Feb. 2, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Meyo Invitational traditionally has been a breeding ground for some of the top track & field performances in the country, and Friday night proved no exception, as the 20th version of the Meyo meet got underway at the Loftus Sports Center on the Notre Dame campus. Participating athletes combined to post 17 automatic or provisional qualifications for next month’s NCAA Indoor Championships, with three Meyo Invitational records and two Meyo Track standards also falling by the wayside on Friday night.
Notre Dame athletes had their fair share of success, coming out with nine personal-best marks, as well as six new qualifiers for the BIG EAST Conference Championships and eight improved BIG EAST qualifications. Senior Amy Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick’s) also became the first Irish woman to provisionally qualify for this year’s NCAA Championships, placing second in the 5,000-meter run with a personal-best time of 16:36.34 that also stands as the seventh-quickest time in the nation this year and the ninth-fastest in Notre Dame history. Kohlmeier added the 5,000 meters to her list of BIG EAST qualifiers, having already booked her spot at the conference meet in both the mile (personal-best 4:54.02) and 3,000 meters (9:51.13).
Sophomore Patrick Smyth (Salt Lake City, Utah/Judge Memorial) lowered his own NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 5,000 meters with a personal-best 13:58.10 that is the third-quickest in the country this season and fifth-best in Notre Dame history. Smyth ran behind former nine-time Irish All-American Ryan Shay — now one of the top young American marathoners — who won the Meyo 5,000 meters in 13:48.66, with Louisville’s Wesley Korir taking second in the NCAA’s fastest time this year (13:52.63).
Other highlights from Friday’s opening night at the Meyo Invitational included a 2-3-4 Notre Dame finish in the men’s 500-meter dash. Freshman Balazs Molnar (Dunaujvaros, Hungary/Szechenyi Istvan) was nipped at the line by Louisville’s Shaquan Brown (meet and track record 1:02.60), but Molnar’s season-best time of 1:02.61 was good enough to be the second-fastest in school history (topped only by Steve Dziabis’ time of 1:01.92 in 1983). Senior Jordan Powell (Springfield, Ill./Calvary Academy) was third in a personal-best 1:03.28 that is tied for seventh in Notre Dame annals, while junior Austin Wechter (Shelby, Ohio/Shelby) took fourth in his own personal-best time of 1:03.32 that ranks 10th in the Irish record books.
In addition, senior Christopher Jacques (Old Brookville, N.Y./Chaminade) shattered his old personal-best in the long jump, finishing third with a leap of 7.44 meters (24-5). Over on the women’s side, junior Crysta Swayzer (Houston, Texas/Westbury Senior) won the 500-meter dash in a personal-best 1:13.51, edging past senior teammate Okechi Ogbuokiri (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro), who clocked her own personal best of 1:13.63. And, senior Brianne Schmidt (Miles City, Mont./Custer County District) took second in the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:53.55, good enough to qualify her for the BIG EAST meet and stand eighth on the Notre Dame all-time list. In fact, Schmidt now holds four of the 10 fastest 1,000-meter times in school history.
The patrons in attendance also saw a rare treat, as LaShawn Merritt (the nation’s No. 3 ranked sprinter at 400 meters) made a surprise appearance and promptly won the 300-meter dash in a meet-record 32.23 seconds.
The Irish will be back in action Saturday beginning at 9:30 a.m. (ET) for the second day of the Meyo Invitational at the Loftus Sports Center. Competition will continue throughout the day, with admission to all Irish home track & field meets free to the general public.
— ND —