May 6, 2007
STORRS, Conn. – By the time the dust settled on Sunday afternoon at the 2007 BIG EAST Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, there was only one word to describe the performance of the Notre Dame women’s squad — historic.
For the first time since the program achieved varsity status in 1991, the Irish won a conference outdoor track & field title, pulling away down the stretch for a 120.5-106.5 victory over Louisville at the University of Connecticut’s George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex in Storrs, Conn. Georgetown closed well to take third place (103 points), with Connecticut (93.5) and two-time defending champion Pittsburgh (69) rounding out the top five.
The Notre Dame men came up short in their bid to sweep the BIG EAST indoor and outdoor track & field titles for the first time since 2003, finishing in third place with 110.5 points. Still, it marks the 11th time in the program’s 12-year conference membership that the Irish have placed in the top three at the BIG EAST outdoor meet. Louisville won its first men’s outdoor title with 142 points, while Connecticut edged past the Irish in the final events to earn runner-up honors with 120.5 points.
Fifth-year senior Molly Huddle (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) was named the Most Outstanding Women’s Track Performer for the second consecutive year, becoming only the third multiple winner of the honor since its inception in 1993, and the first back-to-back recipient since former Irish All-American Liz Grow took the hardware in 2001 and 2002. Yolanda McCray of Miami (Fla.) was the other two-time honoree in 1997 and 1999.
Huddle was chosen after making BIG EAST history by winning her fourth outdoor 5,000-meter title on Sunday in a time of 15:59.89, finishing nearly 10 seconds clear of her closest competitor. Huddle is the fifth BIG EAST woman to win four outdoor crowns in the same event (first since Miami’s Gillian Russell in the 100-meter hurdles from 1992-95), and first male or female to do so in a distance running event. In addition, she becomes the first BIG EAST athlete (male or female) ever to win both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter titles in the same meet twice in her career. Huddle also locked up her sixth career BIG EAST outdoor crown (and seventh overall), while carding her sixth outdoor all-conference selection (and 11th overall, third in school history).
“We had a lot of people compete extremely well across the board,” Notre Dame head coach Joe Piane said. “I can’t say enough about the wonderful performance by our sprinters, Molly (Huddle) did a brilliant job in her races and Anna (Weber) came through with a school record in the hammer. We’ve been so close before on the women’s side, and to finally get to the top of the heap is very sweet. We got the job done today and I couldn’t be prouder of these ladies.”
Piane and his veteran crew of assistants — Tim Connelly (distance), John Millar (sprints/relays/hurdles), Scott Winsor (jumps) and B.J. Linnenbrink (throws) — were lauded as the BIG EAST Women’s Outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year. It’s the first time the Irish coaches have received the women’s outdoor award, but the 10th time they have been so recognized since Notre Dame joined the BIG EAST for the 1995-96 academic year. All told, the Irish staff now has earned seven men’s coaching honors (three indoors, four outdoors) and three women’s coaching citations (two indoors, one outdoors).
Weber broke through for her first career all-BIG EAST certificate by taking third in the hammer throw at 56.09 meters (184-0). She actually broke Dore DeBartolo’s old school record (55.74m/182-10 at the 2000 Miami-Ohio Invitational) twice during Sunday’s competition, reaching 56.02 meters on her second throw and then stretching that mark on her second-to-last attempt. Weber’s distance also unofficially moves her into the top 15 on the Mideast Regional qualification list with that meet only two weeks away.
The Notre Dame women also got a significant boost from their relay squads, winning the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter titles on Sunday. Seniors Maryann Erigha (Stone Mountain, Ga./Chamblee) and Okechi Ogbuokiri (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro), and freshman Joanna Schultz (Holmen, Wis./Holmen) ran on both victorious relay units, with junior Brienne Davis (Grand Prairie, Texas/Grand Prairie) completing the 4×100 quartet that registered a season-best time of 45.31 seconds to move up the Mideast Regional ladder. Another junior Texan, Crysta Swayzer (Houston, Texas/Westbury Senior) took the final spot on the 4×400 squad that logged its own season-best time (3:39.87) that likewise improved the Irish regional standing.
The relays were only part of the story for the Notre Dame sprint corps. Erigha finished second in the 100 meters with a season-best time of 11.56 seconds, completing her career with school records for outdoor all-BIG EAST citations (8) and total all-conference honors (15). Ogbuokiri led a 2-3-4 Irish performance in the 400-meter dash, covering the one-lap circuit in 54.51 seconds, with Schultz in third place (54.78) and Swayzer taking fourth place (55.27). Ogbuokiri closes her Notre Dame career with six outdoor all-BIG EAST certificates (tying Huddle for second in program annals for that category), and 12 overall all-conference plaques — also second in school history behind Erigha’s 15 selections. Schultz pulls in her first three outdoor all-BIG EAST selections (to go along with two indoor honors back in February), while Swayzer earned her first two outdoor all-conference awards and now has six career all-BIG EAST honors. In addition, Davis garnered her second career all-BIG EAST parchment, both of which have come outdoors.
As it turned out, the sprints also yielded the only individual win for the Notre Dame men at this weekend’s BIG EAST outdoor meet. Freshman Balazs Molnar (Dunaujvaros, Hungary/Szechenyi Istvan) claimed the 400-meter hurdles crown in 51.62 seconds, becoming the first Irish sprinter (male or female) to win a conference title in that event. Molnar also ran the third leg on the Notre Dame 4×400-meter relay that finished second on Sunday in 3:10.83, giving the Hungarian national his first two outdoor all-BIG EAST honors, to go along with the two indoor plaques he won back in February.
Joining Molnar in the 4×400 relay foursome were seniors Ryan Postel (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Catholic) and Jordan Powell (Springfield, Ill./Calvary Academy), as well as junior Austin Wechter (Shelby, Ohio/Shelby). Postel caps his Irish career with seven outdoor all-BIG EAST citations (tying Ryan Shay for second-most in program history) and 11 overall all-conference selections, which puts him in a tie for fourth place in school annals (Selim Nurudeen holds the record with 15 all-league awards). Meanwhile, Powell was cited as an outdoor all-BIG EAST pick for the second time in his career, and will depart Notre Dame with six career all-conference trophies. Wechter earned his first career outdoor all-league honor and has three career all-BIG EAST selections.
Senior Thomas Chamney (Tipperary, Ireland/St. Columba’s) was denied in his attempt to win a first-ever BIG EAST individual title, taking second in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.85. Chamney also anchored the Irish 4×800-meter relay that finished in second place (7:31.27), as he closes out his college career with six outdoor all-BIG EAST honors and 11 overall all-conference picks, the latter total matching him with Postel, Luke Watson and Marshaun West for fourth in school history.
Juniors John Cavanaugh (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph’s) and Adam Currie (Verdun, Quebec/Richelieu Valley), and freshman Blake Choplin (Kansas City, Mo./Oak Park) also carried the baton on the 4×800 relay. Cavanaugh and Currie each collected their second career outdoor all-BIG EAST citation, with Currie now holding six all-league honors and Cavanaugh having received five all-conference plaudits, while Choplin garnered his first career all-BIG EAST certificate.
Other men’s all-conference honorees on Sunday included: junior Jake Watson (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area), who was second in the 1,500 meters (3:50.24), and sophomore Tray Morgan (Daphne, Ala./McGill-Toolen Catholic), who placed third in the pole vault with a career-best clearance of 4.80 meters (15-9). Sophomore Lauren Biscardi (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham Wading River) was the other women’s all-BIG EAST choice, tying for third in the high jump at 1.70 meters (5-7). Watson was a two-time all-league honoree this weekend (also placed third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase), doubling his career outdoor all-BIG EAST count and giving him three total (after a third-place finish in the BIG EAST indoor mile back in February). Both Morgan and Biscardi earned their first career all-conference citations, with Morgan appearing in his first-ever BIG EAST outdoor meet after missing last year’s event due to injury.
Notre Dame track & field athletes will have one final opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Mideast Regional when they travel to Atlanta, Ga., Friday and Saturday (May 11-12) for the Georgia Tech Invitational.
— ND —