February 27, 1999
Notre Dame, Ind. – Records fell on day two of the Alex Wilson Invitational as numerous competitors turned in outstanding performances. Valparaiso’s Collette Liss was victorious in the women’s mile and in the process automatically qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships with an Alex Wilson Invitational record time of 4:43.40. Washington’s Derrick Prior narrowly missed automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships as he ran to a provisional qualifying time of 46.45.
Notre Dame’s men’s team earned four first-place finishes on the day. Senior Mike Brown dominated the pole vault competition in his final career home indoor meet. His provisionally qualifying vault of 17-6 1/2 established a Wilson Invitational and a Notre Dame record and was one of the top 10 pole vaults in the nation so far this year. Junior Marshaun West’s provisional qualifying mark of 24-11 3/4 in the long jump established a new meet record, and freshman Derek Dyer won the men’s shot put with a mark of 52-3 1/4. Sophomore Terry Wray ran away with the 500-meter run, outdistancing second-place by nearly two seconds with his time of 1:03.52. Senior Antonio Arce ran a career-best in the mile as he finished in second place with a provisional qualifying time of 4:02.48.
Two Irish women took first for the day. Junior Jennifer Englehardt won the high jump as she posted a mark of 5-8 3/4. Senior Erin Newman placed first in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:59.32. Freshman sensation Liz Grow placed second in the 400-meter dash as she ran to a provisional qualifying and Notre Dame record time of 54.05. Grow’s time is the 12th-fastest in the nation so far this year in the 400 meters. Senior Nadia Schmiedt finished second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.74, and Jennifer Pavela placed fourth in the mile run with a career-best time of 4:51.07.