Feb. 10, 2000
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame track and field team will head to Indianapolis, Ind., February 11-12, after participating in the 10th annual adidas/Meyo Invitational on campus last weekend. The Meyo boasted some of the top talent in the country which was reflected by stellar performances all weekend. Eight meet records and five track records were eclipsed during the two-day event.
The Cannon IV Classic is the next stop for the team before travelling to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y., for the BIG EAST championships, February 19-20. The Irish will return for the last home indoor track meet, the Alex Wilson Invitational, which takes place March 3-4.
MEYO INVITATIONAL RECAP: Some familiar names dotted the first place awards list for Notre Dame in the Meyo Invitational. All-American Jennifer Engelhardt (Battle Creek, Mich.) won her third straight high jump competition by clearing 5-7 and freshman Tameisha King (Mableton, Ga.) won the women’s long jump with a 19-2 1/2 leap. Freshman Jamie Volkmer (Kearney, Neb.) and sophomore Natalie Hallett (Huntington Beach, Calif.) continued their duel in the pole vault with both clearing 11-0 to tie the school record.
Sophomore sprinter Liz Grow (New Braunfels, Texas) ran an impressive 400-meter race for the Irish provisionally qualifying for the NCAA meet with a time of 54.68. Grow currently has the team’s fastest 60 (7.74), 200 (24.74), and 400 meter times this season. Classmate Dore DeBartolo (Aurora, Ill.), meanwhile, set a school record in the 20-pound weight throw in the meet’s first event with a throw of 56-0 1/2. DeBartolo’s mark eclipsed her old record of 54-7 1/4 set last season.
The men’s distance medley team of seniors Phil Mishka (Toledo, Ohio), Tim Kober (Gillette, N.J.), Chris Cochran (Crystal Lake, Ill.) and sophomore Luke Watson (Stillwater, Minn.) set the tone for the Irish men on the first day of the meet when they ran a provisional time of 9:43.78. The men’s distance medley event turned out to be one of the best races of the weekend as the Alabama team, who finished first in 9:43.18, set a new meet and track record in the event, while the team from Rice, which finished third behind Notre Dame, also ran a provisional qualifying time (9:45.11). Mishka carried over the energy from Friday night to Saturday, running a NCAA provisional and career-best time in the 800 meters (1:48.57). Junior Terry Wray (Brandon, Miss.) won the 500 meters (1:03.11) and senior Brian Holinka (Niagara Falls, NY) won the 1,000 meters (2:27.99) to round out the first-place finishes for the Irish.
CANNON IV CLASSIC PREVIEW: Notre Dame participates in the prestigious Cannon IV Classic this weekend. Hosted by Butler University, the Cannon IV boasts over 1,000 competitors from 75 teams. The two-day meet takes place at the National Institute for Sport and Fitness in Indianapolis, Ind., which houses a six-lane, 200-meter banked, Mondo track with Mondo approaches for the jump events. The meet begins Friday, February 11 at 7:30 p.m. Notre Dame will send a partial squad to the Cannon IV.
IRISH IN THE BIG EAST: Several Notre Dame athletes rank highly in the recent BIG EAST Indoor Best Times and Marks List (February 9), led by Chris Cochran and Phil Mishka. Cochran is first in the conference in three events – the 60 meters (6.78), the 200 meters (21.26) and the 400 meters (47.41). A senior middle-distance specialist, Mishka has the top BIG EAST 800-meter time of 1:48.57. Sophomore Luke Watson is second in the BIG EAST in both his specialty runs, the mile (4:06.75) and the 3,000 meters (8:09.50). Watson, Cochran and Mishka were all part of the men’s distance medley team at the Meyo Invitational that ran to a provisional qualifying time of 9:42.78, which also is the second best in the BIG EAST this season.
On the women’s side, All-American Jennifer Engelhardt is second in the BIG EAST in the high jump with a height of 5-10. Natalie Hallett and Jamie Volkmer are tied for second in the conference in the pole vault with their school record clearance of 11-0. Liz Grow, the women’s team top sprinter so far in 2000, is third in the 400 meters with a 54.68 time.