Dec. 5, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame ‘s men’s and women’s track and field programs starting the season on strong footing at Friday’s Blue & Gold Invitational at the Loftus Sports Center. The Irish saw two school records fall en route to capturing 22 of 30 events.
Freshman Jessica Harris kicked her collegiate career off in grand fashion, nabbing her first gold while smashing the school record in the indoor 1,000 meters. Her time of 2:46.47 bested the previous mark of 2:48.18 set by Rebecca Tracy in 2011. The Irish women also saw an indoor shot put record broken by Emily Morris, whose throw of 16.03 meters eclipsed Rudy Atang’s 15.64-meter mark set in 2011.
Head coach Alan Turner was impressed with the effort displayed by each of his squads, especially given the early-season nature of the event.
“I saw great efforts out there,” Turner said. “The effort was definitely there; the kids were competing really hard and competing hard needs to become a habit. ââ’¬¦ It’s important to go out there and give 100 percent efforts every time and they started off well tonight and did that. This is just going to care them throughout the year and I’m very pleased with that.”
On the men’s side, senior Chris Giesting’s 200-meter performance of 21.30 was the highlight evening, while he also made up the winning unit in the 4×400-meter relay with Ben Harvel, Oye Eyeguokan and Harvey Smith. Thrower Dominick Padovano also stood out to Turner, snagging third place in the men’s shot put.
WOMEN’S EVENTS
60m: Senior Jade Barber, whom Turner believed looked in midseason form, took first place for the Irish with a time of 7.59.
800m: Notre Dame runners captured the top three places in this event. Samantha Murray (2:14.00) came away with first, Alexis Daugherty (2:14.24) snagged second, and Jamie Marvil (2:14.36) took third.
Mile: Notre Dame swept the top three spots with Celena Guerrero (5:07.90) in first place, Elise Brady (5:16.64) in second place, and Catherine Lombard (5:23.98) in third place.
200m: Notre Dame took first place in this event thanks to Allie Bartoszewicz and her time of 24.87.
60m Hurdles: Jade Barber brought home first place with a time of 8.34. Taylor Craft took fourth with a time of 9.03.
1000m: In addition to Jessica Harris’ school record-breaking performance, Ashlyn Rambo (2.55.95) claimed second in the 1,000 meters.
400m: Notre Dame runners swept the top five spots in this event. Margaret Bambrose (54.77) took first, Payton Miller (56.30) took second, Jordan Shead (56.44) took third, Michelle Rotondo (56.82) took fourth, and Amber Lalla (56.87) took fifth.
3000m: Kaitlin Frei took second in this event with a time of 10:30.41.
4x400m Relay: The relay team of Parker English, Jordan Shead, Payton Miller, and Margaret Bamgbose claimed first place with a time of 3:46.28. The relay team of Samantha Murray, Jessica Harris, Alexis Daugherty, and Jamie Marvil took third with a time of 3:54.18.
Long Jump: Emily Carson placed first with a distance of 5.81 meters for the Irish.
High Jump: Rachel Rhodes brought home first place with a distance of 1.68m.
Triple Jump: Mary Ester Gourdin came in first with distance of 11.70m and Laura Wendelberger came in third with a distance of 11.54m.
Weight Throw: Ihuoma Nwaogwugwu brought home first place for the Irish with a distance of 17.34m. Emily Morris came in second with a distance of 16.88m. Lena Madison took fourth place with a distance of 16.27m.
Shot Put: Emily Morris’s school record toss was the first school mark for the senior.
MEN’S EVENTS
800m: Notre Dame runners swept the top three spots in the event. Patrick O’Connell (1:52.98) took first, Grant Koch (1:53.61) took second, and Andrew Stone (1:54.15) took third.
Mile: Billy Dolan (4:16.53) and Kris Moran (4:21.21) took first and second in this event. John Flannery came away with fifth place with a time of 4:25.85.
200m: Christopher Giesting brought home a first place finish with a time of 21.30. Harvey Smith took third with a time of 21.68.
60m Hurdles: Brent Swanberg claimed second place with a time of 8.64.
400m: Harvey Smith took second place with a time of 48.66 for the Irish.
3000m: Brent Kennedy (8:37.05) and Kevin Pulliam (8:56.95) brought home first and second place finishes respectively in this event.
4x400m Relay: The relay team of Harvey Smith, Ben Harvel, Oye Eyeguokan, and Christopher Giesting took first place with a time of 3:17.78. The relay team of Patrick O’Connell, Andrew Pott, Grant Koch, and Adam Turner took third with a time of 3:26.36.
Long Jump: Keith Mesidor claimed first place with a distance of 6.89m. Drake Stimson finished fifth with a distance of 6.08m.
High Jump: Hunter Holton brought home first place with a distance of 2.00m. Brent Swanberg (1.97m) and Drake Stimson (1.87m) took third and fourth.
Pole Vault: Notre Dame brought home first and second in this event. Nate Richartz came in first with a distance of 4.60m and David Schipper took second with a distance of 4.45m.
Weight Throw: The Notre Dame throwers claimed second, third, and fourth in this event. Anthony Shivers (17.19m) took second, Nick Hauser (16.76m) took third, and Dominick Padovano (16.50m) took fourth.
Shot Put: Dominick Padovano took third in this event with a distance of 15.68m.
–ND–