March 12, 2004
The University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s track and field teams wrapped up competition on the first day of the 2004 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., on Friday evening. The Irish highlight was provided by sophomore Molly Huddle, who finished third in the 5,000 meters to earn All-America honors.
Huddle crossed the finish line inn 15:58.42, behind Stanford’s Alicia Craig (15:45.08) and Kim Smith (15:14.18). The All-America effort is the fourth of Huddle’s career and she will return to the track as one of the favorites in the 3,000 meters on Saturday.
Two Irish distance runners participated in the preliminaries of the women’s mile on Friday and both runners moved on to the finals Saturday. Junior Lauren King placed second in the second heat (4:41.06), while junior Kerry Meagher was fourth in that same heat (4:41.18). King’s time is ranked fourth heading into tomorrow’s final, while Meagher is the ninth-ranked qualifier. Both Irish runners should figure in the competition for the national title tomorrow.
The men’s team was represented by junior Selim Nurudeen. The three-time BIG EAST Champion competed in the preliminaries of the 60-meter hurdles. He ended up 15th in the field with a 7.82 effort in the second heat (finishing fifth in the heat).
The women’s distance medley relay was run late Friday night and will be included in Saturday’s recap.