March 11, 2017
By Megan Golden
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The University of Notre Dame track and field team concluded day one of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a bronze medal and six All-American finishes. The women’s team stands in a tie for 12th place overall.
Notre Dame finished in the top eight in three events, including the men’s pole vault, the women’s 5,000m and the women’s DMR.
Nathan Richartz tied for sixth place in the men’s pole vault, recording a mark of 5.45m. Richartz came very close to clearing 5.50m on his second attempt, but the senior fell just shy of advancing to the next round.
For Richartz, the 5.45m jump is a .10m improvement from last season’s eighth-place finish.
Rohrer won the bronze medal and set a personal record of 15:29.83 in the 5,000m race, receiving her fourth career All-America honor. Rohrer ran to her best finish at an NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship after coming in fourth place last season.
“I know my strength is my endurance and not my speed,” Rohrer said. “My speed is definitely improving, but I know that if I want a shot at winning, I’ve got to push it hard from the start.”
Harris, who entered the meet with the eighth-best mile (4:33.80), ran in the second of two heats in the women’s mile semifinals and placed 13th overall (4:40.90).
The women’s DMR included Harris, Kelly Hart, Payton Miller and Jamie Marvil.The DMR squad, which entered the meet ranked 12th in the country, finished eighth and earned All-America honors for the fifth straight year.
“[It takes] really good team members,” Harris said. “The whole team believing in every single person and putting effort into building up all of our team members and promoting their performances.”
Harris, who anchored the squad in its Atlantic Coast Conference Championship victory two weeks prior, recorded a 4:27 official mile split to cross the finish line in eighth.
“My best races have been where I catch up to people and then sit on them,” Harris said. “I am not going to lie, I was really nervous.
“When I was coming around the final lap, I thought it was unreal that the lead pack was just sitting. I was able to speed up as they were going around the final lap. I was really surprised by my exhilaration versus their speed.”
Harris has been part of three All-American DMR teams, while Marvil was an All-American on last season’s DMR squad, which placed sixth.
Irish Finishers
Women’s Mile Prelims:
13. Jessica Harris – 4:40.90
Men’s Pole Vault:
T6. Nathan Richartz – 5.45m
Women’s 5,000m:
3. Anna Rohrer – 15:29.83
Women’s Distance Medley Relay:
8. Notre Dame – 11:05.76
Coming Up Next
The Irish open the outdoor track and field season at 11 a.m. ET on March 17 at Georgia Tech’s George C. Griffin Track (Atlanta, Georgia).
For a closer, behind-the-scenes look at the Irish track and field program, follow @NDXCTF on Twitter.
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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.