Feb. 8, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 2008 Meyo Invitational got off to a great start on the first night of competition with success coming across the boards in competition and in the way of the Notre Dame men’s and women’s track squads. In just the first night of competition one NCAA automatic provisional mark was met and 13 NCAA provisional marks were recorded, some of which were top performances across the nation in collegiate track and field.
For the Irish, junior Alyissa Hasan continued her improvement for the pentathlon, competing in just the long jump Friday night. After setting a school record in the pentathlon with a score of 3939 last weekend at the Akron Invitational, she went on to earn a career best in the long jump with a leap of 19-8 ¼. She beat out her previous best of 19-3 ¼ and continues to lead the Irish women in the event this season. To finish out the competition, her performance was good enough for fifth place.
In the women’s 500-meter dash the duo of Cora Dayon and Natalie Johnson represented the Irish well, taking the two and three spots. Dayon finished with a time of 1:13.92 with teammate Johnson hot on her heels with a time of 1:13.96.
On the men’s side of the field, Matt Schipper was a top competitor in the pole vault. He topped out at a season best 16-4 ¾ to finish in third spot. He reached the same height as the second-place finisher, but took third on account of jumps.
The performance of the evening undoubtedly came from the Michigan women’s distance medley relay. The Wolverine squad set a new Meyo Invitational and Meyo Track record in the DMR with the fastest time in the nation, smashing previous records with a time of 11:01.51. The time is an NCAA automatic qualifying time and is one of the top times in the event in collegiate history.
Baylor previously held the fastest time before Michigan this evening, holding the top spot this season with a time of 11:07.00. The Meyo Invitational and Meyo Track record was previously held by Michigan went they clocked in with a time of 11:04.38 a year ago.
Alyson Kohlmeier of Michigan also lit up the track in the 5,000-meter race. In her title winning performance she ran 16:16.73, clocking in the second-fastest time in the nation, just missing out on the top spot in collegiate action this season. She sits behind Wendi Robinson of Indiana who has a season best of 16:16.23.
The men’s long jump proved to be a great event as well with two provisional qualifiers from Alabama. In a heated competition, Michael Nichols took the victory with a jump of 25 ½. His teammate Tim Grier came in close behind with a leap of 24-7 ¾.
The Meyo Invitational continues tomorrow morning with running events beginning at 9 a.m.
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