Feb. 1, 2018
By Matt Paras
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame track & field team is set to host the 31st annual Meyo Invitational this weekend at the Loftus Sports Center. 889 total athletes will compete in one of the most prestigious meets of the indoor season. The two-day meet begins Friday at 4 pm ET and will continue Saturday morning at 9:45 am ET.
“We are really looking forward to the meet this weekend,” said head coach Alan Turner. “It is one of biggest meets of the indoor season and a number of top athletes will be here. It is a great opportunity for our team to go against some of the best athletes in the country in preparation for the ACC and NCAA Championships.”
WHAT:Meyo Invitational
WHEN: 4 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 2; 9:45 a.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 3.
WHERE: Loftus Sports Center (Notre Dame, Ind.)
LIVE RESULTS: Meyo Invite Live Results
ACC NETWORK EXTRA: Watch Live (Sat. 2-4pm)
TWITTER: @NDXCTF
What to Watch
The Meyo Mile is one of the premier events at the Meyo Invitational, as a number of national qualifiers will run in the event. The Irish will be well represented, as Jacob Dumford and Yared Nuguse will run. Last year, Dumford finished third in the event with a personal record time of 4:02.77.
Notre Dame will also have strong contingent of runners in the 3000m. On the women’s side, Annie Heffernan and Jessica Harris will run in the invitational section of the event. Brian Griffith and Andrew Alexander will compete in the Ryan Shay 3000m for the men.
Senior Jordan Shead will be running in the invitational sections of the 400m dash Saturday afternoon. She ran a season-best time of 54.65 in the 400m at the Blue and Gold Invitational, which currently ranks third in the ACC.
Logan Kusky, John Stefan and Shae Watkins will be going up against a strong field in the weight throw. The last time Kusky competed at Loftus, he won the event with a personal-best throw of 19.31m. The throw currently ranks second in the ACC.
Indi Jackson, Abbey Kapitan and Rachel Tanczos will lead the Irish in the women’s shot put. Jackson finished third overall at the Indiana Relays last weekend with a throw of 15.44m. Tanczos set a personal best mark of 14.03m at the Indiana Relays and finished ninth.
Matthew Birzer and Hunter Holton have been two of the most consistent athletes for the Irish this season in the high jump. Birzer has won the event in three straight meets. Holton has not been far behind, finishing in the top-four in every meet this season.
ACC Network Extra
A portion of Saturday’s meet will be televised on the ACC Digital Network Extra. The broadcast will begin at 2 p.m. and will run until the conclusion of the final track event. Fans can follow along live here.
Coming Up Next
Following the Meyo Invitational, Notre Dame will split off and compete in two meets next weekend. They will travel to the Iowa State Classic (Ames, Iowa) and the Spire D-1 Invitational (Geneva, Ohio).
For more on the Irish track and field programs, follow @NDXCTF on Twitter and Instagram.
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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.