March 20, 2018
NOTRE DAME, Indiana – After his record-setting performance at the Hurricane Invitational, graduate student Nathan Richartz was named the ACC Field Performer of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday afternoon.
Richartz returned for his final season of eligibility and started it out with a bang Friday afternoon in Coral Gables. He cleared 5.60m (18-04.50) on his second attempt to break the school record in the pole vault. Richartz also broke the facility record at Cobb Stadium where the outdoor ACC Championships will be held in May. He is the reigning outdoor conference champion in the pole vault.
“It was great to see Nate jumping in a Notre Dame uniform again, he didn’t disappoint at all,” said assistant coach Jim Garnham after the meet on Friday. “To open up at 5.60m in his first meet, just means Nate has solidified himself as one of the top jumpers in the country.”
After the first weekend of the outdoor season, Richartz currently holds the best vault in the conference and is second nationally, only behind Devin King of Southeast Louisiana. Richartz posted three of the week’s top five national marks during the course of Friday’s competition. He broke the previous school record of 5.51m, which he set last season at the Louisville Invitational.
This is the third conference performer of the week honor for Richartz after earning two last season, one during indoor and the other during outdoor.
Up Next
The Irish will be back in action this weekend when they travel down to Nashville, Tenn. Notre Dame will compete in the Black and Gold Invitational starting on Friday at 4 pm ET.
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Matt Paras, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since January 2018. In his role, he coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse and cross country/track & field programs. A native of Warwick, Rhode Island, Paras is a graduate of the University of Louisville where he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sport Administration. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, he worked at Vanderbilt University as the sports information contact for the women’s soccer and lacrosse programs.