June 20, 2018
By Matt Paras
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Two current Irish track and field athletes and six Irish alumni will compete at the 2018 USATF Championships beginning on Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa.
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 2018 Athletics World Cup in London, England, next month.
Nate Richartz and Anna Rohrer will be competing for the Irish this weekend with Rohrer scheduled for the 5000m championship and Richartz in the pole vault championship. Rohrer broke the NCAA Outdoor Championship record in the 10000m final (32:26.24) in Eugene. She finished sixth overall and earned first team All-American honors. Richartz finished 11th in the pole vault at nationals to earn second team All-American honors.
Former Irish athletes Kaila Barber (400m hurdles), Jade Barber (100m hurdles) and Chris Giesting (800m) will compete in the U.S. Championships. The trio will also be joined by Irish alumnae Molly Seidel (10000m), Danielle Aragon (1500m) and 2016 Olympian and U.S. 10000m record-holder Molly Huddle (10000m).
The Irish had three current athletes compete in the 2018 Junior Outdoor Championships last weekend in Bloomington, Ind. Yared Nuguse won the 1500m national championship and will be representing the United States next month at the IAAF World U20 Championships in Finland.
For the complete U.S. Championships schedule, click here. The four-day meet will get underway Thursday afternoon and conclude Sunday afternoon.
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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.