With the conference championship just a week away, four Irish athletes will travel to Grand Valley State this weekend for some last minute preparation.
Freshman Aaron Dunn and juniors JarodBuchanon and Bryce Wood, all hurdlers, will compete for the men, while junior sprinter AijahUrssery will represent the women. Buchanon was a member of the winning 4-by-400 meter relay team at last weekend's Meyo Invitational. The squad's time was the 12th best in the nation this year to date.
"This meet is a last chance to either qualify for Big East or get some confidence," junior captain Logan Renwick said. "A lot of people will be using it as a final tune-up."
This is the second trip the Irish have made to Grand Valley State this year. The first time was for the Bob Eubanks Open on Jan. 11-12. Renwick said that the facilities will work to the advantage of the Irish.
"They have very nice indoor facilites," Renwick said. "Their track is big, over 300 meters. It's actually a lot like our track."
Buchanon and Wood are entered in the 60-meter hurdles, while Dunn is entered in the 400-meter. Urssery is scheduled to compete in the 200-meter. While the Irish are sending a small contingent, the meet itself will be large, with nearly 2500 entries from every level of collegiate competition. Because the meet is so big, the competition is divided into an invitational section Friday and an open section Saturday. All the Irish athletes are entered in the invitational section.
"It's a great place to face some good competition," Renwick said. Teams from all over the Midwest are entered, including Michigan State, Indiana State and Marquette.
Looking ahead, Renwick said the entire team feels confident as they approach the postseason.
"Everyone's very positive," Renwick said. "We know that when everyone does what they're expected to do, we have a great chance to win both [the men's and women's] titles. Based off of the last two meets, we're ready to go down to Ohio and compete."
The Irish compete one last time before the Big East conference championship at Grand Valley State, this Friday.
Contact Greg Hadley at ghadley@nd.edu
