Junior Kevin Schipper

Schipper Wins BIG EAST Pole Vault Title; Irish Men in First at BIG EAST Meet

Feb. 20, 2010

NEW YORK – Sophomore Kevin Schipper claimed his first BIG EAST pole vault title and led the Irish men to the top of the leaderboard Saturday after the first day of competition at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships held at The Armory in New York.

The Irish men compiled 46.5 points during the first day of events and hold a 1.5-point lead over Louisville. Along with Schipper, senior Jake Walker and junior Greg Davis earned all-BIG EAST honors in the 5,000 meters and weight throw, respectively.

The Irish women also had a successful day at the conference meet as multiple student-athletes advanced to Sunday’s final heats and senior Lindsey Ferguson earned all-BIG EAST accolades in the women’s 5,000 meters with a third-place finish. Notre Dame is currently in sixth with 17.50 points. West Virginia leads the women’s standings with 42 total points.

Competition continues Sunday beginning at 8:00 a.m.

Women’s 60m Hurdles: Kali Watkins qualified for the final heat with a preliminary time of 8.64 and an eighth-place finish. The top eight runners advance to Sunday’s final.

Women’s 200m: Joanna Schultz finished 23rd in the preliminary heat with a time of 25.29.

Men’s 200m: Miklos Szebeny clocked a preliminary time of 22.40 to finish 16th, just ahead of Tyrell Atkins in 17th at 22.45. The top 10 sprinters advance to Sunday’s final heat.

Women’s 400m: Joanna Schultz ran the top preliminary time with 53.54, clocking in at 53.54 to edge Gerogetown’s Abigail Johnson in second at 54.36. The top 10 times advance to the final heat.

Men’s 400m: Balazs Molnar ran a preliminary time of 49.40 to finish 15th. Edward Hitchler was 18th in 49.73, and Brendan Dougherty finished 20th with a time of 50.44.

Women’s 500m: Samantha Williams ran a preliminary time of 1:14.01 to finish 11th, just missing out on the final heat.

Men’s 500m: Jack Howard qualified for the final heat with a sixth-place preliminary time of 1:03.82, while Cameron Eckert clocked in at 1:04.15 to finish 10th and claim the final qualifying spot. Matthew Brown finished 14th in 1:05.22.

Women’s 800m: Kelly Langhans advanced to Sunday’s final heat with a seventh-place tie of 2:09.95. Allison Schroeder finished 16th in 2:15.20, and Angela Ryck finished 20th with a time of 2:16.84.

Men’s 800m: Jim Notwell finished second in 1:52.10, just ahead of Jack Howard in third at 1:54.46 in the preliminary heats as both qualified for the final running. Zac Suriano was 10th with a time of 1:54.60, and Mitch Lorenz clocked in at 1:55.63 to finish 14th.

Women’s Mile: Marissa Treece finished sixth in 4:54.50 to qualify for Sunday’s final heat as did Rebecca Tracy who clocked in at 4:54.64 to finish ninth. Molly Hirt finished 21st with a time of 5:06.95.

Men’s Mile; The Irish will send three runners to Sunday’s final heat. Jordan Carlson won the first preliminary heat with a time of 4:13.04, just ahead of Daniel Clark in second at 4:13.41. Jeremy Rae finished fourth in the second heat at 4:10.00.

Women’s 1000m: Abby Higgins qualified for the finals with a preliminary time of 2:51.23 and a fifth-place finish. Molly Sullivan finished 12th with a time of 2:57.12. Georgetown’s Emily Infield was the top runner with a time of 2:50.90.

Men’s 1000m: Johnathan Shawel finished second in the preliminary heats with a time of 2:25.66. Kevin Labus was fifth at 2:25.92, and Blake Choplin finished seventh with at time of 2:26.09. All three Irish runners advanced to Sunday’s final heat.

Women’s 5000m: Lindsey Ferguson earned all-BIG EAST honors with a third-place finish and a time of 16:27.45. Jessica Rydberg finished 10th in 16:50.30 and Beth Tacl was 13th with a time of 17:09.76. West Virginia’s Marie Louise Asselin (15:58.15) and Clara Grandt (16:04.24) claimed the top two positions.

Men’s 5000m: Jake Walker earned all-BIG EAST accolades with a second-place finish and a time of 14:04.41. Dan Jackson finished eighth in 14:18.89, while Kelly Lynch was 18th in 14:46.74.

Women’s Distance Medley Relay: The Irish women finished fourth with a time of 11:39.42. Villanova was the top team in 11:11.00, followed by Georgetown in second at 11:13.10 and West Virginia in third at 11:14.95.

Men’s Distance Medley Relay: The Notre Dame men finished fourth with a time of 9:54.02. Villanova earned the top spot in 9:47.60, followed by Georgetown in second at 9:49.99 and Syracuse in third at 9:53.67.

Women’s Pole Vault: Chrissy Finkel tied for seventh with a jump of 3.60m (11-09 3/4), while Annie Polcari was ninth at 3.60m (11-09 3/4). South Florida’s Stephanie Duffy was the top vaulter with a mark of 4.05m (13-03 1/2).

Men’s Pole Vault: Kevin Schipper claimed his first BIG EAST title with a first-place height of 5.10m (16-08 3/4). Matt Schipper finished in a tie for fourth with a jump of 4.65m (15-03), while Andrew Kolbeck tied for ninth at 4.65m (15-03) and Jim Merchun tied for 11th at 4.65m (15-03).

Women’s Long Jump: Jasmine Williams tied for 15th with a mark of 5.45m (17-10 3/4). Syracuse’s Uhunoma Osazuwa and Louisville’s Rachel Gehret tied for the top jump at 6.07m (19-11).

Men’s Long Jump: Eric Quick scored points for the Irish, finishing fifth with a jump of 7.44m (24-05). Louisville’s Rudon Bastian was the top jumper with a mark of 7.87m (25-10).

Men’s Weight Throw: Greg Davis earned all-BIG EAST honors with a second-place finish and a toss of 18.98m (62-03 1/4). John Belcher finished fourth with a mark of 18.59m (61-00), followed by Mitchell Gormley in sixth at 17.81m (58-05 1/4) and Denes Veres in 10th with a throw of 16.73m (54-10 3/4). DePaul’s Brad Millar earned the top spot with a throw of 20.80m (68-03).

Women’s Pentathlon: Maddie Buttinger finished fourth with 3,717 total points. West Virginia’s Chelsea Carrier was the top competitor with 3,994 points.

–ND–