Jan. 13, 2002
The University of Notre Dame men’s track and field team kicked off the 2002 indoor season at the Purdue Open on Saturday, Jan. 13, in West Lafayette, Ind.
The Irish middle distance runners turned in some fine early season performances. Sophomore Kevin Somok led a strong Notre Dame contingent in the 800 meters, winning the race in 1:57.67. Junior Doug Gunzelman crossed the finish line next in 1:58.52, followed by teammate Colin Quinn in third (1:59.28) and Geof Rudziewicz in fifth (1:59.61).
In the 1600 meters, sophomore Kevin Avenius out ran the field to win in 4:19.62. Freshman Eric Morrison was third (4:22.95) while senior Tom Lennon took seventh (4:26.39).
Down in the sprint lane, sophomore James Bracken began his second season with a second-place finish in the 400 meters (49.96). Freshman Trevor McClain-Duer ended up fourth in the 400 – his first collegiate race.
Another freshman, Selim Nurudeen, began his rookie year in fine form with two top-three finishes in the 60-meter hurdles. Nurudeen began with a third-place 8.05 time in the preliminaries, then moved on to the finals where he finished second in 8.09.
In the field group, the Irish veterans made their presence felt. Junior Tom Gilbert won the long jump with a 22-10 3/4 effort. Senior Quill Redwine took second on the triple jump, while classmate Derek Dyer finished fifth in both the shot put preliminaries and finals.
Notre Dame will return to the track and field Friday, Jan. 18, at home against Ball State and Western Michigan.