Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Track And Field Completes Outstanding Weekend in Indianapolis and California

April 22, 2003

The Notre Dame men’s and women’s track and field teams completed another successful weekend which saw a junior national record, three new school records, as well as 12 national qualifications and 37 BIG EAST qualifications. The teams competed both at the Indianapolis Relays (Butler University) and at the Mt. SAC Relays (Mt. San Antonio Community College) in California.

Molly Huddle continued her stellar freshman campaign, taking fifth place in an ultra-competitive field in the 5,000 meters. Huddle posted a time of 15:36.95, which broke Lauren Fleshman’s American Junior record by nearly 15 seconds (15:50.18; 2000). The time also broke JoAnna Deeter’s school record of 16:04.41 (1999) and puts Huddle atop the list of qualifiers for the NCAA Mideast Regional.

Luke Watson added another school record to his resume in the men’s 5,000 meters, where he took 11th place overall and fourth among collegians. Watson’s time of 13:38.73 bested the old record of 13:52.45 held by Ryan Shay (2001) and placed him third among the national qualifiers in both the Mideast Region and overall in the United States.

Not to be outdone, sophomore Lauren King edged out her own school-record time by .08 seconds in the 1,500 meters as she took fourth place in the race (4:16.43). The women’s 4×400-meter relay team posted an impressive win at Mt. SAC, winning its event with a time of 3:37.58. The team consisted of senior Kymia Love, junior Ayesha Boyd, junior Kristen Dodd and sophomore Tricia Floyd.

Among the other women competing at Mt. SAC, Emily Loomis and Stacey Cowan finished in fourth and fifth, respectively, in the high jump. Both women cleared a height of 1.70 meters, a personal best for each and good for a national qualification. Senior Tameisha King placed fifth in the long jump (6.24m). Jennifer Handley placed 18th in the 5,000 meters, posting a career best and national qualifying time of 16:55.03.

Aside from Watson, sophomore Selim Nurudeen and freshman Tim Moore were the only other member of the men’s team to make the trip to California for the Mt. SAC Relays. Nurudeen ran a time of 14.10 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles, a career best, and improved his national qualification time. Moore posted a seventh-place finish and a national-qualifying time of 29:45.93 in the 10,000 meters.

Many members of the teams also enjoyed success at the Indianapolis Invitational. Freshman Petra Dankova qualified for the NCAA Regional meet and won the women’s triple jump with a distance of 12.52 meters.

Junior Jennifer Kearney tied for first in the high jump with a season-best leap of 1.68 meters. Also victorious for the women’s team was sophomore Kate Duman who extended her own school record for a second straight week as she won the women’s javelin (40.09m). Sophomore Kerry Meagher capped off the winners among the women, placing first in the 800 meters with a time of 2:14.12.

Other top performers among the women included senior Emily Showman, the second-place finisher in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (11:15.30), sophomore Dee Dee Bryant and senior Jill Van Weelden, who tied for third in the pole vault (3.38), and freshman Rose Brakel-Pierce, who took third place in the 400-meter dash (57.96).

David Alber was the top finisher among the men in Indianapolis, the junior distance runner won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 9:07.07. Alber was followed by two teammates in the event, sophomore Ryan Johnson was second (9:16.63) and sophomore AJ Andrassy finished third (9:16.95).

Also winning an event on Saturday for the men was sophomore high jumper Chris Staron (2.03m).

Among the top finishers for the men were junior Mark Barber (53.53) and sophomore Napolean Suarez (54.09), who finished second and third, respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles, junior thrower Juan Alba who finished second in the discus (47.04m), as well as fourth in the hammer throw (52.42), sophomore Terry Lennon took second in the 1,500 meters (3:57.79), junior Ryan Hurd placed second in the 200-meter dash (21.70) and freshman Kaleb VanOrt was the second-place finisher in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:05.83.

Summary of NCAA Regional Qualifiers

New qualifiers:
Molly Huddle, 5,000 meters, 15:36.95
Jennifer Handley, 5,00 meters 16:55.03
Petra Dankova, triple jump, 12.52m
David Alber, 3,000-meter steeplechase, 9:07.07
Luke Watson, 5,000 meters, 13:38.73
Tim Moore, 10,000 meters, 29:45.93

Improved qualifying time/mark from earlier in the season:
Lauren King, 1,500 meters, 4:16.43
Selim Nurudeen, 110-meter hurdles, 14.10

Other NCAA qualifying efforts:
Emily Loomis, high jump, 1.70m
Stacey Cowan, high jump, 1.70m
Tameisha King, long jump, 6.24m
Women’s 4×400-meter relay, 3:37.58

Previous qualifiers:
Kymia Love, 400 meters, 53.85
Kristen Dodd, 400 meters, 53.98
Tiffany Gunn, 400 meters, 54.92
Molly Huddle, 1,500 meters, 4:20.50
Tameisha King, 100-meter hurdles, 13.61
Tiffany Gunn, 400-meter hurdles, 1:01.13
Women’s 4×100-meter relay, 44.73
Jaime Volkmer, pole vault, 3.90m
Thomas Chamney, 800 meters, 1:49.55
Eric Morrison, 1,500 meters, 3:44.16
Kevin Somok, 1,500 meters, 3:48.48
Luke Watson, 3,000-meter steeplechase, 8:53.57
John Keane, 5,000 meters, 14:16.53
Ryan Mineburg, high jump, 2.07m
Chris Staron, high jump, 2.07m