Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Women's Track And Field Begin 2001 Season This Weekend

Jan. 18, 2001

Complete Release in PDF Format, including 2001 schedule and top times list.
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WHO: Notre Dame women’s track and field team, Ball State and Western Michigan.

WHAT: First meet of the 2001 indoor track and field schedule.

WHERE: Loftus Sports Complex, Notre Dame, Ind.

WHEN: Friday, Jan. 19, 6:00 p.m.

Talented underclassmen ready to lead the team into the indoor season:

An influx of talented freshmen helped the Notre Dame women’s track and field team reach new heights last season. Rebounding from a sixth-place finish at the 2000 BIG EAST indoor meet, the Irish took third place at the 2000 BIG EAST outdoor championships – tieing the school record for the best team finish.

A good portion of Notre Dame’s scoring talent from last season returns in 2001. Junior sprinter Liz Grow (New Braunfels, Texas), sophomore sprint and jump specialist Tameisha King (Mableton, Ga.) and triple jump and pole vaulter Jaime Volkmer (Kearney, Neb.) performed many of the top marks and times in 2000 and are on a quest for even better results this season.

Grow ran the top times for the Irish in the 60, 200 and 400 meters in 2000, finishing no less than first or second in her last six final 200 and 400 meter races. She also won the BIG EAST 400 meter final in 55.27. Grow qualified for the 1999 NCAA indoor championships when she ran a school-record time of 54.05 at the Alex Wilson Invitational.

King became one of the top track and field performers on the team early in the 2000 season. She eclipsed the school record in the long jump in her first few jumps of the season, eventually establishing the record at 20-4 1/2 at the BIG EAST indoor championships. She won three long jump competitions during the 2000 season and also competed in the 60 meters and 60-meter hurdles.

Continuing her improvement throughout the season, King would earn All-America honors by finishing ninth in the long jump at the NCAA outdoor championships.

Volkmer rewrote the Irish record books in similar fashion to her classmate King. Volkmer broke four school records in her first season on the team, smashing the marks in the pole vault and the triple jump. She finished no lower than third in her six indoor pole vault competitions and won the Quad and Meyo Invitational events.

Volkmer also competed in the triple jump, extending the indoor school record in three straight meets, eventually setting it at 39-8. That jump earned her fourth place at the BIG EAST indoor championship.

Grow, Volkmer and King are not the only returning talents on the 2001 roster. Junior Dore DeBartolo (Aurora, Ill.) returns to lead the throws group. DeBartolo recorded the top marks in all the throws last season and has shown steady improvement throughout her career.

In the distance lane, sophomore Jennifer Handley (Barrie, Ontario) is ready to assume the leadership role after recording solid times in the mile and 3,000 meters last season. The Irish also return Leanne Brady (Trumbull, Conn.), who was the top 800-meter specialist in 2000 and middle distance runners Ana Morales (San Mateo, Calif.) and Carri Lenz (London, Ontario).

The Irish coaching staff is also looking for production in the sprint category from sophomores Kymia Love (Memphis, Tenn.), Tiffany Tatum (League City, Texas) and freshman Ayesha Boyd (Spartanburg, SC).