April 21, 2017
By Megan Golden
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The University of Notre Dame track and field team turned in a successful first day of the Virginia Challenge on Friday at Lannigan Field.
Several Irish distance runners made the trip to Charlottesville, while the majority of the sprinters and jumpers took to Baylor to compete on Saturday.
Junior Jessica Harris set the tone for the Irish, breaking her own school record with a third-place finish (2:03.23) in the 800m. Harris’ time ranks third in the Atlantic Coast Conference and eighth in the country this season.
Harris was followed by graduate student Danielle Aragon (11th, 2:07.27) and sophomore Kelly Hart (12th, 2:07.30). For Aragon, the race marked her fastest since she ran 2:06.40 at the 2013 Stanford Invitational. Hart, meanwhile, set an outdoor personal record after running the 800m in 2:07.19 at the 2017 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Senior Jamie Marvil finished 28th in the 800m with a time of 2:11.06. Sophomore Stephanie Knight (2:12.44) and freshman Emily Franz (2:13.05) finished 42nd and 44th, respectively.
Junior Kirk Hansen recorded a 10th-place finish in the 800m, setting a personal record with a time of 1:49.80. Senior Eric Gebeke fell just shy of his personal record with a 20th-place finish and time of 1:50.94.
In the 3,000m steeplechase, graduate student Sydni Meunier finished 12th with a time of 10:34.07.
Midway through the women’s heptathlon, sophomore Rachel Rhodes finished the day in 14th place overall. Rhodes finished 10th in the 200m dash (29.56).
In the first 10,000m of her young career, sophomore Annie Heffernan medaled silver as she recorded a time of 34:11.17. Heffernan’s time ranks 44th in the country and fourth on the Irish roster this season, trailing Rohrer (No. 1), graduate student Molly Seidel (No. 4) and junior Lexi Pelletier (No. 31).
Coming Up Next
The Irish return to action in split-squad meets at the Virginia Challenge at Lannigan Field (Charlottesville, Virginia) and at the Michael Johnson Invitational at Baylor’s Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium (Waco, Texas) on Saturday.
Following this weekend’s action, Notre Dame will divide and conquer at the Penn Relays and the Gina Relays. The Penn Relays will run from April 27-29 at Ben Franklin Field (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). The Gina Relays will take place from April 28-29 at Ken Herrick Track (Hillsdale, Michigan).
For a closer, behind-the-scenes look at the Irish track and field team, follow @NDXCTF on Twitter.
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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.