Jan. 12, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s and women’s track and field teams open up 2012 this weekend as they travel to Allendale, Mich., and the campus of Grand Valley State University for the Bob Eubanks Open.
The two-day meet gets underway at 10 a.m. on Friday with the opening events in the men’s heptathlon and the women’s pentathlon.
Notre Dame is competing as a full team for the first time since the season-opening Blue and Gold Invitational, where the Irish qualified 59 automatically for the BIG EAST Indoor Championships.
Highlighting the meet were a pair of freshmen, Chris Giesting and Kaila Barber, who each earned weekly citations from the BIG EAST.
Giesting won the 400m dash and qualified automatically for the conference meet with a time of 47.40. At the time it was the fastest time in the country and currently sits second. He also anchored the final leg of the winning 4x400m relay team (3:18.36), who finished four seconds faster than their nearest competitor.
Barber showcased her ability to do a little bit of everything, as she won the 60m hurdles, the 400m dash and the long jump, before running the final leg on the winning 4x400m relay team.
A week later, senior standouts Maddie Buttinger and Kevin Schipper competed in Allendale at the GSVU Holiday Open. There Buttinger finished in the top three in the long jump, high jump and 60m hurdles, while Schipper placed second in the pole vault and automatically qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships that will be held in Nampa, Idaho from March 9-10.
The Irish return home next weekend as they play host to the annual Notre Dame Invitational, which will take place on Saturday, Jan. 21.
MEET INFO
NATIONAL RANKINGS (top 10)
MEN
400m
2. Chris Giesting (47.40)
3. Patrick Feeney (47.51)
5,000m
6. Jeff MacMillan (14:32.81)
8. Jordan Carlson (14:32.94)
9. J.P. Malette (14:33.14)
Pole Vault
T-9. Kevin Schipper (16-10.75 ft)
WOMEN
3,000m
4. McKinzie Schulz (9:38.80)
60m Hurdles
9. Kaila Barber (8.51)
10. Nevada Sorenson (8.54)
BIG EAST QUALIFIERS
WOMEN
Aijah Urssery (60m, 200m)
Michelle Brown (200m, 400m)
Kaila Barber (400m, 60mH, LJ)
Natalie Geiger (400m)
Emily Frydrych (1,000m)
Allison Schroeder (1,000m)
Angela Ryck (1,000m)
Katherine Stultz (Mile)
McKinzie Schulz (3,000m)
Nevada Sorenson (60mH)
Jade Barber (60mH)
Maddie Buttinger (60mH, HJ, LJ)
Fiona Paladino (HJ)
Kelly Burke (PV)
Mary Esther Gourdin (TJ)
Emily Morris (SP, WT)
Madeline Casanova (SP, WT)
Mason Bashaw (WT)
Emily Kujawski (WT)
MEN
Jarrod Buchanon (200m, 60mH)
Keith Mesidor (200m, LJ)
Chris Giesting (400m)
Patrick Feeney (400m)
Brendan Dougherty (400m)
Mitchell Lorenz (800m)
Max Cruz (800m)
Steve Blazer (800m)
DJ Thornton (1,000m)
Kevin Byrne (1,000m)
Randall Babb (1,000m)
Eddy Gibbons (1,000m)
Jack Favorite (1,000m)
Jeff MacMillan (5,000m)
Jordan Carlson (5,000m)
J.P. Malette (5,000m)
Martin Grady (5,000m)
Jake Kildoo (5,000m)
Kelly Lynch (5,000m)
Joe Miller (5,000m)
Doug Onuscheck (HJ)
Peter Sullivan (HJ)
Kevin Schipper (PV)
David Schipper (PV)
Patrick Krach (PV)
Logan Renwick (LJ, TJ)
Andrew Hills (SP, WT)
Andrew Brock (SP)
Anthony Thomas (WT)
Jordan Stumph (WT)
Mike Smigelski (WT)
–ND–