It is not often that teams lean on freshman to make a major impact, but that is what the Notre Dame women's track team is doing this season with freshman distance runner Marissa Treece.
Treece won the mile run last week at the Indiana Invitational, logging a time of 5:04.00. Irish coach Tim Connelly sees that as just the beginning of her accomplishments.
"Obviously, our hope is that she will reach her full potential as a runner and become a big time competitor on the national level, as have a number of our top runners in the past," Connelly said. "I think that she still has a lot of work to do to get there, but if she is persistent and patient, she certainly will have the opportunity to reach that level."
After a strong start in training early in the year, Treece was sidelined for the remainder of the semester with an illness.
"She is healthy now and working hard to get fit able to race at a high level," Connelly said.
Treece and the rest of the Irish will be in action today and Saturday at the Meyo Invitational, one of the top track events in the country. The competition will include many teams from major conferences such as the Big East and Big Ten like Wisconsin and Iowa.
"It will be a big step up in competition, so our kids will really have to be
confident and compete at their best if they expect to be competitive in such a strong field," Connelly said.
The meet will carry a special meaning for many involved in the Notre Dame community. There will be the annual running of the "Meyo Mile," and this year's event will also include the first Ryan Shay 3000-meter run.
Shay was the former Notre Dame standout who died on Nov. 3 during U.S. Olympic marathon trials.
