Feb. 9, 2017
By Megan Golden
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame track and field program hits the road for a variety of split-squad meets on Friday and Saturday. The team will travel to three different venues, including the Tiger Paw Invitational, the Grand Valley Big Meet and the Millrose Games.
WHAT: Tiger Paw Invitational
WHEN: February 10-11, 2017
WHERE: Indoor Track & Field Complex (Clemson, South Carolina)
LIVE RESULTS: http://www.adkinstrak.com/meets/2017/Clemson_Tiger_Paw_Indoor/
The majority of the Irish track and field team will travel to the Tiger Paw Invitational. The meet is held on a banked track at Clemson, where the Irish will compete against the likes of North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Miami, North Carolina State, Alabama, Auburn and Wake Forest.
Sophomore Anna Rohrer will race in the women’s 5,000m with the goal of qualifying for NCAAs. Rohrer, who won the 2016 ACC Cross Country Championship, owns a PR of 15:32.03, set at last year’s indoor conference championship.
“The goal of the race this weekend is to hit a national qualifier before ACCs,” Rohrer said. “Considering this isn’t the big distance meet of the weekend, I will likely need to pace the majority of it. I’m looking forward to finally racing a 5K.”
Graduate student Tommy Grant and freshman Troy Pride Jr. will race in the 60m dash, while Pride, sophomores Edward Cheatham and Zachary Zajdel and senior Alex Groesch will each run in the 200m.
The women’s squad will feature several sprinters in the 200m, including juniors Allison Bartoszewicz, Parker English, Payton Miller and Jordan Shead and freshman Madysen Hunter.
Senior Anthony Shivers, coming off of a school record-setting performance, is scheduled to compete in the weight throw. He will try to break his own record for a second time as he attempts to beat 20.27m.
High-jumpers Matthew Birzer and Hunter Holton, as well as pole-vaulter Nathan Richartz, will attend their sixth meet of the season. Holton, coming off of a personal-best performance, will try to top his 2.08m mark set at the Meyo Invitational. Richartz, who came just .03m away from matching his PR last weekend, will look to clear the 5.46m mark.
Grand Valley Big Meet
Sophomore Anthony Williams and junior Brent Kennedy will travel to Grand Valley State (Allendale, Michigan) to compete in the Grand Valley Big Meet on Friday.
Williams and Kennedy will race in the men’s 5,000m and will look to build off of their previous meets this season. Williams has only raced in the 3,000m event, recording a PR of 8:25.10 at the Notre Dame Invitational in January. Kennedy has competed in one 3,000m race and one 5,000m race, which he finished in 14:46.23 at the Meyo Invitational this past weekend.
Millrose Games
Graduate student Molly Seidel is the lone Irish track and field athlete making the trip to New York on Saturday. Seidel is scheduled to race in the 3,000m for the first time since she won back-to-back outdoor national titles in the 3,000m and 5,000m in 2016.
Seidel will look to record one of the top-16 times in the country, which would ultimately put her in position to compete at the NCAA Championship.
Seidel’s race is scheduled for 3:50 p.m. ET on Saturday and can be viewed at USATF.TV.
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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.