Feb. 13, 2002

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2002 BIG EAST Indoor Championship *Syracuse, N.Y.

Saturday, Feb. 16 and Sunday, Feb. 17

Irish teams ready for conference indoor meet:

The University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams will compete at the 2002 BIG EAST Indoor Championships in Syracuse, N.Y., this weekend. This will be the 23rd year the conference meet will be held in the Carrier Dome and the sixth season the Irish teams have participated. The Notre Dame men’s team has finished no lower than third in the BIG EAST indoor meet, including a four-year streak of second-place finishes (1997-2000). The men finished third with 83 team points in 2001. The women’s team took third place in 1999 and finished seventh a year ago with 57.5 points.

A number of Irish competitors have a history at the BIG EAST meet:

Both Irish teams will field a number of competitors in this weekend’s meet who have enjoyed success in the Carrier Dome. On the women’s side, senior Liz Grow has finished in the top two places of the 400 meter competition in her three years at Notre Dame. Grow won the 400 meters in 2000, finished second last year and second in 1999. She also recently captured the 11th best 400 meter time in the nation with a 53.89 time at the Meyo Invitational. Grow will most likely compete in both the 400 and 500 meters this weekend. Teammate Kymia Love proved strong at the Meyo Invitational as well, earning the 17th best 400 meter time in the nation with 54.23. She and Grow will hopefully provide tough competition to beat.

Junior pole vaulter Jamie Volkmer will be looking to break through for her first BIG EAST indoor title at this year’s meet. The Kearney, Neb., native finished second in 2000 and 2001, clearing 11-3 3/4 and 12-1 1/2, respectively. Classmate Tameisha King also has enjoyed some success at the indoor meet, finishing second in the long jump in 2000 and third in the LJ just a year ago.

Freshman standout Lauren King has proved impressive throughout the cross-country and indoor track season. Currently ranked 31st in the 3,000 meters, her Meyo Invitational time of 9:35.86 will most likely carry her to success at the BIG EAST meet this weekend.

The women’s 1600-meter relay team hopes to break Georgetown’s two-year dominance of the event. The Irish team of Grow, Love and sophomores Ayesha Boyd and Kristen Dodd is coming off a strong showing at the Meyo Invitational, blowing away the competition with a time of 3:37.33. They go into this weekend’s meet with the third-ranked relay time in the nation.

On the men’s side, Ryan Shay has enjoyed some impressive victories at the BIG EAST indoor meet. An All-American in the 5,000 meters in 2001, Shay won the 5,000 race at last year’s meet in 14:10.00. A 13:46.80-5,000 meter showing at the Meyo Invitational places him third in the nation. He also boasts a 3,000-meter BIG EAST championship in 1999 and his 2002 Meyo Invitational time of 7:58.73 ranks him eighth in the nation. Fellow senior Luke Watson might be competing in the mile and 3,000 meters, as Watson has claimed the second best 3,000 meter time in the nation this year.

The Irish men also hope to continue this season’s distance medley relay success, after stepping up at the adidas Boston Indoor meet in January and posting a time of 9:42.00. This time allows the men’s DMR team to currently hold the 12th-best time in the nation this year.

Other athletes making the trip for the Irish men this weekend who have had success at the conference meet include Quill Redwine (third, triple jump, 2000), Godwin Mbagwu (second, triple jump, 2001), Josh Heck (second, pole vault, 2001).

Complete list of Notre Dame competitors for the 2002 BIG EAST Indoor Championship:

Women – Amanda Alvarez, Ayesha Boyd, Kristen Dodd, Jennifer Fibuch, Kristin Flood, Liz Grow, Tiffany Gunn, Natalie Hallett, Jennifer Handley, Megan Johnson, Jennifer Kearney, Lauren King, Tameisha King, Betsy Lazzeri, Emily Loomis, Kymia Love, Kerry Meagher, Kaitlin Meiser, Ana Morales, Latasha Steele, Jill Van Weelden, Jamie Volkmer and Katie Wales.

Men – Juan Alba, David Alber, Nate Andrulonis, Mark Barber, James Bracken, Patrick Conway, Derek Dyer, Dwight Ellick, Tom Gilbert, Josh Heck, Ryan Hurd, John Keane, Scott Kelley, Tom Lennon, Mike Mansour, Godwin Mbagwu, Trevor McClain-Duer, Ryan Mineburg, Todd Mobley, Eric Morrison, Selim Nurudeen, Colin Quinn, Quill Redwine, Geoff Rudziewicz, Nick Saracco, Nick Setta, Ryan Shay, Kevin Somok, Chris Staron, Brain Thornburg, Luke Watson and Sean Zanderson.

BIG EAST Championship will be live on the internet:

Followers of the 2002 BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships will be able to watch a WebCast of the event on www.BIGEAST.org, the league has announced.

TrackMeets.com will broadcast live coverage of every race and every field event this weekend. High speed internet access (cable modem, ISDN, T1, campus ethernet, etc.) is recommended. A Windows MediaPlayer is also necessary. It is best viewed using the most recent version of Microsoft Internet Explorer, which is highly recommended.