LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After a successful first day in Louisville, Notre Dame could not be stopped on the second and final day, tallying five first place finishes, a sweep in the javelin and a new school record in the women’s 3K.
Senior Jessica Harris etched her name into the Notre Dame records book as she broke a 20-year-old record in just her second race since the fall cross country season as she crossed the 3K finish in 9:09.71 and second overall. The previous record, set in 1999 by JoAnna Deeter, stood at 9:18.31 until Harris shattered it Saturday afternoon.
Keeping the winning ways going, Sumer Thorpe took the top spot in both the 100m hurdle prelims and finals. With a 13.30 second finish in her first outing of the day, Thorpe automatically qualified for the later finals where she shaved 0.16 seconds off her first race, crossing the line in 13.14 seconds for gold.
In the field, Rachel Tanczos followed up her school record performance Friday night in the hammer throw with a win in the women’s discus. She threw for a day-best 51.08m to claim the top finish of the afternoon and her second of the weekend meet.
For the second time this season, the Irish swept the javelin event, winning both the men’s and women’s events. Austin Parsons posted the best throw of the day with a 60.44m finish and first overall while Gabrielle Diederich also won her field event, with a performance of 43.24m. The first place finish marked her second of the season, having previously set the school record at the Victor Lopez Classic to open the season.
Also in the field events, the Irish men earned the top two places in the discus with Daniel Hardiman winning it all. Daniel Hardiman threw for 49.87m before Shae Watkins finished second with a day-best throw of 48.79m.
The Irish also had numerous other medalists as 10 individuals and one relay taking one of the top three spots. On top of five golds, Notre Dame claimed six silver medalists and four individual bronzes. The women’s 4x100m relay team of Jernaya Sharp, Summer Thorpe, Madysen Hunter and Kyla Lewis combined for a 45.88 second finish for second overall.
Up Next
Notre Dame returns to the track for the Bryan Clay Invitational midweek before a trip to the Virginia Challenge at the end of the week. The Bryan Clay Invitational, in Azusa, California, begins Wednesday, April 17 through Friday, April 19. The team will be in Charlottesville, Virginia for the Virginia Challenge April 19-20.
