Senior Selim Nurudeen garnered All-America honors in the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA indoor championships on Friday.

Irish Track and Field Opens Indoor Season At Central Michigan

Jan. 15, 2005

MT. PLEASANT, Mich. – The University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s track and field teams opened the season on Saturday afternoon at the Central Michigan Indoor Open. Four Fighting Irish athletes captured first-place finishes, including sophomore Maryann Erigha (Stone Mountain, Ga./Chamblee) in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.51, at the Jack Skoog Indoor Track. She also tied a personal-best mark as she ran 7.47 in the prelims. The meet, which also featured Michigan State and other `unattached’ competitors, did not have overall team scoring. Notre Dame did not send its full roster to the event.

Sophomore Okechi Ogbuokiri (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) joined her classmate Erigha as a winner when she crossed the finish line at 56.87 in the 400-meter dash. Placing fourth and fifth in that same event was senior Tiffany Gunn (Little Rock, Ark./McClellan Bus. Magnet) and freshman Crysta Swayzer (Houston, Texas/Westbury Senior) in times of 57.63 and 58.64, respectively. Gunn was a second-place finisher in the 60-meter hurdles after posting a time of 8.75, while freshman teammate Domenique Manning (Riverside, Calif./John W. North) was fourth at 8.80.

Irish junior Stacey Cowan (Ferndale, Wash./Ferndale) won the women’s high jump competition with a leap of 5-feet, 6-inches in the finals. Sophomore Cassie Gullickson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Brentwood) tied for third with a jump of 5-feet, 2.25-inches. In the throwing competitions, junior Meghan Horn (Upper Sandusky, Ohio/Upper Sandusky) placed second in the shot put after a throw of 45-feet, 6.25-inches and she collected a personal-best performance in the weight throw with a fourth-place mark of 49-feet, 11.75-inches.

On the men’s side, Notre Dame senior Selim Nurudeen (Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood) had a big day as he won the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 7.87 and registered a personal-best showing in the 60-meter dash after crossing the line at 6.85 to place third overall.

Sophomore Dave Viken (Mt. Prospect, Ill./Rolling Meadows) turned a personal-best height of 15-feet, 5.5-inches in the pole vault, resulting in a second-place finish. Senior Chris Staron (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard) claimed second in the high jump with a mark of 6-feet, 5.5-inches and freshman Michael Schubert (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) was also a second-place finisher with a toss of 48-feet, 3.5-inches in the shot put. Another personal-best for the Irish was registered by senior Chip Roberts (Franklin, N.J./Wallkill Valley Regional), who had a weight throw mark of 56-feet, 5.25-inches to place third in the competition.

Notre Dame will now return to the Loftus Sports Center for three consecutive weekends of home meets. The Irish will host the Notre Dame Indoor Opener on January 21st and the Notre Dame Invitational on January 29th. The Meyo Invitational will also be held on campus on February 4th and 5th.

Full results of today’s action are posted on the official Central Michigan University athletics web site at www.cmuchippewas.com. Log onto www.und.com to follow the Fighting Irish throughout the 2005 campaign.

— ND –