March 24, 2013
HOUSTON, Texas – The University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s track and field teams concluded the 31st annual Victor Lopez Invitational on the campus of Rice University Saturday evening with a total of six first-place finishes, five runner-up finishes and 23 top-five finishes.
With each event based with an average of 20 participants and topping out to 63 in the largest event, the Irish earned each and every spot in their respective event during the two-day meet.
Jade Barber (100mH, 4x400m), Megan Yanik (400mH, 4x400m) and Chris Giesting (200m, 4x400m) each captured two first-place finishes in the Irish’s first outdoor meet of the season.
Madeline Casanova (hammer, discuss), Jarrod Buchanon (400mH, 4x400m) and Brendan Dougherty (400m, 4x400m) each racked up two top-five finishes throughout the weekend.
Notre Dame raised their performance from last season’s results by claiming five additional top-three finishes as the Irish registered a total of ten at last year’s meet.
The Irish head next to Palo Alto, Calif. for the Stanford Invitational March 29-30.
–ND–
First-Place Finishers:
Women
-100mH- Jade Barber (13.54)
-4x400m- J. Barber, Brown, Yanik and Bamgbose (3:35.06)
-Triple Jump- Mary Esther Gourdin (11.90m)
-400mH Megan Yanik (59.06)
Men
-200m- Chris Giesting (21.43)
-4x400m – Doughtery, Giesting, Buchanon and Feeney (3:07.65)
Complete Results (Top-10)
Women
Hammer: Vivien Devaney finished runner-up in the event with a hurl of 53.43m, trailing Shane Robinson from Rice by 1.03m. Madeline Casanova placed third after gathering a distance of 53.40m. The pair out threw their opponents by as much as 25.00m and was just two of seven to reach the 50.00m mark. Vivien’s throw was the year’s Victor Lopez Invitational.
1,500m: Emily Frydrych earned a third-place finish crossing the line at 4:32.46.
100m: Michelle Brown placed ninth in the event with a time of 12.15.
200m: Brown set a new person best in the event during the outdoor season with a 24.42 to finish fourth. Margaret Bamgbose (24.62) finished sixth followed by Aijah Urssery (24.94) who placed 10th in the field of 62 participants.
800m: Kaileen Healy placed sixth with a time of 2:14.30. The finish marked a career best for the sophomore.
100mH: Jade Barber won the event with a winning time of 13.54 in the field of 32 competitors. Barber held off Myesha Dixon (13.88) from Prairie View for the victory. The pair was the only two participants in the event to run under 14 seconds.
4x400m: The 4x400m team consisting of Barber, Brown, Megan Yanik and Bamgbose each contributed towards a first-place finish with a time of 3:35.06. The foursome beat out runner-up Prairie View by 5.84 seconds, the greatest margin between any team in the 19-team race.
High Jump: Kendra Jennings and Fiona Paladino tied for second-place with a height of 1.64.
Pole Vault: Kelly Burke claimed a second-place finish after reaching a height of 3.70m. The senior finish just .10m behind Jillena Decarteret from Northeastern. Chrissy Finkel (8th) gathered a height of 3.40m.
Triple Jump: Mary Esther Gourdin won the event with a leap of 11.90m holding off second-place finisher Chiara Allen from Western Michigan by a .12m.
400mH: Yanik captured a first-place finish after crossing the line at 59.06. Yanik and Harvard’s Autume Franklin (59.49) were the only two participants to under the one minute mark.
Shot Put: Emily Morris achieved her collegiate personal best with a hurl of 14.95m to finish second.
Discus: Casanova placed fifth throwing for a distance of 45.18m. Devaney placed 10th after her effort of 39.55m.
Javelin: Amanda Chamblee competed in the event for the first time this season and achieved a third-place finish throwing for a distance of 38.98.
Men
5,000m: Walter Schafer, the only Irish in the event, placed fifth stopping the clock at 14:57.32 in the field of 32 competitors. Schafer was just one of six to break the 15 minute mark, trailing a fourth-place finish by four seconds.
100m: Feeney finished sixth with a time of 10.82. It was just the second time in Feeney’s collegiate career he has participated in the event as he last competed in the event at the 2011 Purdue Mike Poehlein Invitational finishing with a time of 10.96.
200m: Giesting won the event in the field of 47 competitors with a winning time of 21.27. Feeney, not far behind, placed third crossing the line at 21.43. Brendan Dougherty finished in 10th place with a time of 21.94.
400m: Dougherty placed fourth stopping the clock at 47.47.
800m: Eddy Gibbons finished ninth with a time of 1:53.49. 110mH: Jarrod Buchanon placed ninth crossing the line at 15.13.
400mH: Buchanon (third-53.11) and Aaron Dunn (fourth-53.42) nabbed a top-five finish.
4x400m: The 4x400m team comprised of Dougherty, Giesting, Buchanon and Feeney won the event with a time of 3:07.65, holding off second-place Sam Houston State (3:08.32) in the field of 13 teams.
Long Jump: Keith Mesidor placed fourth with a leap of 7.11m. Logan Renwick finished sixth with a distance of 7.04m.
Triple Jump: Renwick finished third after gathering a distance of 14.60m.
Discus: Dominick Padovano placed fourth after throwing for 48.69m.
Shot Put: Andrew Brock placed eighth in the event with a distance of 15.92m.