Oct. 3, 2016
By Megan Golden
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Word has spread across St. Joseph County that a particular Irish distance runner makes an obvious choice for a relay team. University of Notre Dame sophomore Anna Rohrer, a Mishawaka, Indiana, native and 2015 Mishawaka High School Salutatorian, was selected by a local committee to participate in the Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay on Saturday.
Rohrer will join University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. and three others in representing Notre Dame in the torch relay. The five on-campus torchbearers will represent a group of 34 people who will carry the torch across St. Joseph County.
“I feel honored that my community views me as someone who has had a positive impact,” Rohrer said. “Being chosen as a torchbearer makes me want to do as much as I can to make my community the best place it can be.”
Rohrer has served on the South Bend Youth Leadership Council, on the Mishawaka Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council and as a student ambassador for D.A.R.E. She also is a recipient of the Mishawaka Business Association Outstanding Citizen Award.
Notre Dame associate head coach Matt Sparks spoke highly of Rohrer’s involvement in the local community.
“Anna takes great pride in being from St. Joseph Country and from Indiana,” he said. “She truly enjoys sharing her success with the people of Mishawaka and the opportunity to carry the torch is another way for her to connect with her community and the state.”
Rohrer ran to a first-place finish (16:11.7) in the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational 5K on Friday. She set an Irish personal record and recorded the second-best 5K time in the history of the meet. She is coming off of an 11th-place finish in the World Junior Track & Field Championships 5K (15:49.42) in June after finishing sixth in the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships 6K.
Very few are wondering whether Rohrer will walk, run or drive a golf cart with the torch.
“I will be curious to see if Anna tries to count her miles carrying the torch in her weekly fitness plan,” Sparks said.
Other torchbearers include Executive Director of the Center for Social Concerns Rev. Paul Kollman, C.S.C., Leo E. and Patti Ruth Linbeck Chair Tracy Kijewski-Correa, and 2016 Penn High School Valedictorian and freshman Morgan Ludwig.
The relay, which began on September 9 in Corydon, is scheduled to arrive on campus at noon on Saturday. The torch will be carried across Irish Green, past the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and south on Notre Dame Avenue to the Angela Boulevard intersection.
The torch is on a 3,200-mile journey across the state of Indiana and will pass through all 92 counties. The relay will end October 15 on the Statehouse Grounds in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Fans are encouraged to line the route and support Rohrer and other torchbearers.
–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 Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.