Victor Lopez Classic
Date: March 22-23, 2019
Time: 6 p.m. | 12 p.m. CT
Location: Wendel D. Ley Track and Holloway Field | Houston, Texas
Host: Rice University
At A Glance
- The Irish toe the line on their outdoor season with the Victor Lopez Classic this Friday and Saturday in Houston, Texas. 2019 marks the 37th annual Victor Lopez Classic, hosted by Rice.
- The event will be held at Wendel D. Ley Track and Holloway Field on the campus of Rice University.
- The first night of racing gets underway at 6 p.m. before resuming on Saturday morning at noon.
- Link to results: https://results.leonetiming.com/?mid=1590
By The Numbers
- 37— 2019 marks the 37th annual Victor Lopez Classic, hosted by Rice University in Houston, Texas.
- 29— Between the two teams, 29 freshmen joined the ranks of the Fighting Irish for the 2018-19 season, including 11 women and 18 men.
- 24— At the preseason USTFCCCA rankings, the Irish women ranked 24th in the nation, following their 46th place finish at last season’s NCAA Championships.
- 6— Six members of the Irish team qualified for nationals in the 2018 outdoor season, including four who return for the 2018-19 season.
- 4— The Notre Dame Track & Field team welcomed four new faces to the coaching staff in 2018-19 including three assistants (Kendra Foley – W. Distance, Wayne Pate – Sprints, Rodney Zuyderwyk – Jumps) and a volunteer assistant coach (Cole Hester – M. Distance).
- 3— Three current Irish team members hold Notre Dame school records on the track (outdoors), combining for four total records. Jess Harris (800m, 1500m, DMR), Anna Rohrer (10K) and Kelly Hart (DMR).
- 1— This is Matt Sparks’ first season at the helm of the Fighting Irish, having previously served four years as an assistant and associate head coach for the team.
Last Time Out
- Last season, the Irish sent six representatives to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, four of which return for the 2019 season.
- Rachel DaDamio, Jessica Harris, Annie Heffernan and Anna Rohrer are all veterans of the championship meet, having competed last year to bring the women a tie for 46th place at the national meet.
- At their most recent meet, the Irish ran away with their fourth National Title in men’s program history when the DMR crossed the line first at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in 9:31.55.
- Many indoor records fell in 2018-19, three of which stood at the end of the season. Logan Kusky broke men’s numerous weight throw records while Abbey Kapitan and Rachel Tanczos went back and forth with records in the women’s weight throw.
- The men’s DMR set the fastest time in program and Meyo Track history with a 9:26.10 finish at the Alex Wilson Invitational and posted the second-best time ever recorded in the NCAA.
- At the ACC Indoor Championships, Notre Dame recorded four conference titles in the Men’s DMR, Men’s Weight Throw, Women’s Weight Throw and Men’s Mile.
Up Next
- The Irish will split their squad next weekend as they travel to three meets across the country.
- Members of the team will compete at the Raleigh Relays (NC State), the Stanford Invitational and the Texas Relays.
- The Irish will split their squad next weekend as they travel to three meets across the country.
–ND–