April 3, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In Notre Dame’s first and only outdoor home track meet of the season, the Irish men’s squad finished first and the women second in the nine-team Spring Opener meet Saturday at Monogram Track. The Spring Opener meet was part of USA Track & Field’s Collegiate Series.
The men’s team finished first in the four-team field with 205 points followed closely behind by Western Michigan’ s 199 points, Miami’s (Ohio) 194 points and Butler, which placed a distant fourth with 31 points. Freshman Derek Dyer’s first-place throw of 151-4 and Paul Ryan’s third-place throw of 146-10 in the discus, the final event of the meet, provided the clinching points for the Irish men. The women’s team placed second in their five-team field with 170 points, 25 behind first-place Miami (Ohio). Western Michigan was third with 142 points, Iowa was fourth with 116 points and Butler was fifth with 11 points.
On the men’s side, Notre Dame picked up eight first-place finishes. Highlighting the Irish effort was junior Marshaun West’s wins in the 100 and 200 meters with times of 10.80 and 21.50. Senior All-Americans Mike Brown and Antonio Arce both captured first-place finishes in the final home meet of their Notre Dame careers, picking up wins in the pole vault (16-0 3/4) and the 1500-meter run (3:52.5). Adrian Irby also placed first for the Irish in the triple jump with a leap of 47-5 3/4 and finished second in the long jump with a mark of 21-7 1/4.
The Notre Dame women were led by freshmen Dore DeBartolo, who set a Notre Dame record in the hammer throw with her first-place toss of 176-7, and Natalie Hallett, who set a school record in the pole vault with a mark of 10-6. DeBartolo also picked up a second-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 41-6 1/2 and finished third in the javelin with a mark of 112-1.
Adding to the Irish women’s success was junior All-American Jennifer Engelhardt, who grabbed first in the high jump with a leap of 5-7 3/4, while sophomore Carri Lenz placed first in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.5. Notre Dame’s Bridget O’Brien finished first in the 3,000 meters with a time of 10:12.3 and senior Nadia Schmiedt came in second in the 110-meter hurdles.