April 27, 2017
By Megan Golden
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The University of Notre Dame track and field team wrapped up a full day of relays on day one of the historic Penn Relays on Thursday at Franklin Field.
The All-America women’s distance medley relay squad placed third overall with a time of 10:58.22. Graduate student Danielle Aragon (3:20 split) started the race for the Irish and handed the baton to junior Payton Miller (53.5), who took control of first place. Sophomore Kelly Hart ran the 800m in 2:11, and junior Jessica Harris (4:31) ultimately anchored the squad to a third-place finish.
Notre Dame’s 4×100 relay squad of sophomore Kyla Lewis and freshmen Michaela Butler, Naya Sharp and Summer Thorpe placed 26th (47.10).
Junior Jordan Shead came in 12th place in the women’s 400m hurdles (1:00.02), finishing nearly one second shy of her personal record.
The foursome of Shead, Miller, Thorpe and freshman Grace Cronin combined to run to a 21st-place finish (3:46.25) in the 4x400m relay.
In the infield, sophomore Alexa Coubal came in 17th in the discus, throwing 42.87m. Freshman Kassadee Ifft (3.65m) tied for fifth place in the pole vault, jumping .15m short of her personal record.
Freshman Abbey Kapitan recorded one of her best performances in the shot put, throwing 14.58m and placing third overall in the college event. In the shot put championship, senior Indi Jackson finished eighth with a 15.33m throw.
Coming Up Next
Notre Dame returns to action on day two of the Penn Relays at 9 a.m. ET on Friday.
Several Irish distance runners will travel to Hillsdale College for the 51st annual Gina Relays, from April 28-29 at the Ken Herrick Outdoor Track.
Meet Coverage
This weekend’s Penn Relays can be watched live on USATF.TV, and results are available by clicking here. For a complete schedule and more information on the Penn Relays, click here.
For a closer, behind-the-scenes look at the Irish track and field program, follow @NDXCTF on Twitter.
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Megan Golden, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since August of 2016. In her role, she coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse and cross country/track and field programs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Golden is a 2014 graduate of Saint Mary’s College and former Irish women’s basketball manager. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she worked in public relations with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.