan Golden
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — On the first day of the Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, the University of Notre Dame recorded an enormous victory in the women’s distance medley relay as they sprinted past Clemson to slide into 10th place nationally.
Following day one, the Notre Dame men’s team stands in second with 11 points, trailing just Virginia (15). The Irish women are in fourth overall with 10 points behind Louisville (26), Miami (22) and Florida State (11).
Women’s DMR Wins
The women’s DMR squad — which included sophomore Kelly Hart, junior Payton Miller, senior Jamie Marvil and junior Jessica Harris — finished first in 11:02.32. The foursome’s mark currently ranks first in the conference and 10th in the country this season. The top 12 times ultimately will qualify for the national meet.
Harris made the final push past Clemson, passing the Tigers and winning the race in the final steps.
“We had an honest battle the last 400m that lasted through to the final meters,” Harris said. “What really got me through until the finish was seeing my relay teammates screaming down the home stretch, cheering me on. Passing her was the only way to bring to culmination the work we’ve put in to get here.”
Men’s DMR Places Third
The men’s distance medley relay, which consisted of seniors Jacob Dumford, Christopher Marco, junior Drake Stimson and freshman Ryan Schweizer, finished third with a time of 9:36.15.
Notre Dame passed its previous season-best and now ranks second in the ACC and 21st in the country.
Carrying the Weight
Notre Dame senior Anthony Shivers broke his school record with a 20.50m throw in the weight throw on day one of the ACC Championships. Shivers placed fifth in the event, scoring four points for the Irish and earning All-ACC honors.
Shivers, who entered the season with the school’s all-time best mark, has broken the record twice this season. Shivers’ time ranks 31st in the country, falling 15 places shy of national qualification.
“It’s really exciting that he’s able to further the school record week after week,” Irish assistant coach Adam Beltran said. “It makes us even more excited for what’s to come in the outdoor season.”
Top Irish Finishers
Men’s Heptathlon:
11. Carter Sorenson – 2687
Women’s Pentathlon:
15. Rachel Rhodes – 2661
Men’s Weight Throw:
5. Anthony Shivers – 20.50m
Women’s Weight Throw:
16. Abbey Kapitan – 15.31m
Women’s DMR Final:
1. Notre Dame – 11:02.32
Men’s DMR Final:
3. Notre Dame – 9:36.15
Dual Sport Success
Freshman Troy Pride Jr., who also is on the Irish football team, is coming off of a first-place finish (6.93) in the 60m dash at the Alex Wilson Invitational on Saturday.
Pride owns season bests of 6.85 in the 60m and 22.01 in the 200m, and will compete in both events at the ACC Championships. He will need to lower his times by approximately .20 in order to qualify nationally.
Pride made 12 tackles in eight games as a cornerback on the Irish football team this past fall.
Rohrer Repeat?
Notre Dame sophomore Anna Rohrer, the 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Champion, will look to win her second straight conference championship this school year. Rohrer ran the ACC Championship 6K last fall in 19:26.4, and followed up that performance with a third-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championship.
Rohrer ran a season-best 9:15.22 in the 3,000m race at the Meyo Invitational and will compete in the 3,000m and 5,000m at the conference meet. She currently ranks 26th nationally in the 3,000m, so she will aim to trim her time by nearly 20 seconds in order to qualify nationally.
Coming Up Next
The Irish return to Loftus on Friday for an action-packed day, beginning with the men’s high jump at Noon ET. The entire schedule of events can be viewed here.
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Megan Golden, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since August of 2016. In her role, she coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse and cross country/track and field programs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Golden is a 2014 graduate of Saint Mary’s College and former Irish women’s basketball manager. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she worked in public relations with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.