The University of Notre Dame track and field program hosted the Alex Wilson Invitational on Saturday, February 21, in the Loftus Sports Center, one of the ‘last chance’ meets in the country as student-athletes across the country look to reach the qualifying standard or improve their season performances before the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championship meet held at the University of Arkansas March 13-14.
Noteworthy finishes for the Fighting Irish on Saturday included sophomore Mary Bonner Dalton running a personal-best 4:38.45 to finish second in the mile. The men’s distance medley relay team of Matthew Smith, Jack Ahart, Reed Cherry and Benji Anderson finished seventh in a highly competitive race. The 9:24.64 time would rank among the nation’s top 10 this season before this weekend’s competitions.
The final event of the day was the men’s weight throw which saw senior Benjamin Pable set a personal-best on his first effort at 22.00m, a mark which is currently the 18th-best in the country this season. Classmate Obiara Okeke posted a personal-best as well with a 21.50m measurement which is the 31st-best in the country.
Freshman multi event athlete Kate McGuinness established a new personal best in the 60-meter hurdles finishing in 9.02. She also finished second in the high jump clearing a season-best 1.53 meters.
The men’s 800-meter group all ran well while posting either season or career-best times. Junior John Schuler finished third in 1:49.97 with freshman Cole Stehly just behind at 1:50.79, which are both personal-best times.
Sophomore Ashley Fisher matched her personal-best in the long jump with a 5.71-meter measurement.
Notre Dame Results
Men’s Distance Medley Relay
- Matthew Smith, Jack Ahart, Reed Cherry, Benji Anderson, 9.24.64
Women’s Distance Medley Relay
- Rosie Mucharsky, Reese Sanders, Gretchen Farley, Isabel Allori, 10:55.27
60-meter Hurdles
- Kate McGuinness, 9.02 PR
- Lauren Huber, 9:32
Women’s 60 meters
- Reese Johnson, 7.85 SB
Men’s 200 meters
- Landon Stromer, 22.01 SB
- Evan Hudson, 22.48 SB
Women’s 400 meters
- Remy Finn 54.84 PR
- Jordyn Borsch 54.90 SB
- Molly Bennett 57.59 SB
Men’s 400 meters
- Evan Hudson 48.91 SB
Women’s 800 meters
- Kaleigh Gunsiorowski, 2:12.35
- Bridget Gallagher, 2:13.66 PR
Men’s 800 meters
- John Schuler, 1:49.67 PR
- Cole Stehly, 1:50.79 PR
- Bill Hayes, 1:59.96 SB
- Julian Kingery, 1:54.34 SB
Women’s Mile
- Mary Bonner Dalton, 4:38.45 PR
Women’s Shot Put
- Julia Reglewski 15.00m SB
- Ore Olusi 13.66m
Men’s Shot Put
- Obiora Okeke 18.66m
- Zach Petko 17.17m
Men’s High Jump
- Jackson McDowell 2.08m
Women’s High Jump
- Lauren Huber 1.63m SB
- Kate McGuinness 1.53m SB
Women’s Long Jump
- Ashley Fisher, 5.71m matches PR
- Gabriella Zeller, 5.46m
- Kate McGuinness, 5.33m
- Lauren Huber, 5.05m
Women’s Triple Jump
- Gabriella Zeller, 11.88m
Women’s Weight Throw
- Jillian Stafford, 16.85m
Men’s Weight Throw
- Benjamin Pable, 22.00m
- Obiora Okeke, 21.50m
The Alex Wilson Invitational is named after and run in the memory of Alex Wilson, a legendary student-athlete and coach at Notre Dame. While a student-athlete at Notre Dame in the 1930s Wilson was undefeated in quarter and half mile events and competed in the 1928 and 1932 Olympics for his native Canada, earning a bronze medal in the 800 meters in 1932. He eventually returned to Notre Dame as a coach and saw his teams finish in the national top-10 11 times, win three individual championships, earn 28 All-America honors and win the 1957 cross country national championship. A member of the Canadian and Helms Foundation Hall of Fames, Wilson passed away in 1994.