Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Men's Track And Field Ready For BIG EAST Challengers

Feb. 14, 2001

Complete Release in PDF Format, including updated top times and competitor list for this weekend.
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WHO:

Notre Dame men’s track and field team

WHAT:

2001 BIG EAST Indoor Championship

WHERE:

Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY

WHEN:

Saturday, Feb. 17 – Sunday, Feb. 18, all day

Irish head to the Carrier Dome for the BIG EAST championship:

The University of Notre Dame men’s track and field team travels to Syracuse, NY, this weekend for the 2001 BIG EAST Indoor Championship. The Irish have finished second at the competition the last four years and are coming off their first BIG EAST track and field championship at the outdoor meet last year.

Even though Notre Dame boasts a talented group of athletes this season, it graduated almost 70 of its 125 points it scored at the 2000 BIG EAST indoor meet. The Irish coaching staff of Joe Piane, Tim Connelly, Scott Winsor and John Millar will be counting on a mix of BIG EAST competition veterans and rookies at the meet this weekend.

The Notre Dame distance team should give a boost to the team scoring total. Senior All-American Ryan Shay (Central Lake, Mich.) will be a favorite to win the 5,000 meters after posting a scalding 13:52.66 in the event during the Meyo Invitational. That time is currently ranked second-best in the nation.

Marc Striowski (Toronto, Ontario) will also run the 5,000 meters and owns the seventh-best time in the conference this season (14:22.91).

Shay also will compete in the 3,000 meters, owning the best time on the team this year (8:19.75) in that event as well.

Cross country All-American Pat Conway (Springfield, Va.) is the top Irish contender in the mile run, owning a season-best time of 4:11.52 which ranks 10th in the conference.

The Irish sprint corps is let by the quartet of sophomore Tom Gilbert (Rock Falls, Ill.), freshman James Bracken (North Andover, Mass.) and seniors Travis Davey (St. James, NY) and Terry Wray (Brandon, Miss.).

Davey has the sixth-best time in the conference in the 60 meters this season (6.91) and Gilbert owns the fourth-best 200-meter time (21.74).

Gilbert also compete in the long jump, hoping to improve on his second-place finish (23-10) at the 2000 BIG EAST indoor championship. Freshman Godwin Mbagwu (Petersburg, Va.), who is coming off victories in the triple jump and long jump at the Windsor Team Challenge (Feb. 10), will help the Irish in the horizontal jumps as well. His leap of 50-4 3/4 vs. Ball State and Western Michigan (Jan. 19) earlier this season ranks as the best measurement in the conference this year.

Junior Quill Redwine (San Antonio, Texas) will enter the competition as the top-ranked high jumper, clearing 6-10 3/4 vs. Michigan State. Redwine finished third in the event last season and will compete side-by-side this year with teammates Andrew Cooper (Granville, Ohio) and Craig Novosel-Johnson (Kane, Pa.), who have both posted qualifying heights this season.

The pole vault competition also will be an opportunity for the team to score some valuable points. Josh Heck (Mishawaka, Ind.) enters the competition with the second-best mark in the conference 16-2 3/4, while Nathan Cahill (East Lansing, Mich.) is ranked fourth with a 15-5 3/4 clearance. Heck finished fourth in the 1999 BIG EAST indoor meet and took fifth place in the competition last season.

Notre Dame’s list of competitors for the 2001 BIG EAST Indoor Championship: Nate Andrulonis, James Bracken, Nathan Cahill, Pat Conway, Andrew Cooper, William Croker, Travis Davey, Derek Dyer, Nick Fehring, Tom Gilbert, Doug Gunzelman, Josh Heck, John Keane, Scott Kelley, Tom Lennon, Mike Mansour, Godwin Mbagwu, Colin Quinn, Quill Redwine, Geoff Rudziewicz, John Scolaro, Nick Setta, Ryan Shay, Kevin Somok, Marc Striowski, Brian Thornburg, Thomas Weiler, Terry Wray and Sean Zanderson.

The Irish at the BIG EAST indoor championships:

2000 2nd 125 pts.

1999 2nd 101 pts.

1997 2nd 81 pts.

1996 3rd 83 pts.

Notre Dame has won 16 individual titles and one relay championship (distance medley ’00), including four individual event titles in 1997 and 1998.