Feb. 8, 2018
By Matt Paras
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame track & field program will look to build off a number of impressive performances at last weekend’s Meyo Invitational when it travels to Ohio and Iowa this weekend.
WHAT: SPIRE D-1 Invitational
WHEN: February 9-10, 2018
WHERE: SPIRE Institute (Geneva, Ohio)
LIVE RESULTS: SPIRE D-1 Invite Stats
WHAT: Iowa State Classic
WHEN: February 9-10, 2018
WHERE: Lied Recreation Athletic Center (Ames, Iowa)
LIVE RESULTS: Iowa State Classic Stats
Iowa State Classic
A group of six Irish athletes will be heading to Ames, Iowa for the Iowa State Classic. That group includes Jacob Dumford, Jessica Harris, Annie Heffernan, Kirk Hansen, Tyler Keslin and Yared Nuguse.
Harris looks to build on her success from last week when she runs in the 3000m. Last weekend at the Meyo Invitational, Harris ran in the 3000m for the first time and blew away the competition. She raced out to a big lead to win the invitational section of the meet with a time of 9:19.50. She finished more than four seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
Nuguse will also look to keep his string of good runs going this weekend in Ames. He has finished first in his last two races, which came in the mile and 3000m event. A few weeks back at the Notre Dame Invitational, Nuguse won the 3000m run with a time of 8:16.15. Last weekend, he ran in the Meyo Mile and won with a time of 4:02.44.
Dumford was right behind Nuguse in the Meyo Mile. He finished third overall with a time of 4:03.43. He will be competing in the 800m run this weekend at Ames.
SPIRE D-1 Invitational
The rest of the team will travel east to compete in the SPIRE D-1 Invitational in Geneva, Ohio. They will go up against some of the best talent across the Midwest in the two-day meet.
Jordan Shead will be running in the 200m dash and 4x400m relay this weekend in Ohio. At the Meyo, she finished first in the 400m invitational section. Shead ran a 53.45, which currently ranks first in the ACC and 15th in the country. She also anchored the 4x400m relay to a third place finish after a 52.70 split.
Indi Jackson will be back in the shot put this weekend at the D-1 Invitational. Jackson has been one of the most consistent finishers for the Irish in the field events. She has four top-five finishes this season, including three in the top-three. Her best mark came last weekend at the Meyo with a 15.51m (50-10.75).
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Matt Paras, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since January 2018. In his role, he coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse and cross country/track & field programs. A native of Warwick, Rhode Island, Paras is a graduate of the University of Louisville where he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sport Administration. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, he worked at Vanderbilt University as the sports information contact for the women’s soccer and lacrosse programs.