Jan. 14, 2012
ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Notre Dame track and field program won four events to highlight the GVSU Bob Eubanks Open in Allendale, Mich., this weekend.
The Irish took home titles in the women’s pentathlon and the men’s 400m, 600m and 4x400m relay, while freshman standout Chris Giesting tied the track record in the 600m with a time of 1:19.12.
Notre Dame returns to action next Saturday when it hosts the annual Notre Dame Invitational.
Women’s Results (Top Eight Finishes Only)
60m: Sophomore Aijah Urssery turned in a time of 7.74 in the prelims to qualify third. In the finals, Urssery tied for fourth in 7.76.
200m: Freshman Kaila Barber (25.14) and Urssery (25.47) crossed the line sixth and seventh, respectively in the 200m.
400m: Michelle Brown claimed third in the 400m in 57.67.
600m: Senior Natalie Geiger finished third in the 600m in 1:35.28.
60m Hurdles: A pair of Irish hurdlers qualified for the 60m finals. K. Barber (8.62) and junior Nevada Sorenson (8.67) qualified second and third, respectively, for the finals. In the finals, Sorenson lowered her time, placing second in 8.60. K. Barber finished fourth in 8.68.
4x400m: The Irish relay teams took second and fifth in the 4x400m relay. The team of Brown, Amber Lalla, Geiger and K. Barber placed second in 3:51.50, while the team of Ann Marie Kelly, Urssery, Michelle Rotondo and Sorenson placed fifth in 4:03.67.
Pole Vault: Sophomore Kelly Burke claimed second with a vault of 3.80m (12-05.50). Sophomore Kathryn Barousse (6th, 3.55m) and senior Ann Polcari (T-7th, 3.55m) also placed in the top eight.
Long Jump: K. Barber continued her impressive night with a second place finish in the long jump with a leap of 5.53m (18-01.75). Fellow freshman Mary Esther Gourdin tied for eighth with a leap of 5.34m (17-06.25).
Triple Jump: Gourdin improved her position in the triple jump, claiming fourth with a leap of 11.78m (38-07.75). Teammates Kelly Burke (11.48m) and Jessie Christian (11.17m) took sixth and eighth, respectively.
Shot Put: Shot putters Emily Morris (13.42m) and Madeline Casanova placed sixth and seventh, respectively.
Pentathlon: The Irish took the top four spots in the pentathlon, with veteran Maddie Buttinger leading the way with point total of 3,874. Buttinger claimed the top spot with first place finishes in the 800m (2:23.99), long jump (5.68m) and shot put (11.68m). Freshman Carly Loeffel placed a distant second with 3,308 points, while fellow freshman Fiona Paladino (3,281) and sophomore Meghan Moore (3,010) rounded out the top four. Paladino (9.13) won the 60m hurdles, while Loeffel won the high jump with a leap of 1.71m.
Men’s Results (Top Eight Finishes Only)
60m: Freshman Keith Mesidor qualified third in the 60m with a time of 7.07. In the finals, Mesidor took seventh in 7.08m.
200m: Sophomore Patrick Feeney took third in the 200m in 22.13, while fellow sophomore Jarrod Buchanon placed seventh in 22.66.
400m: The Irish picked up the sweep in the 400m, as Feeney and junior Brendan Dougherty placed first and second with times of 47.83 and 48.23.
600m: Freshman Chris Giesting tied a track record in the 600m, as the reigning BIG EAST Men’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week won the event in 1:19.12. Senior Mitchell Lorenz finished fourth in 1:20.68, while fellow senior Randall Babb claimed seventh in 1:21.19.
3,000m: Senior Thomas Pesch led the way for Notre Dame in the 3,000m run, taking third in 8:36.46. Sophomore Kevin Jacobs finished fifth in 8:40.04.
60m Hurdles: Buchanon qualified second in the 60m hurdles in 8.35, while freshman Oye Eyeguokan tied for eighth with a time of 8.69. In the finals, Buchanon again took second, this time in 8.11. Eyeguokan tied for sixth in 8.65.
4x400m: The relay team of Feeney, Lorenz, Dougherty and Giesting ran away from the field in the 4x400m relay, winning in 3:13.70.
High Jump: Senior Doug Onuscheck tied for fourth in the high jump with a leap of 1.97m (6-05.50).
Pole Vault: Having already qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, senior Kevin Schipper had little pressure on Friday, but still managed to emerge as the top collegiate finisher (3rd) with a vault of 5.15m. Brother David Schipper finished eighth with a vault of 4.55m.
Long Jump: Patrick Glass (6.64m) and Mesidor (6.57m) took fifth and sixth, respectively, in the long jump.
Triple Jump: Sophomore Logan Renwick placed fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 14.06m (46-01.50).
Shot Put: Sophomore Andrew Brock (15.70m) and senior Andrew Hills (15.59m) finished in sixth and seventh place, respectively, in the shot put.
Heptathlon: The Irish had a pair of finishers in the top six, as Peter Sullivan and Ted Glasnow finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Glasnow won the long jump (6.68m) and the shot put (13.15m), while Sullivan won the high jump (2.00m).
–ND–