Sophomore Patrick Feeney won the 400m on Saturday at the Indiana Relays.

December 2, 2011

Irish Open Season With Strong Showing In Home Meet

Dec. 2, 2011

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame track and field program opened its 2011-12 season on Friday in impressive fashion, as the Irish won 20 events and qualified 60 student-athletes for February’s BIG EAST Indoor Championships.

“We had a really good day all around,” said head coach Joe Piane. “We were really pleased with how many people qualified for the BIG EAST meet. The whole objective of this meet is to give kids a chance to compete and to try and get BIG EAST qualifying marks. We did that today.”

Highlighting the meet on the women’s side was freshman Kaila Barber, who won four events in the 60m hurdles, 400m dash, long jump and 4x400m relay. Aijah Urssery won the 60 and 200m dashes.

On the men’s side, Jarrod Buchanon impressed in the 60m hurdles, as did freshman Chris Giesting in the 400m dash. In the 5,000m run, the Irish qualified seven runners for the BIG EAST meet.

Notre Dame returns to action in two weeks when it travels to the Grand Valley Holiday Invitational in Allendale, Mich.

Event-by-Event Results

Women’s 60M Hurdles
The Irish took the top three positions, with junior Nevada Sorenson finishing second (8.54) between the freshman Barber twins, Kaila (8.51) and Jade (8.82). All three marks were BIG EAST qualifying marks.

Men’s 60M Hurdles
Sophomore Jarrod Buchanon breezed to first place in the 60m hurdles, winning in a BIG EAST qualifying time of 8.14.

Women’s 1,000M
Notre Dame took the top three spots in the 1,000m, with freshman Emily Frydrych (2:52.09) leading the way. Following behind Frydrych were Allison Schroeder (2:52.47) and Angela Ryck (2:52.92). All three qualified for the BIG EAST Championships.

Men’s 1,000M
A trio of Irish runners led the way in the men’s 1,000m, as DJ Thornton (2:26.58), Kevin Byrne (2:26.71) and Randall Babb (2:26.77) swept the top three spots. All three qualified for the event at the BIG EAST Championships.

Women’s 60M
Sophomore Aijah Urssery cruised to victory in the 60m dash, earning a spot in the BIG EAST Championships with a time of 7.64.

Men’s 60M
Freshman Keith Mesidor was the top Notre Dame finisher in the 60m dash, taking third in 7.07.

Women’s 400M
The Irish went first and second in the women’s 400m, with K. Barber winning her second event of the night in 56.83. Sophomore Michelle Brown took second in 57.18. Those two, along with fifth place finisher Natalie Geiger (57.94), ran BIG EAST qualifying times.

Men’s 400M
Notre Dame took the top three spots in the men’s 400m dash, with freshman Chris Giesting taking first in 47.40. Following Giesting was sophomore Patrick Feeney (47.51) and junior Brendan Dougherty (48.46). All three times were BIG EAST qualifying times.

Women’s Mile
Freshman Katherine Stultz won the mile run in a BIG EAST qualifying time of 5:07.67, while fellow freshman Katie Moran took third in 5:12.00.

Men’s Mile
The only Irish runner in the field was freshman Chris Quinn, who placed fourth in 4:36.19.

Women’s 500M
Freshman Michelle Rotondo finished tops for the Irish, claiming fourth in 1:18.89.

Men’s 5,000M
The Irish dominated the 5,000m run, taking seven of the top eight spots. Fresh off cross country nationals, Jeff MacMillian (14:32.81), Jordan Carlson (14:32.94) and J.P. Malette (14:33.14) took the top three spots, all turning in BIG EAST qualifying times. Also earning qualifying times were Martin Grady (14:35.09), Jake Kildoo (14:38.02), Kelly Lynch (14:42.25) and Joe Miller (14:42.78).

Women’s 800M
Sophomore Colleen Boyle was the top Irish finisher in the 800m, taking second in 2:23.92.

Men’s 800M
An all Irish 800m saw Mitchell Lorenz take first in a BIG EAST qualifying time of 1:54.17. Max Cruz (1:54.73) and Steve Blazer (1:55.11) also earned BIG EAST qualifying marks.

Women’s 200M
Urssery and Brown went one and two in the 200m dash with times of 25.18 and 25.44, respectively. Both earned a spot at the BIG EAST Championships with their times.

Men’s 200M
A pair of Irish runners earned BIG EAST qualifying times in the 200m. Buchanon (22.55) and Mesidor (22.59) finished second and third, respectively.

Women’s 3,000M
Sophomore McKinzie Schulz claimed fourth and earned a BIG EAST qualifying mark with a time of 9:38.80.

Men’s 3,000M
Sophomore Patrick Lesiewicz was the top finisher for the Irish, placing fourth in 8:44.15.

Women’s 4x400M Relay
The Irish won the 4x400m relay by almost five seconds, as the team of J. Barber, Geiger, Brown and K. Barber finished in a time of 3:51.49.

Men’s 4x400M Relay
The Notre Dame men’s 4x400m relay team completed the sweep in the relay events, as the team of Feeney, Buchanon, Dougherty and Giesting won in a time of 3:18.36.

Women’s High Jump
Senior Maddie Buttinger continued her strong career in the high jump, taking the top spot with a leap of 1.73m. Freshman Fiona Paladino claimed second with a leap of 1.68m, with fellow freshman Carly Loeffel checking in at third (1.63m). Buttinger’s and Paladino’s leaps were good for a BIG EAST Championships berth.

Men’s High Jump
Notre Dame’s Doug Onuscheck took second in the high jump with a BIG EAST qualifying leap of 2.01m. Freshman Peter Sullivan also qualified for the BIG EAST Championships, placing fourth with a leap of 1.96m.

Women’s Pole Vault
Sophomore Kelly Burke won with a vault of 3.55m, good for a BIG EAST Championship berth.

Men’s Pole Vault
Reigning BIG EAST champion Kevin Schipper easily took the men’s pole vault with a vault of 5.05m. Brother, David, took second with a vault of 4.55m. Both Schippers, along with Patrick Krach (4.35m), earned BIG EAST qualifying marks.

Men’s Long Jump
A pair of Irish long jumpers placed in the top three as Mesidor (6.78m) and sophomore Logan Renwick (6.71m) took second and third, respectively. Both distances were good for a BIG EAST berth.

Women’s Long Jump
K. Barber continued her impressive opening night for Notre Dame, as she won the long jump with a BIG EAST qualifying leap of 5.65m. Following Barber were fellow freshman Mary Esther Gourdin (5.49m) and Buttinger (5.48m).

Men’s Triple Jump
Renwick led the way for the Irish, winning the triple jump with a BIG EAST qualifying leap of 14.25m.

Women’s Triple Jump
Freshman Gourdin won the women’s triple jump with a BIG EAST qualifying leap of 11.43m.

Men’s Weight Throw
Notre Dame claimed four of the top six spots in the men’s weight throw. Anthony Thomas (16.91m) was followed by Andrew Hills (16.88m) and Jordan Stumph (16.63m) in the top three. Mike Smigelski (15.79m) placed sixth. All four throws were BIG EAST qualifying throws.

Women’s Weight Throw
Notre Dame placed four throwers in the top seven, with all throws BIG EAST qualifying throws. Mason Bashaw (3^rd, 16.35m), Emily Kujawski (5^th, 15.67m), Emily Morris (15.63m) and Madeline Casanova (7^th, 15.47m) led the way for the Irish.

Men’s Shot Put
Hills (16.75m) and Andrew Brock (16.37m) took third and fourth, with both earning BIG EAST qualifying marks.

Women’s Shot Put
Morris (13.75m) and Casanova (13.25m) placed second and third, respectively, and each earned a spot in the BIG EAST Championships.

BIG EAST Qualifying Marks

Women’s 60M Hurdles
Kaila Barber
Nevada Sorenson
Jade Barber

Men’s 60M Hurdles
Jarrod Buchanon

Women’s 1,000M
Emily Frydrych
Allison Schroeder
Angela Ryck

Men’s 1,000M
DJ Thornton
Kevin Byrne
Randall Babb
Eddy Gibbons
Jack Favorite

Women’s 60M
Aijah Urssery

Women’s 400M
Kaila Barber
Michelle Brown
Natalie Geiger

Men’s 400M
Chris Giesting
Patrick Feeney
Brendan Dougherty

Women’s Mile
Katherine Stultz

Men’s 5,000M
Jeff MacMillian
Jordan Carlson
J.P. Malette
Martin Grady
Jake Kildoo
Kelly Lynch
Joe Miller

Men’s 800M
Mitchell Lorenz
Max Cruz
Steve Blazer

Women’s 200M
Aijah Urssery

Men’s 200M
Jarrod Buchanon
Keith Mesidor