Feb. 20, 2005
Syracuse, NY – The Notre Dame men currently stand in first place, and the women are in second place in Sunday action in Syracuse. Partial team standings are as follows:
Men: Through 13 Events
1. Notre Dame – 125.5
2. Rutgers – 88.5
3. Pittsburgh – 81
4. Georgetown – 52
Women: Through 13 Events
1. Pittsburgh – 108.5
2. Notre Dame – 71
3. Villanova – 62
4. Georgetown – 42
Kurt Benninger was the first BIG EAST Champion for the Irish to be crowned on Sunday. Benninger led the pack through the entire race, pulling teammate Eric Morrison through the line in second at the half-mile mark. Benninger picked up the pace in the last half-mile to win the race easily.
Immediately after Benninger won the mile, Selim Nurudeen successfully defended his BIG EAST Championship in a rerun of the 60-meter hurdles. Nurudeen broke his own school record with a 7.72, also a meet record for the BIG EAST Championsips. Nurudeen now holds the second-best time in the NCAA this season.
In the next race on the track, Tiffany Gunn made it three titles in a row for the Irish, leading from start to finish and winning the 500 meters in 1:13.44. The victory is her second BIG EAST title, to go along with her victory in the 2004 4×400-meter relay.
On Saturday, the men’s team captured two individual championships. Christopher Jacques won the long jump on Saturday, and the distance medley relay team won a thrilling race to close out day one.
Following is a recap of Irish competitors in each event that has been completed on Sunday:
This story will update throughout the day as the Championships continue in Syracuse.
60m DASH
Maryann Erigha was the runner-up in the women’s 60-meter dash with a time of 7.52. Brienne Davis took home seventh place honors, with a time of 7.70.
The Irish claimed positions two, three and four in the 60-meter dash, and picked up 19 team points. Dwight Ellick took second place (6.78), and was followed by Terrail Lambert (6.82) and Selim Nurudeen (6.83).
500m DASH
Tiffany Gunn claimed the first individual BIG EAST title of her career in the women’s 500 meters. Gunn led the entire way and finished with at time of 1:13.44.
A pair of Irish athletes took to the track in the men’s section of the 500 meters. Trevor McClain-Duer earned All-BIG EAST honors, taking third place with a time of 1:03.24. Austin Wechter was fifth across the line, and finished with a time of 1:04.70.
800m RUN
No athletes competed for Notre Dame in the women’s 800 meters.
The lone entrant in the final of the men’s 800 meters, Adam Currie took eight-place points in the event, with a time of 1:57.83.
1000m RUN
Freshman Jacqueline Carter was the first Irish runner on the track Sunday morning. Carter claimed a fifth place finish in her first trip to the BIG EAST Championship with a career-best time of 2:55.03.
The first Irish runners on the track on Sunday were Todd Ptacek and Jake Watson in the men’s 1,000 meters. Ptacek took home a fourth-place finish in the event with a season-best time of 2:26.29, while Watson finished seventh with a time of 2:29.72.
MILE
Stephanie Madia ran at the front of the pack for most of the women’s mile, and ended up garnering second-place in 4:52.28 to pick up All-BIG EAST honors. Katie DeRusso was a point scorer for the Irish with an eighth-place effort in the event, her time was 5:08.45.
Kurt Benninger led the entire way, and became the third Notre Dame BIG EAST Champion of 2005 (4:12.14). Following Benninger, Eric Morrison claimed fifth place (4:13.88), and Vinny Ambrico took seventh (4:14.43).
60m HURDLES
No athletes competed for Notre Dame in the women’s 60-meter hurdles.
Selim Nurudeen’s blocks slipped at the start of the men’s 60-meter hurdles, but the restart gun failed to fire, and the race was run to completion. The decision was made to rerun the race later on Sunday. In the later race, Nurudeen won in school record, and meet record, time (7.72). Geoffrey Bennett took fifth place in the event with a time of 8.19, a season-best effort for Bennett.
HIGH JUMP
Stacey Cown was the runner-up in the women’s high jump, clearing a height of 1.77m (5′ 9.75″). Cassie Gullickson took sixth place for the Irish with an effort of 1.65m (5′ 5″).
SHOT PUT
Meghan Horn set a new lifetime-best in the shot put by nearly a meter, claiming second place and All-BIG EAST honors with a toss of 14.85m (48′ 8.75″).
The lone competitor from Notre Dame in the men’s shot put was Mike Shubert. Shubert threw the shot 14.81m (48′ 7.25″) and claimed eighth place.
HEPTAHLON
No athletes competed for Notre Dame in the men’s heptathlon.