Jan. 30, 2001
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WHO: Notre Dame women’s track and field team
WHAT: The 14th-annual Meyo Invitational
WHERE: Loftus Sports Center, Notre Dame, Ind.
WHEN:
Friday,Feb. 2, 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 3, 10:30 a.m.
Indoor season continues with the Meyo Invitational this weekend:
The Notre Dame women’s track and field team, after posting victories in the first two meets of the 2001 indoor season, will face some of the country’s top talent this weekend in the 14th-annual Meyo Invitational. Some of the competitors in the meet include, Iowa (women only), Wake Forest, Duke, Missouri and Michigan State. Georgetown, Kentucky, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan also will be sending competitors to the invitational, set to begin Friday at 6 p.m. in the Loftus Sports Center. Competition will continue on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 10:30 a.m.
The Irish are coming off an 88-71 dual meet victory over Michigan State on Friday, Feb. 26. Sophomore Tameisha King (Mableton, Ga.) and junior Liz Grow (New Braunfels, Texas) both won two events each versus the Spartans.
Sprint and field events lead the way early in the season:
Notre Dame, which has won the first two meets of the indoor season, has been led by top performances in the sprint lane and some young talent in the field events.
Long jump All-American Tameisha King has been unbeatable in her specialty events thus far in 2001. King has won every competition she has entered, including two victories in the 60-meter high hurdles, two in the long jump and one in the 60-meter dash. She concentrated on the long jump during her rookie season last year, but eventually improved enough to compete at the 2000 BIG EAST outdoor championships in the 100-meter hurdles (finishing fourth). King also took second place in the long jump at the U.S. Junior Nationals in 2000, earning a spot on the junior national team that competed in Santiago, Chile (Oct. 17-22, 2000). She currently holds the school records in the indoor (20-4 1/2) and outdoor (21-1 1/2) long jump and is the defending champion of the Meyo Invitational long jump competition.
Sprinter Liz Grow has combined with King to lead the Irish early in the season. Grow has won two 200-meter races (posting a best time of 24.24), a 60-meter dash and a 400-meter sprint thus far this season. Grow’s 400 meter victory came in the first meet of the year (vs. Ball State and Western Michigan) and her 54.61 winning time is one of the top times in the country. Grow is the defending BIG EAST indoor 400-meter champion and qualified for the 2000 NCAA outdoor championships in the 400 meters.
Grow has not been alone in the sprint lane this year. Freshman Ayesha Boyd (Spartanburg, SC) was right behind her teammate in the 60 and 200 meters last weekend versus Michigan State. Boyd and Grow also helped the 4×400 women’s relay team take first against the Spartans in 3:51.07.
Also in the mix in the sprints will be sophomore Kymia Love (Memphis, Tenn.). Love won the 400 meters vs. Michigan State, which enabled the Irish team to sweep all five sprint events in the meet.
The Irish pole vault contingent of sophomore Jaime Volkmer (Kearney, Neb.), junior Natalie Hallett (Huntington Beach, Calif.), senior Bethany Wilson (San Rafael, Calif.) and freshman Jill VanWeelden (Scottsdale, Ariz.) have asserted themselves as one of the best groups in the BIG EAST and the nation so far in 2001. While Volkmer, the school record holder in the triple jump, was competing in the high jump during the first meet of the year, both VanWeelden and Hallett broke Volkmer’s indoor pole vault record by clearing 11-4.
Returning to the pole vault competition the next week vs. Michigan State, Volkmer surpassed the school record again, clearing 11-10 and posting three very solid attempts at 12-4. Volkmer currently holds the school records in the indoor and outdoor pole vault as well as the indoor and outdoor triple jump and won the 2000 Meyo Invitational pole vault competition.
The Notre Dame throws group is recovering from the loss of junior Dore DeBartolo (Aurora, Ill.), who is out for the indoor season with an injury. Senior Emily Bienko (Tranquillity, NJ) has stepped in as the top throwing specialist on the roster. Bienko won the shot put competition vs. Michigan State with a toss of 41-10.
Another freshman posting solid marks this season is Jennifer Kearney (Dallas, Texas). Kearney has won the first two high jump events of her career vs. Ball State/ Western Michigan and vs. Michigan State. Kearney cleared a team-best 5-5 in the meet against the Spartans.