The Irish kept pace this weekend at the Meyo Invitational, notching several high finishes despite facing an elite level of competition.
Traditionally one of the best meets in the country, this year's Meyo was no exception, as Alabama's Kirani James ran the 400 meters in 45.47 seconds, the fastest time in the world this season. That time is also a Loftus Center record.
"We had great competition this weekend," Irish coach Joe Piane said. "A guy ran the fastest 400 in the world, how can you argue with that? We had great performances from the first event on Friday to the last event Saturday, and I think our guys responded to it well."
Notre Dame would not be outdone, though, and stepped up to the competition with strong performances across the board. The highlight of the weekend for the Irish was another top time as sophomore Jeremy Rae, the reigning Big East athlete of the week, continued his breakout season with his first ever sub-four minute mile, breaking the tape in 3 minutes, 59.62 seconds for first place in the prestigious Meyo Mile. Junior Jordan Carlson took fourth with a personal best finish of 4:03.39.
"Jeremy's trained very well for the last year and a half. We could see a race like this coming for him, and as fast as he finished, we think he can still run faster," Piane said.
The depth of the Irish was also on display at the Invitational. In the 5,000-meter run, senior Dan Jackson, junior Kelly Lynch and senior Ryan Jacobs all placed in the top 10 with Big East qualifying times. The 500-meter run was no different, as the pack running of Mitch Lorenz, Jack Howard, Matthew Brown and Eric Roth all pulled in top 10 finishes as well.
Piane said the strength the Irish showed at the meet will be essential for his team in the upcoming conference championships.
"We're going to need that depth for the Big East meet. We're good, but we're going to have to score some points there," Piane said.
The Irish will have two full weeks to rest and prepare before heading to Akron for the Big East Championships, where they hope to repeat as Indoor champions.
"We're going to train really hard this week, then back off the week before the meet. At that point, the hay's in the barn," Piane said. "We'll have to stay healthy, but I think we have as good of a chance as anyone."
