Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Irish Compete at USA Track & Field Championships

June 22, 2017

By Megan Golden

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Four current Irish track and field athletes and five Irish alumni will compete at the U.S. Championships and Junior Championships, beginning on Thursday.

The meet not only serves as the national championship, but it also is the qualifying meet for those athletes looking to make the U.S. team that will compete at the 2017 World Championships in London, England, later this year.

The Junior Championships also will take place in Sacramento, where athletes ages 19-and-under will try to earn a spot on the U.S. Junior Pan American team and compete in Lima, Peru.

Four current members of the Irish roster will compete in Sacramento, including junior Jessica Harris, who will compete in the U.S. Championships 1,500m race. Freshmen Ryan Schweizer (1,500m), Logan Kusky (hammer) and Summer Thorpe (100m hurdles) will compete in the U.S. Junior Championships.

Former Irish athletes and current volunteer assistant coaches Kaila Barber (400m hurdles), Jade Barber (100m hurdles) and Chris Giesting (800m) will compete in the U.S. Championships. The trio will be joined by Irish alumnae Mary Saxer (pole vault) and 2016 Olympian and U.S. 10,000m record-holder Molly Huddle (5,000m and 10,000m).

Irish alumna and volunteer assistant coach Margaret Bamgbose, who was a 2016 Olympic semifinalist, has qualified for the 2017 World Championships in the 400m and the 4x400m relay for Nigeria.

For the complete U.S. Championships schedule, click here. To visit the entire U.S. Junior Championships schedule, click here.

For more information on the Irish track and field program, follow @NDXCTF on Twitter.

–ND–

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.