Dec. 7, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Over 40 BIG EAST Conference Championship qualifying marks were set during the University of Notre Dame track and field team’s Blue and Gold Meet which took place Friday evening at the Loftus Center.
The evening was highlighted by Kurt Benninger’s time of 8:05.22 in the 3,000M event, which is currently the nation’s second-fastest mark recorded this season.
“The goal for this meet was to give people that trained all fall an opportunity to compete,” said Irish head coach Joe Piane. “Many of them achieved BIG EAST qualifying times, so it’s good for the team to use that as a motivating tool as they head into the (holiday) break. There were a lot of good marks on both the men’s and women’s sides for us.”
Marquette, DePaul, and Detroit Mercy also competed in the meet.
Next up for the Irish is the Notre Dame Indoor Opener, which will start at 5 p.m. (ET) on Jan. 18.
Meet Recap
60M Dash (W): Brienne Davis (7.74) fired through with a BIG EAST qualifying time and a first-place finish.
60M Dash (M): Tyler O’Brien (6.94) of Marquette was first, followed by Tyrell Atkins (7.15) who took the silver.
60M Hurdles (W): Alyissa Hasan (8.70) and Kali Watkins (8.96) each notched BIG EAST Conference Championship qualifying times, as the duo finished first-second in the event.
60M Hurdles (M): First-place finisher Jose Genao (8.36) met the league’s qualifying standard of 8.58 … next in line was Matthew Moore, who took second in 8.62.
200M Dash (W): Winning her second individual event of the meet was Joanna Schultz (24.75).
200M Dash (M): Stopping the clock in 21.90 was Notre Dame’s Miklos Szebeny … the time was good enough for a first-place finish and a spot in the league’s championship meet.
400M Dash (W): Joanna Schultz (55.64) was the first Irish sprinter to cross the plain … checking in behind her was Samantha Williams (57.22).
400M Dash (M): With a BIG EAST qualifying time of 49.56, Bob Kueny diced the field for a first-place finish … Edward Hitchler came in fourth with a mark of 50.30.
4x400M Relay (W): Notre Dame squads finished one-two with respective times of 3:54.06 and 3:56.66.
4x400M Relay (M): The results were no different on the men’s side of the event … the Irish posted marks of 3:18.62 and 3:19.23 to lead the field.
500M Dash (W): Of the 14-person field, seven of the top spots were claimed by Notre Dame … each collected league qualifying times, led by Cora Dayon and her 1:14.37 performance.
500M Dash (M): A trio of Irish runners turned in sub-1:50.00 times … leading the pack was Balazs Molnar (1:04.16) … behind him were teammates Billy Buzaid (1:04.50) and Austin Wechter (1:04.99).
One-Mile Run (W): The top finisher for the host team was Julie Opet (5:11.66), who edged out running partner Morgan Schulz (5:11.77).
One-Mile Run (M): While Marquette’s Peter Bolgert (4:20.04) and Mark Kopecki (4:20.43) claimed the podium’s top two spots, Jamal Afridi (4:23.12) of Notre Dame paced the Irish in the event with a third-place finish.
1,000M Run (W): Mary Cate Quiett of DePaul earned the gold with a mark of 2:55.35 … Notre Dame’s highest finisher was Abby Higgins (2:57.93).
1,000M Run (M): Seven of the top eight finishers sported the gold and blue … Adam Currie (2:26.56), Ryan Gamboa (2:28.53), and Cameron Eckert (2:29.83) filled the first three openings.
3,000M Run (W): Becca Bauman (10:19.37) clocked in for a second-place finish.
3,000M Run (M): Kurt Benninger (8:05.22) was over 34.00 quicker than the next runner to cross the finish line to record an NCAA provisional time.
5,000M Run (M): Jake Walker (14:17.01) blazed through the competition with the next closest finisher crossing the line nearly 25.00 later … that was Scott Mueller (14:52.14) of Marquette.
Pole Vault (W): Exceeding the conference qualifying mark of 3.40M was Mary Saxer … she cleared 3.55M.
Pole Vault (M): The first three spots went the way of the Irish, with each of the individuals capturing a spot in the BIG EAST Championship … Matt Schipper (4.75) led the pack, followed by Mike Yassay (4.50) and Brian Mahon (4.35).
Triple Jump (W): A distance of 11.39M was enough for Jamie Minor to put herself ahead of the competition.
Triple Jump (M): Earning a spot into the BIG EAST meet was Eric Quick, who sported a leap of 14.05M.
Long Jump (W): Alyissa Hasan (5.87) posted the top jump of the evening … Jaime Minor (5.63) and Mary Saxer (5.57) were the next best finishers in the event.
Long Jump (M): DePaul’s Joseph Strawder (7.10) led the men’s side … the longest mark recorded by Notre Dame was a distance of 6.38, achieved by Justin Schneider.
High Jump (M): Top medalist honors went to Justin Schneider (2.01), who ousted Marquette’s Nick Byom (1.96).
Weight Throw (W): A toss of 17.54M was enough for Anna Weber to take home the gold … that distance earned the thrower a spot in the league meet.
Weight Throw (M): Three throwers achieved BIG EAST qualifying standards … Greg Davis (17.72) came in first … the third-place nod went to Jeff Mensch (16.59), and Mike Schubert (16.18) was fourth.
Shot Put (W): Anna Weber (13.71) and Jaclyn Espinoza (13.29) held the first two spots for the Irish.
Shot Put (M): Mike Schubert (16.10) was trailed by Brandon Drenon (15.98) and Denes Veres (15.88) in the final standings.
–ND–