Jan. 4, 2001
The 2000 Notre Dame track and field season was one of the most successful in the program’s history. The men’s team claimed its first BIG EAST track title at the 2000 outdoor meet, five athletes gained All-America status at the outdoor NCAA championship meet, and two of the teams top athletes posted strong finishes at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
A good portion of this success was the result of strong senior leadership that has graduated. Head coach Joe Piane and assistant coaches Tim Connelly, John Millar and Scott Winsor are tasked to replace the team’s departed monogram winners with a talented stable of underclassmen.
Distance:
Notre Dame will be stocked and ready to do great things with this group. Two-time All-American Ryan Shay finished 10th at the U.S. Olympic trials and should be the favorite to win each race he competes in, including the NCAA championship meet 10,000 meters. Junior Luke Watson improved into one of the best steeplechase specialists in the nation last year, winning the event at the BIG EAST championship and qualifying for his third NCAA championship meet of the year (cross country, NCAA indoor meet as a member of the distance medley team, and the NCAA outdoor meet). Junior Marc Striowski improved over a minute in his 10,000-meter time and finished sixth in the 5,000-meters at the BIG EAST indoor meet.
“The team should be very solid. Ryan Shay, Luke Watson and Marc Striowski are a very good up-front three. Pat Conway also ran well in the mile last year and I expect more improvement from him this season,” Piane says.
“Todd Mobley and Brian Kerwin are very talented freshmen who I expect to contribute this season, along with all the returning veterans.
“It was a great and exciting year last season with five All-Americans. There were school records in the (indoor) 1,000 meters, steeplechase, and the 10,000 meters. The distance medley team (which finished sixth at the 2000 NCAA indoor meet) was flirting with some of the best teams in the country . There were a lot of things to hang your hat on.”
Sprints and Hurdles:
The Irish lost their two top performers in this category with the graduation of Chris Cochran and Marshaun West. Coach John Millar will be searching for someone to step up and take over the reins of this group. Senior Travis Davey improved throughout the last year, taking sixth in the 100 meters at the BIG EAST outdoor championships and running a career-best time at the same meet in the 200 meters. Senior Terry Wray has shown flashes of being able to compete highly in the BIG EAST as well.
Sophomore Tom Gilbert had an impressive freshman season and will be counted on to provide some stability in the sprints. Freshmen Mark Barber and Godwin Mbagwu will have an opportunity to place highly for the Irish as well this season.
“The loss of Chris Cochran and Marshaun West are going to leave a gap in the sprint category. They are going to be very difficult to replace,” Millar says.
“In the short sprints, Travis Davey ran well last year and placed (sixth) in the conference in the 100 meters. He can also move up to the 400 meters if needed.
“Terry Wray is back and we are counting on him to step up and take over for Chris Cochran. It is sort of a wait and see situation to analyze how the freshmen and sophomores improve. We are going to need some of them to come in, take over and develop.
“Tom Gilbert can help us in the 60 and 200-meter sprints. He had a good season last year and has really improved.
“The one area we have definitely improved is the hurdles. (Freshman) Napolean Suarez will run the 100 and 200-meter hurdles and (freshman) Mark Barber will help us in those events as well.”
Jumps and Throws:
The loss of long jump All-American Marshaun West will be felt the most in this group. Tom Gilbert, who finished fifth at the 2000 BIG EAST outdoor meet in the long jump, will be counted on to fill the gap that West leaves in the horizontal jumps category.
The return of Andrew Cooper will help the high jumpers. Cooper was clearing some impressive heights before taking some personal time off last season.
Quill Redwine has been a consistent performer in the triple jump, but coach Scott Winsor is expecting even better marks from him this season. Redwine will be pushed by freshman Godwin Mbagwu, who had some impressive high school marks his senior season.
The Irish are deep in the throws group. Senior John Scolaro, who specializes in the shot put, is one of the hardest workers on the team and has the ability to score in the conference.
Derek Dyer is also one of the best talents on the team and will be looking to improve on some solid marks last season.
“We lost Matt Thompson, who scored some pretty big points for us in the BIG EAST meets last season. Even with the loss of Thompson, I think the throws group can improve. That is going to take some people really stepping up and contributing like they haven’t before,” Windsor says.
“Derek Dyer struggled throughout the school year in 2000 but he ended very well. After school let out he had a great couple of meets. I am looking for Dyer and Scolaro to be the throw group leaders. We have a good, young group who are capable of some really great performances.
“In the javelin, I know Matt O’Brien wasn’t satisfied with his performance last year and, combined with Mike Madigan, we will have two significant contributors in the javelin.
“Losing Marshaun West in the long jump is going to be difficult to overcome. We need to find a replacement. Unfortunately, you cannot replace an All-American right off the bat.
“Andrew Cooper is back. We didn’t have him last year and when he was working out early in the season he was doing some very good things in the high jump. I was really excited about him. He was finally understanding what we were trying to accomplish. If he can come back and pick up where he ended, he is going to be an instant contributor.
“I am looking for Quill Redwine to have a break-out year. He has a lot of talent. Quill and Tom Gilbert will be our team leaders in the long jump. Scott Kelley had a good freshman year and I am looking for him to contribute as a sophomore. We also have Godwin Mbagwu coming in as a freshman with very good marks.
“The pole vault has a very solid crew. Our two main guys will be Nathan Cahill and Josh Heck. Those two guys are going to do good things.”