Jan. 28, 2017
By Megan Golden
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Notre Dame track and field team recorded four individual victories at the two-day Black & Gold Premier this weekend at the Iowa Recreation Building. The Irish won three individual events on Friday and one event on Saturday.
DAY TWO RECAP
Junior Jess Harris led the Irish with a first-place finish in the 800m premier, recording a time of 2:07.99. Sophomore Kelly Hart (2:10.89) crossed the finish line just behind Harris, turning in a second-place finish. Hart finished just .06 seconds short of tying her PR.
Junior Jordan Shead (1:33.55) finished third overall in the 600m premier, while junior Parker English (55.07) was second in the 400 premier.
Four Irish athletes finished in the top five of the 60m hurdles, including freshmen Summer Thorpe (2nd, 8.56), Grace Cronin (4th, 8.89) and Naya Sharp (5th, 8.91) and senior Taylor Craft (3rd, 8.78).
The women’s 4x400m relay premier team of juniors Payton Miller, Shead, Allison Bartoszewicz and English (3:43.27) came in second place.
Freshman Abbey Kapitan (14.57m) also recorded a third-place finish in the shot put.
For the men, freshman Ryan Schweizer (1:53.24) came in third place in the 800m premier, and junior Billy Dolan (4:10.34) placed third in the one-mile premier.
DAY ONE RECAP
Sophomore Matthew Birzer finished first in the high jump (2.13m), senior Nate Richartz was first in the pole vault (5.25m), and Bartoszewicz recorded first place in the 200m dash (25.38). Junior Hunter Holton landed in third place in the men’s high jump, jumping 2.00m.
Birzer said the team is looking to fine-tune their performances in time for the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, which will be held Feb. 23-25 at Loftus Sports Center.
“We’ve all been training hard and are in pretty good places physically,” Birzer said. “I’m happy with my performance this season and the team’s performance so far, but I know we have bigger things in store and we have work to do.”
Freshman Clay Goldman set a PR with a third-place finish in the 600m (1:22.33). On the women’s side, Miller recorded a PR with a time of 25.42 and a seventh-place finish in the 200m premier. Sophomore Kyla Lewis finished just behind Miller in eighth (25.29).
In the women’s 200m dash, Bartoszewicz led an Irish trio, including freshmen Michaela Butler (2nd, 25.74) and Madysen Hunter (3rd, 25.79), which crossed the finish line in the top three spots.
For the men, sophomore Zachary Zajdel (22.23) and freshman Troy Pride Jr. (22.54) finished third and fourth, respectively. Senior Tommy Grant (22.73) raced in the 200m premier, finishing 11th overall.
UP NEXT
The Irish return to action when they host the Meyo Invitational at Loftus Sports Center, beginning at 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 3-4.
For a closer, behind-the-scenes look at the Fighting 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.