Sophomore Aijah Urssery won the 60m dash on Saturday.

February 4, 2012

Rae Goes Under Four Minutes In Meyo Mile For Second Time

Feb. 4, 2012

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – On a day where student-athletes were putting up blistering times and marks, Notre Dame junior Jeremy Rae shined bright as he went under four minutes in the elite Meyo Mile for the second year in a row as the 25^th annual Meyo Invitational came to an end on Saturday at the Loftus Sports Center.

Rae, who went 3:59.62 last season to take the crown, did himself one better on Saturday, as he roared back from a last-lap deficit to cross the line at 3:59.31 as 2,316 fans cheered him on.

The Fort Erie, Ontario native wasn’t the only Irish performer to stand out as three others and a relay team picked up victories.

Reigning BIG EAST indoor and outdoor 400m champion Patrick Feeney broke the Notre Dame school record in the event, crossing the finish line in 46.73, just beating out freshman teammate Chris Giesting (46.80) by .07. The old record of 47.01 was set by Eric Postel in 2004.

On the women’s side, freshman hurdler Kaila Barber won the 60m hurdles and sophomore sprinter Aijah Urssery claimed the 60m dash title.

Closing out the meet with a victory was the men’s 4x400m relay team composed of Brendan Dougherty, Feeney, Jarrod Buchanon and Giesting. The quartet trailed entering the final leg, but Giesting surged past conference foe Rutgers in the final 100 meters to take the victory in 3:10.41.

The only meet record of the day also turned out to be a Meyo track record as unattached runner Melissa Bishop went 2:03.72 in the 800m run.

Notre Dame competes in its final meet before the BIG EAST Indoor Championships next weekend as the squad makes its third appearance at Grand Valley State, this time for the Grand Valley Big Meet.

MEET / NOTRE DAME / LOFTUS SPORTS CENTER RECORDS / NCAA AUTO TIMES
Patrick Feeney (400m) – Notre Dame Record
Melissa Bishop (800m) – Meet / Track Record – NCAA Auto Time – 2:03.72
Paul Chelimo (3,000m) – NCAA Auto Time – 7:49.87
Andrew Bayer (3,000m) – NCAA Auto Time – 7:50.23

IRISH VICTORIES
Jeremy Rae (Meyo Mile)
Kaila Barber (60m Hurdles)
Aijah Urssery (60m)
Patrick Feeney (400m)
Men’s 4x400m Relay Team

EVENT-BY-EVENT RESULTS (TOP EIGHT FINISHERS ONLY)

MEN

Meyo Mile
Rae secured his second Meyo Mile title as he came from behind on the final lap to break the elusive four minute mark for the second year in a row. His time of 3:59.31 was a BIG EAST qualifying mark and was the 11^th sub-4:00 time in the last five years in the Meyo Mile at the Meyo Invitational. Teammate J.P. Malette finished third (4:00.93) in a BIG EAST qualifying time, as did Jordan Carlson (4:04.05), who finished seventh.

400m
Reigning BIG EAST indoor and outdoor 400m champion Patrick Feeney established a new Irish record in the 400m dash, going 46.73. The mark broke the former record of Ryan Postel (47.01) from 2004 and gave him the close victory over teammate Chris Giesting. The freshman went 46.80 to also break the school record. Junior Brendan Dougherty placed fifth in 48.48. All three times were BIG EAST qualifying marks.

4x400m Relay
The 4x400m relay team came from behind to take the title in 3:10.41. The quartet was made up of Dougherty, Feeney, Buchanon and Giesting.

60m
Irish football players and brothers George (III) (6.86) and Josh (6.87) Atkinson placed sixth and eighth, respectively, in the 60m dash, each turning in BIG EAST qualifying marks.

Shot Put
Teammates Andrew Brock (16.80m) and Andrew Hills (16:01m) finished fourth and eighth, respectively, in the shot put, as they each hurled BIG EAST qualifying marks.

800m
Senior Randall Babb placed seventh in the 800m with a BIG EAST qualifying time of 1:50.17.

Triple Jump
Sophomore Logan Renwick turned in a sixth-place finish in the triple jump with a BIG EAST qualifying jump of 14.83m.

200m
J. Atkinson took sixth in the 200m dash in a BIG EAST qualifying time of 21.90.

WOMEN

Meyo Mile
Irish miler Alexa Aragon placed fifth in the Meyo Mile with a BIG EAST qualifying time of 4:43.88.

60m Hurdles
The Irish went one-two in the 60m hurdles, as freshman Kaila Barber won the event in a BIG EAST qualifying time of 8.44. Teammate Nevada Sorenson finished second in 8.59, which was also a BIG EAST qualifying mark.

60m
Sophomore Aijah Urssery won the 60m dash with a BIG EAST qualifying time of 7.48.

3,000m Unseeded
Senior Molly Hirt finished sixth in the unseeded 3,000m run in a BIG EAST qualifying time of 9:58.08.

Mile
Just a day after winning the 1,000m run, freshman Emily Frydrych continued her impressive weekend with a second place finish in the unseeded mile with a BIG EAST qualifying time of 4:53.95.

4x400m Relay
The Irish placed third in the 4x400m relay as the team of Natalie Geiger, Michelle Brown, Jade Barber and K. Barber went 3:43.97.

BIG EAST QUALIFIERS

MEN

Mile
DJ Thornton

60m Hurdles
Bennett Jackson

Shot Put
Andrew Brock
Andrew Hills

400m
Patrick Feeney
Chris Giesting
Brendan Dougherty

200m
Josh Atkinson
Keith Mesidor

800m
Randall Babb
Mitchell Lorenz
Steve Blazer

Mile
Jeremy Rae
J.P. Malette
Jordan Carlson

60m Hurdles
Bennett Jackson

60m
George Atkinson III
Josh Atkinson