Feb. 14, 2017
By Megan Golden
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Just four days after breaking his own school record in the pole vault at the Tiger Paw Invitational, senior pole vaulter Nathan Richartz was named this week’s Men’s Field Performer of the Week by the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The weekly award is the first of Richartz’s four-year career and comes less than a week after he vaulted 5.50m and placed first at the Clemson meet. Richartz, a native of Island Lake, Illinois, broke his previous PR and school record of 5.46m, jumping into the top-10 vaults in the country this season.
Richartz’s mark of 5.50m currently ranks third-best in the ACC and is tied for seventh-best nationally.
Irish assistant coach Jim Garnham said Richartz has been working on fine-tuning his technique this season.
“I think it’s a tremendous honor to receive this award over all of the other great field event performances from this past weekend,” Garnham said. “Nate’s determination to be better than the day before has gotten him to where he is today. He had a vision when he walked on campus to be the best pole vaulter in Notre Dame school history. He has exceeded that and will continue to jump higher.”
Richartz will look to win his second straight ACC Indoor Track & Field Championship when the Irish host the conference meet from February 23-25 at Loftus Sports Center.
–ND–
Megan Golden, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since August of 2016. In her role, she coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse and cross country/track and field programs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Golden is a 2014 graduate of Saint Mary’s College and former Irish women’s basketball manager. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she worked in public relations with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.