Five teams are expected to compete at the annual Louisville Invitational in Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Purdue.
Louisville Invitational
Date: April 12-13, 2019
Time: 2:30 p.m. | 10:30 a.m.
Location: University of Louisville Cardinal Park | Louisville, Kentucky
Host: University of Louisville
Results: http://sidearmstats.com/louisville/track/index.htm
At A Glance
- On the men’s side, two teams are currently ranked inside the top-30 while the women’s competition will feature one as the Irish are ranked 29th at the latest USTFCCCA poll (April 8).
- The last time the team made the trek south to Louisville for the annual Invitational, the team finished fourth overall and featured four first place finishes, including two from current members of the Irish squad.
- Jess Harris won her first event of the season at the Louisville Invitational last season, taking the top spot in the 1,500m run with a time of 4:26.44.
- Logan Kusky also won an event at the meet, taking gold in the hammer throw contest with a throw of 58.39m.
By The Numbers
- 30 — Logan Kusky boasts the 30th-best hammer throw performance in the country this season after his win at the North Florida Invitational (63.92m).
- 29 — Between the two teams, 29 freshmen joined the ranks of the Fighting Irish for the 2018-19 season, including 11 women and 18 men.
- 29 — At the preseason USTFCCCA rankings, the Irish women ranked 24th in the nation, following their 46th place finish at last season’s NCAA Championships. At the latest release, the women sit 29th in the nation.
- 10 — In the 10K race, two Irish men boast times in the top-20: Kevin Salvano (17th, 28:54.46) and Danny Kilrea (18th, 28:55.25).
- 8 — Following her run at the Stanford Invitational, Jess Harris’ 800m time of 2:04.84 ranks eighth in the nation.
- 7 — Yared Nuguse owns the seventh fastest outdoor time in the 800m thus far in 2019, running a 1:48.29 finish at the Stanford Invitational.
- 7 — At the North Florida Invitational, seven Irish team members won their events including sweeps in both the hammer throw and javelin.
- 6 — Six members of the Irish team qualified for nationals in the 2018 outdoor season, including four who return for the 2018-19 season.
- 4 — The Notre Dame Track & Field team welcomed four new faces to the coaching staff in 2018-19 including three assistants (Kendra Foley – W. Distance, Wayne Pate – Sprints, Rodney Zuyderwyk – Jumps) and a volunteer assistant coach (Cole Hester – M. Distance).
- 4 — Three current Irish team members hold Notre Dame school records on the track and in the field (outdoors), combining for five total records. Jess Harris (800m, 1500m, DMR), Anna Rohrer (10K), Kelly Hart (DMR) and Gabe Diederich (Javelin).
- 1 — Meghan Scott, in her first collegiate race, clocked a first place finish in the women’s 5K at the Spartan Invitational.
- 1 — Yared Nuguse came out of the gate with a first place finish in the men’s 800m run at the Stanford Invitational. Having not been on a track since his national championship in the men’s DMR during the indoor season, Nuguse crossed the finish in 1:48.29.
- 1 — One record has already fallen for the Irish this outdoor season, as Gabrielle Diederich set the Notre Dame program record in the javelin at the Victor Lopez Invitational (47.21m).
- 1 — This is Matt Sparks’ first season at the helm of the Fighting Irish, having previously served four years as an assistant and associate head coach for the team.
What They’re Saying
- “We have three weekends before the ACC Championship and this weekend will provide good weather and great competition. Louisville is always a great host and understands how to put on a top notice track meet.
- “We have several of our men’s distance runners who will sit out this weekend as they already have NCAA qualifying marks and are resting up for the championship season. The women’s team will be competing at close to full strength.” — Hatherly-Piane Head Coach Matt Sparks.
Last Time Out
- Seven members of the Irish team earned first place finishes at last weekend’s North Florida Invitational — Rachel Tanczos (women’s hammer throw), Logan Kusky (men’s hammer throw), Austin Parsons (men’s javelin), Gabrielle Diederich (women’s javelin), Abbey Kapitan (women’s shot put), Shae Watkins (men’s discus), Matthew Vietzen (men’s 1,500m).
- Meghan Scott won the women’s 5K race at the annual Spartan Invitational, suiting up for the Irish for the first time.
- Yared Nuguse and Jess Harris both medaled in their first outdoor meet of the season, finishing first and second in their respective 800m races at the Stanford Invitational.
- Gabrielle Diederich etched her name in the Notre Dame records book with her 47.21m throw in the javelin at the Victor Lopez Classic to kick off the outdoor season.
- Last season, the Irish sent six representatives to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, four of which return for the 2019 season.
- Rachel DaDamio, Jessica Harris, Annie Heffernan and Anna Rohrer are all veterans of the championship meet, having competed last year to bring the women a tie for 46th place at the national meet.
- At their most recent indoor meet, the Irish ran away with their fourth National Title in men’s program history when the DMR crossed the line first at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in 9:31.55.
- Many indoor records fell in 2018-19, three of which stood at the end of the season. Logan Kusky broke men’s numerous weight throw records while Abbey Kapitan and Rachel Tanczos went back and forth with records in the women’s weight throw.
- The men’s DMR set the fastest time in program and Meyo Track history with a 9:26.10 finish at the Alex Wilson Invitational and posted the second-best time ever recorded in the NCAA.
- At the ACC Indoor Championships, Notre Dame recorded four conference titles in the Men’s DMR, Men’s Weight Throw, Women’s Weight Throw and Men’s Mile.
Up Next
- The Irish are back on the road with two meets next weekend between the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California and the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville, Virginia.
- The Bryan Clay meet will run April 17-19 on the campus of Azusa Pacific University.
- The Virginia Challenge will get underway April 19, running two days on the campus of Acc rival, the University of Virginia.