March 23, 2017
By Megan Golden
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame track and field team returns to action with a two-day outdoor meet at the Raleigh Relays at Noon ET on Friday at North Carolina State’s Paul Derr Track.
The Irish are coming off of their first outdoor meet of the year at the Yellow Jacket Invitational (Atlanta, Georgia), where several Notre Dame sprinters nearly matched their personal records.
WHAT: Raleigh Relays
WHEN: March 24-25, 2017 at Noon ET
WHERE: Paul Derr Track at North Carolina State (Raleigh, N.C.)
LIVE RESULTS: Click here.
LIVE BROADCAST: See below for details.
What to Watch
Notre Dame’s travel squad features several distance runners, including many student-athletes who were sidelined during the indoor season and are making their return to the track this weekend.
Among the student-athletes returning to competition is graduate student Danielle Aragon, who will race in the 800m.
Aragon, a four-time first team All-American, has finished in the top eight at the national meet in the distance medley relay three times in her career. In 2015, Aragon finished with All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team honors in the mile and with All-ACC Second Team honors in the 3,000m.
“I’m really excited to get back to competing,” Aragon said. “The first race back is always kind of like ripping off a band-aid — should be painful, but I can’t wait.
“Raleigh is a great meet and definitely a good place to open up at. We have a good little crew, and I’m excited to be back racing with everyone.”
Graduate students Kathleen Darling and Sydni Meunier and senior Lexi Pelletier will compete in the 1500m race.
Darling, who transferred to Notre Dame from Wake Forest following her senior year, will compete on the track for the first time with the Irish. As a junior, Darling finished fourth overall in the 10,000m race at the ACC Championships.
On the men’s side, juniors Brent Kennedy and Kevin Pulliam, sophomore Anthony Williams and freshmen Tyler Keslin and Sean Kurdy will race in the 5000m.
Williams led the men’s team at the 2016 ACC Cross Country Championships, finishing 28th overall with a personal record of 24:02.1.
“I’m very excited to get back on the track and show my fitness, along with the rest of the guys,” Williams said. “I think all of us are ready to have a strong showing, and I’m especially excited to watch Pulliam compete again after a long time off from racing.”
Live Coverage
The meet will be streamed live on ESPN3. To view the meet on Friday, click here. For Saturday’s meet coverage, click here.
For a closer, behind-the-scenes look at the Irish track and field team, follow @NDXCTF on Twitter.
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Megan Golden, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since August of 2016. In her role, she coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse and cross country/track and field programs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Golden is a 2014 graduate of Saint Mary’s College and former Irish women’s basketball manager. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she worked in public relations with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.