April 29, 2006
Drake Relays Results | Hillsdale Gina Relays Results
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame track & field teams concluded their last weekend of action prior to the BIG EAST Conference Outdoor Championships with the Irish splitting time between the prestigious Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Hillsdale Gina Relays in Hillsdale, Mich. All told, Notre Dame athletes added two more NCAA Mideast Regional qualification marks, seven BIG EAST Championship qualifiers and cracked the top 10 in four categories of the school’s record book, putting the Irish in prime position to compete for conference titles at the BIG EAST meet May 5-7 in Storrs, Conn.
Here’s a wrap-up of Notre Dame’s performances at this weekend’s two meets:
Drake Relays (Des Moines, Iowa)
The Irish men’s track & field team fielded participants in three events on Saturday afternoon at the 97th annual Drake Relays, held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. Two of the events led to top-10 entries in the Notre Dame record book, paced by the Irish 4 x 800-meter relay squad, which posted the fifth-best time in school history (7:31.96) en route to a ninth-place finish. A trio of sophomores — Brett Adams (Davenport, Iowa/Assumption), Adam Currie (Verdun, Quebec/Richelieu Valley) and John Cavanaugh (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph’s) — led off the race before junior Thomas Chamney (Tipperary, Ireland/St. Columba’s) ran the anchor leg.
On the infield, sophomore Kyle Annen (Orofino, Idaho/Orofino) continued to put distance — literally — between himself and the rest of the BIG EAST hammer throw pack, registering a conference- and personal-best heave of 190-3 (57.98 meters) that also put him sixth in school history. In the past two meets, Annen has improved his top mark by nearly 14 feet and extended his NCAA Mideast Regional qualifying distance.
Hillsdale Gina Relays (Hillsdale, Mich.)
A combination of the Notre Dame men’s and women’s squads accounted for two more Mideast Regional qualifiers, seven BIG EAST admissions and two top-10 performances at the Hillsdale Gina Relays on Friday and Saturday in Hillsdale, Mich. Senior All-American Molly Huddle (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) led the way for the Irish, winning the 1,500-meter run (and booking a spot in both the conference and regional meets in the process) with a time of 4:22.31. Junior Amy Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick’s) also made the BIG EAST 1,500-meter field (4:29.55), and senior Elizabeth Webster (Dearborn, Mich./Divine Child) did likewise (personal-best 4:36.13).
At the high jump pit, senior Emily Loomis (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Luers) came away victorious in the women’s competition and posted the fifth-best mark in school history with a personal-best clearance of 5-10.75 (1.80 meters). Freshman Blair Majcina finished second on the men’s side with a season-best leap of 6-10.75 (2.10m) that also put the Irish rookie into the NCAA Mideast Regional field.
Other highlights at the Hillsdale meet included: BIG EAST qualifiers Becca Bauman (5,000 meters), Kevin Veselik (5,000 meters), Mark Moore (3,000-meter steeplechase) and Geoffrey Bennett (110-meter hurdles). In addition, sophomore Domenique Manning (Riverside, Calif./John W. North) ran the 100-meter hurdles in 14.15 seconds, tying Tameisha King for the 10th-fastest time in school history.
— ND —