April 10, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame track & field program will partner up with a usual Atlantic Coast Conference rival this weekend, putting league pride on the line in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
The Fighting Irish will join forces with Louisville on Saturday as the pair of ACC squads take on the combination of Indiana and Michigan State in the event at Cardinal Park in Louisville, Kentucky. The scored meet will pit the ACC against the Big Ten for bragging rights.
Notre Dame will make 86 entries in the meet, giving many of the younger student-athletes opportunities to compete while several Irish top performers take the weekend off. Margaret Bamgbose, who ranks fifth in the nation in the women’s 400 meters (52.38), and Chris Giesting, who ranks second in the men’s 400 (45.93), will get the day off, as will Molly Seidel (seventh, 5,000 meters, 15:52.41), Jade Barber (sixth, 100-meter hurdles, 13.23) and Jacob Dumford (won 1,500 meter heat at Stanford Invitational).
Highlighting the Irish contingent to Louisville are Parker English, Emily Morris, Kaila Barber and Carly Loeffel — each of whom have all-conference or All-American honors to their names — as well as Jordan Shead, Amber Lalla and Payton Miller, who make up the core of some of the top women’s relay teams. On the men’s side, Dominick Padovano, Greg Bombara and Anthony Shivers have each notched personal bests in their respective throwing events already this outdoor season and will look to improve again on Saturday.
This year’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge will kick off at 10 a.m. EDT on Saturday at Cardinal Park beginning with field events and will continue with running events beginning at 12:45 p.m. EDT. To keep up with Irish track & field, follow @NDXCTF on Twitter and like Notre Dame Cross Country/Track & Field on Facebook.
Joanne Norell, Media Relations Assistant
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