NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame track and field team concluded the 32nd annual Meyo Invitational with two first place finishes on day two, 25 top-15 individual finishers and two relays in the top-15.
“The Meyo invitational lived up to the hype,” Hatherly-Piane Head Coach Matt Sparks said. “Our athletes had a level of energy that we had hoped to find. Competing at home against some of the best athletes in the Midwest really energized not only our team but the entire Loftus Fieldhouse.”
In The Field
After a third place finish in yesterday’s weight throw, Abbey Kapitan recorded a fifth place finish in the women’s shot put Saturday, throwing for a distance of 14.55m. John Stefan placed fourth in the men’s competition, posting a throw of 16.56m followed by Shae Watkins (16.13m) in seventh.
Over on the west side of the field, McKenna Caskey reached a height of 3.60m in the pole vault to earn seventh overall.
On the runway, Connor Artman leapt for 7.18m, a personal best, and fifth in the event.
Mad Dash
In the first race of the morning, Summer Thorpe solidified her spot in the 60m hurdle finals as she won her heat in the semi-finals. Jernaya Sharp then punched her ticket to the finals when she made crossed the line first in her heat with a time of 8.54. The final Irish qualifier was Grace Cronin who crossed the line in 8.59 for her spot in the later race.
With the afternoon session underway, Summer Thorpe maintained her place at the top when she finished the 60m hurdle finals in 8.38 seconds to come out on top. Grace Cronin crossed the line sixth (8.541) followed by Jernaya Sharp 0.003 seconds later for seventh (8.544).
Kyla Lewis followed up the hurdlers’ success as she qualified for the 60m dash finals with a time of 7.77 in the semis as did Zachary Zajdel, who would represent the men, crossing the line in 6.95 seconds.
In the 60m dash finals, Kyla Lewis took eighth place, sprinting to the line in 7.76 seconds. Zachary Zajdel earned sixth with his finals time of 6.89 seconds.
Going The Distance
True-freshman Jackie Gaughan lead the Irish in the 3,000m race, finishing with a time of 9:22.88. Jocelyn Long also finished among the top group, taking 13th overall with her time of 9:45.72.
In the men’s Ryan Shay 3,000m race, Matthew Carmody posted the top Irish finish, clocking in at 8:13.13 for sixth overall. He was followed by Zach Kreft in eighth with a time of 8:20.87, Brendan Fraser in 8:21.43 and Amani Morrell, who crossed the line 12th overall in 8:24.35.
Rachel DaDamio lead the charge in the women’s one mile, taking eighth with a time of 4:44.71. Her teammate, Mikayla Schneider took 15th as she crossed the line in 4:52.06.
On the men’s side, Yared Nuguse posted his second consecutive victory in the Meyo Mile. The sophomore recorded a season best time of 4:01.10 in the race to take the top spot, edging out his Eastern Michigan opponent through the final straightaway to reign victorious. Vincent Zona (4:07.91) and Brian Griffith (4:08.15) also finished among the top-15 in the mile race, earning 12th and 13th, respectively.
Kelly Hart finished third in the 800m run, clocking in at 2:07 flat to lead the team. Erin Sullivan followed shortly behind, finishing the race in 2:09.60 and eighth overall.
Clayton Goldman and Parker Jones led the men’s team in the 800m, finishing 10th and 12th overall with just 0.9 seconds separating the teammates. Goldman finished in 1:52.06 while Jones crossed in 1:52.96 for 12th place.
Up Next
The team will split for a weekend of meets in Iowa, South Carolina and Indiana before returning home to host the Alex Wilson Invite, February 16.
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