March 1, 2002
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s track and field teams began competition in the 2002 Alex Wilson Invitational on Friday evening in the Loftus Sports Center. The meet, which does not feature team scoring, will continue on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
Junior Tameisha King and the women’s distance medley relay team each registered event victories for the Irish. King won the long jump with a leap of 6.19 meters, which set new meet and track records. The jump was also enough to qualify her provisionally for the NCAA Championships.
The distance medley relay team of Jennifer Handley, Kristen Dodd, Megan Johnson and Lauren King also posted a provisional qualifying time of 11:26.92, finishing nearly six seconds ahead of the competition. The squad set a new school record, besting their mark set earlier this season at the Meyo Invitational by nearly 15 seconds. The Irish also set new meet and track records.
In men’s action, sophomore Todd Mobley also posted a provisional qualifying time in the 5,000 meter run, finishing in 14:14.33, his career-best time in the event.
A highlight of Friday’s action was the men’s distance medley relay, which featured six teams posting automatic NCAA qualifying times and six more turning in provisional times. Villanova won the event in 9:33.07, marking the fastest time in the nation this year. The Wildcats’ time was less than a second away from breaking the collegiate record.
The Alex Wilson Invitational is one of the best ‘last chance meets’ in the nation, as teams and individual runners from around the country take one last shot at making the field at the NCAA Championships, to be held next weekend (March 8 & 9) in Fayetteville, Ark.