April 14, 2006
WALNUT, Calif. – The Notre Dame women’s track & field team got off to a flying start at the 48th annual Mt. SAC Relays late Thursday night in Walnut, Calif., logging two of the three fastest 5,000-meter times in the nation (college or professional) this year and posting three qualifying efforts for the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. In addition, two school records fell and four new entries in the Irish all-time top-10 lists were created as the Mt. SAC meet got underway at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mount San Antonio College campus.
Senior All-Americans Molly Huddle (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) and Stephanie Madia (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) turned in exceptional performances in one of the spotlight events of the evening, the women’s 5,000-meter run (invitational race), which featured a mix of elite college and professional runners from both the national and international arenas. Huddle finished third overall, and was both the top American and collegian in the field, hitting the line in 15:40.41, the fastest time in the country this year by nearly four seconds (Stanford’s Arianna Lambie – 15:44.23 on March 31) and fourth-quickest in school history. Madia wasn’t far behind in sixth place (third American and collegian) in a personal-best time of 15:47.59, good for third-fastest in the nation (behind Huddle and Lambie) and sixth in the Notre Dame record books.
Huddle and Madia (who now own nine of the top 10 outdoor 5,000-meter times in school history) also both surpassed the USATF “A” qualifying standard of 15:50.00, and should their times being accepted, the pair would gain automatic berths in the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 21-25 in Indianapolis. China’s Yuan Jin (15:38.62) and Mexico’s Dulce Rodriguez (15:39.92) took the top two spots in Thursday night’s 5,000-meter race at Mt. SAC, with Yuan, Rodriguez and Huddle all posting times that are unofficially among the 15 fastest in the world this year.
Not to be outdone, two Notre Dame field athletes came through with school-record performances. Back in home state of California, senior Laura Huarte (Shingle Springs, Calif./St. Francis) finished second in the javelin and obliterated her own school record by more than seven feet with a top throw of 154-2 (47.00 meters), also matching the USATF “B” (provisional) minimum and setting the eighth-best mark in the NCAA Mideast Region this year. Prior this season, Huarte, the niece of 1964 Heisman Trophy winner John Huarte, had a personal-best distance of 139-8 (42.59m), but in less than a month, she has twice broken the school record — back on March 18 at the Cal Poly Invitational, she had a top mark of 146-9 (44.73m).
Meanwhile, freshman Mary Saxer (Lancaster, N.Y./Central) won the Olympic development division of the women’s pole vault with a school-best clearance of 12-9.5 (3.90m), tying Jaime Volkmer’s Irish record originally set on March 22, 2003, at the Baldy Castillo Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. Saxer also tied for the sixth-best performance in the NCAA Mideast Region this year.
Notre Dame athletes will continue to compete in southern California this weekend, taking part in the Mt. SAC Relays through Saturday night. A handful of competitors were scheduled to participate in the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on Friday afternoon, while the majority of the Irish roster will travel to Indianapolis on Saturday for the Indy Relays.
— ND —
Women’s Results
5,000 Meters (Invitational-University/Open): 1. Yuan Jin (China) 15:38.62; 3. Molly Huddle (ND) 15:40.41; 6. Stephanie Madia (ND) 15:47.59; 14. Amy Kohlmeier (ND) 16:17.16
5,000 Meters (Olympic Development-University/Open): 1. Sally Kipyego (South Prairie, Texas) 16:13.39; 15. Sunni Olding (ND) 17:06.63
1,500 Meters (Olympic Development-University/Open): 1. Qing Liu (China) 4:19.09; 10. Jackie Carter (ND) 4:33.24
Javelin Throw (University/Open): 1. Hannah Warfield (unattached) 157-7 (48.04 meters); 2. Laura Huarte (ND) 154-2 (47.00m)
Pole Vault (Olympic Development-University/Open): 1. Mary Saxer (ND) 12-9.5 (3.90m); 2. Katie Williams (Idaho State) 12-9.5 (3.90m)
Men’s Results
400 Meters (Olympic Development-University/Open): 1. Rashaad Johnson (Perpetual Motion) 47.02; 3. Ryan Postel (ND) 47.27