Jan. 14, 2004

The University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s track and field teams will begin the indoor portion of their 2004 schedule this weekend at the Central Michigan Opener in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., on Friday, Jan. 16, at 5:30 p.m.

After this weekend’s opener, the Irish will return to the Loftus Sports Center for three consecutive weekends of home meets. Notre Dame will take on Western Michigan and Ball State in a triangular meet on Jan. 23, followed by a quad meet with DePaul, Marquette and Michigan State on Jan. 30. The Meyo Invitational follows on Feb. 6 and 7.

Irish women are 21st in Trackwire’s first power ranking of the season:

The Irish women are 21st in Trackwire.com’s first ranking of the season. The Trackwire 25 projects a hypothetical score for the NCAA meet, based on scoring by the top 12 athletes and relay squads in each NCAA event.

The women’s team finished second in both the BIG EAST indoor and outdoor meets last season.

The Trackwire 25 for women:

1. LSU, 71

2. Texas, 48

2. Florida, 48

4. Stanford, 32

5. UCLA, 30

6. Arkansas, 29

7. North Carolina, 28

7. Nebraska, 28

9. Colorado, 22

10. South Carolina, 20

10. BYU, 20

10. West Virginia, 20

13. Tennessee, 19

13. Kansas State, 19

15. Georgia, 17

16. Baylor, 16

16. Florida State, 16

18. Providence, 15

19. Miami, 12

19. Georgia Tech, 12

21. Notre Dame, 11

22. Penn State, 9

22. Arizona, 9

24. Clemson, 8

24. Mississippi State, 8

24. Kent State, 8

Blue & Gold Invitational yields BIG EAST qualifications:

In just its second year, the Blue & Gold Invitational gives the Irish men’s and women’s team an opportunity to run in a meet environment before breaking for the holidays. Bethel College (Ind.) also participated in the meet on Dec. 5. The Notre Dame teams came out of the meet with 41 BIG EAST qualification marks.

Women:

60 meters: Maryann Erigha (7.55)

200 meters: Maryann Erigha (24.65), Kristen Dodd (24.98)

400 meters: Kristen Dodd (55.81), Okechi Obguokiri (57.27)

500 meters: Tiffany Gunn (1:15.79), Rose Brackel-Pierce (1:16.37)

1,000 meters: Elizabeth Webster (2:56.47)

Triple Jump: Petra Dankova (11.90m), Cassie Gullickson (11.73m)

High Jump: Stacey Cowan (1.75m), Jennifer Kearney (1.64m), Cassie Gullickson (1.59m)

Pole Vault: Laura Huarte (3.50m)

Men:

60-meter hurdles: Selim Nurudeen (7.93)

200 meters: Ryan Postel (21.68), Ryan Hurd (22.06), Selim Nurudeen (22.08)

400 meters: Ryan Postel (47.84)

500 meters: Trevor McClain-Duer (1:04.24)

Mile: Sean O’Donnell (4:12.20), Todd Mobley (4:13.02), AJ Andrassy (4:13.60), Tom Lennon (4:16.52), Brian Kerwin (4:17.03), Ryan Johnson (4:17.49), Todd Ptacek (4:18.38), David Alber (4:19.01)

1,000 meters: Thomas Chamney (2:27.52)

3,000 meters: Kurt Benninger (8:15.42), Kevin Somok (8:21.19), Eric Morrison (8:29.35)

Long Jump: Godwin Mbagwu (6.86m), Christopher Jacques (6.69m)

Triple Jump: Godwin Mbagwu (14.20m)

High Jump: Chris Staron (2.01m), Ryan Mineburg (1.96m), Christopher Jacques (1.96m), Adam Record (1.91m)

Loftus Center’s new surface on display in 2004:

There are a number of changes taking place at the Loftus Center this year, but possibly the most significant change occurred during the summer of 2003. A new artificial surface was installed for Meyo Field and a brand new, dark-blue MONDO track surface was laid down for the Meyo Track. Already respected as one of the fastest indoor tracks in the nation, Notre Dame’s home indoor track will be in top form this season.

Central Michigan Opener results:

Keep an eye on www.und.com for a complete recap and full results from this weekend’s meet.