In a final tune-up before this weekend's Notre Dame Invitational, the Irish track squad travelled to Grand Valley State in Michigan for a successful showing in the Bob Eubanks Open, winning 11 events over the course of the two-day meet.
Returning from winter break, senior captain and pole vaulter ChrissyFinkel had high expectations both for the meet and for the rest of the season.
"Coming back from winter break, there's an expectation to be fresh and not to waste all the hard work we put in before the break, so the meet was great for testing that," Finkel said. "We're trying to win the Big East title for both men and women, indoors and outdoors."
Fourteen schools competed at the meet, ranging from Division I to NAIA institutions, including Michigan and Michigan State.
"There was a pretty big range of competition all around," Finkel said. "Still, there was definitely enough to spur us to that next level."
Finkel praised the performance of the sprinters. Senior Brendan Dougherty, sophomore Chris Giesting and juniors Patrick Feeney and Jarrod Buchanon all contributed to the winning 4x400-meter relay and won the 400-meter, 600-meter, 300-meter and 60-meter hurdles, respectively. The Irish women were just as dominant, with freshman Margaret Bamgbose and juniors Michelle Brown and Megan Yanik sweeping first place in the 200-meter, 300-meter and the 400-meter. The women also placed two teams in the top four of the 4-by-400-meter relay.
In addition to the sprints, sophomore Mary Esther Gourdin and junior Jessie Christian, placed first and second, respectively, in the triple jump, while sophomore Keith Mesidor placed third in the long jump for the men. Sophomore Emily Morris also contributed a second-place finish in the shot put.
In the multi-events, sophomore Carly Loeffel and junior Meghan Moore took the top two spots in the pentathlon, while senior Ted Glasnow won the heptathlon.
The Irish compete this weekend at the Notre Dame Invitational at the Loftus Center. The field events will start at 10 a.m. with the long jump and the track events will follow at 12 p.m., beginning with the 60-meter hurdles.
Contact Greg Hadley at ghadley@nd.edu
