June 6, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Maddie Buttinger, Jack Howard, Jeremy Rae and Johnathan Shawel of the University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s track and field teams are set to represent the Irish at the 2011 Outdoor NCAA Championship meet, which begins Wednesday and continues through Saturday at the Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
Buttinger, a junior on the women’s team, qualified for the championship meet in the heptathlon after totaling 5,403 points at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship, which was a second-place finish at the league meet and 14th nationally.
Howard returns to the NCAA Finals for the 800-meter race after earning All-American status in the same event at the 2010 Indoor NCAA Championship and anchoring the distance medley relay to a fourth-place finish and his second All-America accolade at the 2011 Indoor Championship.
Shawel and Rae are set to compete in the 1,500-meter run after also earning All-American status in the distance medley relay at the 2010 Indoor Championship.
Howard begins competition for the Irish and will run the semifinals of the 800-meter race Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. (ET), followed by Rae and Shawel in the 1,500-meter semifinals run at 7:15 p.m. Thursday and Buttinger at 7:30 p.m. to begin the heptathlon with the 200-meter dash.
Check back to und.com for a complete recap of the events from the 2011 Outdoor NCAA Championship meet.
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