Notre Dame once again returns from its chase for qualifying marks to participate in the Big East Outdoor Conference Championship held in May.
The Irish had the chance to show their stuff at Mount SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. The relays are renowned for being one of the biggest and competitive track meets of the year, hosting over 9,000 participants from high school athletes all the way to potential Olympians. As a preview for the Mount SAC relays, some members of the team participated in the VS Athletic Beach Invitational held at Long Beach State in Norwalk, California. Senior Adam Currie finished second with a time of 1:51.69 in the 800-meter run, placing him second and with season best performance. Currie would improve even more during the Mount SAC Relays where he placed fourth with a faster time of 1:51.38.
Other participants of the VS meet were sophomore Balazs Molnar and senior Austin Wechter who both participated in the 400-meter hurdles. Molnar placed fifth with a time of 53.64, earning him the No. 13 ranking for the Big East meet in May. Wechter followed close behind in eighth with a time of 54.11.
Wechter and Molnar both ran hurdles at Mount Sac. Wechter finished 14th with a time of 54.40 while Molnar finished 22nd. Junior Billy Buzaid ran for the Irish as well,placing 13th in the 400-meter run with a time of 49.11. Buzaid ran the 400-meter dash the next day, running a time of 49.65 to earn him a seventh place.
Junior Blair Macjina also participated in the VS meet and placed fourth in the high jump. Macjina would go on to place sixth in the high jump for the Mount SAC relays with a jump of 6 feet, 8 inches.
For the rest of the field events at Mount SAC, sophomore pole vaulter Matt Schipper started the Irish off with a fifth place height of 5.05 meters. Fellow sophomore jumper Eric Quick placed ninth in the triple jump with a jump of 14.18 meters. Quick is currently a double threat for the Big East, ranked fourth in long jump and seventh in triple jump.
The Irish will continue to strive for Big East qualifying marks as the regular season of outdoor track comes to a close. The next meets up for the Irish will be the Drake and Hillsdale Relays starting this Friday.
