May 10, 2018
By Matt Paras
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Notre Dame track and field kicked off the 2018 ACC outdoor championships Thursday in Coral Gables. The Irish had strong performances on the track and in the infield earning All-ACC honors along with qualifying for finals. After the first day of action, the men’s team sits third overall with 12.5 points and the women’s team is seventh with eight points.
In just her second meet of the year, Anna Rohrer jumped out to the lead right after the opening gun of the 10000m final. As the race progressed, Rohrer continued to grow her lead and created a gap from the rest of the field. In the second half of the race, Rohrer’s lead shrunk as Wasike from Louisville began to close the gap but Rohrer held her off until the final lap. Rohrer finished second overall with a time of 33:03.30 to earn a silver medal and first team All-ACC honors. This is her ninth medal at an ACC meet in her career.
Yared Nuguse and Jacob Dumford put on a show in the men’s 1500m prelims. Both running in the first heat, they jumped out to the front of the pack with Dumford leading for the first two laps. Halfway through the third lap, Nuguse overtook his teammate for first place. On the final lap, Nuguse held off Zarate of Virginia Tech for first place (3:42.44) in the heat and Dumford finished third (3:45.77) to qualify for Saturday’s final. After three heats, Nuguse and Dumford held the top and third best times of the entire field.
Senior Jessica Harris was at it again Thursday night in the women’s 1500m prelims. Running in the first heat, she raced out to the lead and stayed there up until the final lap. Although she was passed by Duca of Boston College, Harris finished comfortably in second (4:20.78) to qualify for Saturday’s final. Last season at the outdoor championships, Harris finished fourth overall in the 1500m final.
The Irish had a strong start to the field events Thursday afternoon as two personal records were set in the men’s hammer throw. Logan Kusky (61.46m, 201-8) and John Stefan (46.64m, 153-0) both set records in the first field event of the championships. Kusky finished third overall to claim a bronze medal and first team All-ACC honors. This is Kusky’s second ACC accolade this year as he earned second team honors in the weight throw at the indoor championships.
In the men’s high jump, both Matthew Birzer (2.15m, 7-0.50) and Hunter Holton (2.07m, 6-9.50) hit season-best marks in the event. Birzer finished fourth overall to earn second team All-ACC honors. He has earned All-ACC honors in every conference meet he has competed in during his collegiate career.
Troy Pride Jr. competed in the 200m dash prelims in his first event of the weekend. Running in the second heat, Pride Jr. finished second with a personal record of 21.16. Pride Jr’s time ended up ninth overall and just missed out on a spot in Saturday’s final. He will be running again tomorrow night in the 100m dash prelims.
Rachel Rhodes competed in the first half of the heptathlon and set a personal record in one of the events. Her best throw in the shot put traveled 11.19m (36-8.50) to set a new record and finished fifth in the event. Rhodes sits eighth overall with 2,981 points after the first four events.
Up Next
The Irish will be back at it Friday afternoon for day two of the championships. Friday’s action for the Irish will kick off at 12 pm ET with Rachel Rhodes in the second half of the heptathlon. Infield events start at 3 pm with the Antonio Villegas Jimenez in the men’s long jump. Track events and the ACC Network Extra broadcast begin at 5:30 pm with Grace Cronin, Madysen Hunter, Naya Sharp and Summer Thorpe in the women’s 100m hurdles prelims. Fans can stay up to date with all the action from the ACC Championship Central page here.
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Matt Paras, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since January 2018. In his role, he coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse and cross country/track & field programs. A native of Warwick, Rhode Island, Paras is a graduate of the University of Louisville where he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sport Administration. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, he worked at Vanderbilt University as the sports information contact for the women’s soccer and lacrosse programs.