Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Notre Dame wins four events at Invitational

The Irish women's team took second place at Saturday's Notre Dame Invitational while the men took fifth, combining for four total event wins.

Irish coach Alan Turner said the team showed a lot of effort in this weekend’s meet, held at Loftus Sports Center.

“One that was important for me was us really giving that all-out, 100-percent effort,” Turner said. “There were a few people who didn’t do that last week. This week, we had a much better overall showing from the effort of the kids. Some of my younger ones are learning how to compete. That’s always important, learning how to compete. People were running hard, finishing great.” 

The highlight of the day for the Irish came when senior sprinter Chris Giesting broke the school record in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:16.70, a new mark by nearly two seconds.

“I was pretty nervous going into this actually because I don’t run this event,” Giestling said. “It’s my third time running this event in my career. I normally run the 400-meter. I just went as hard as I could for as long as I could. I went out fast knowing I could be comfortable doing that.

"... I just closed my eyes the last 60 meters, head down. I really don’t want to do another one anytime soon, but I was pretty happy with today.” 



Irish sophomore Harvey Smith runs the lead leg of Notre Dame’s 4x400-meter relay at the Notre Dame Invitational on Saturday.
Irish sophomore Harvey Smith runs the lead leg of Notre Dame’s 4x400-meter relay at the Notre Dame Invitational on Saturday.


Turner also lauded Giestling’s performance, saying that it was remarkable.

“The highlight for me, first of all, was Chris shattering our school record in the indoor 600-meter,” Turner said. “... He’s in great shape. He’s been the superstar of this team since his freshman year.” 

On the women's side, junior Margaret Bamgbose took the title in the 400-meter dash in 53.37.

“She won that pretty easily, and that was her second fastest time ever indoors," Turner said of Bamgbose. "That time should definitely put her in the top eight in the country. By the end of the year, she should definitely be top eight in the country.”



Irish junior Margaret Bamgbose races around the turn in Notre Dame’s second-place 4x400-meter relay Saturday.
Irish junior Margaret Bamgbose races around the turn in Notre Dame’s second-place 4x400-meter relay Saturday.


The two other Notre Dame wins came from junior Michael Clevenger, who won the men's mile in 4:05.99, and senior Emily Morris, who threw 16.00 meters in the women's shot put.

“Emily Morris in the shot put came three centimeters from tying her own school record,” Turner said. “She’s getting very, very consistent there.”

After Saturday, the Irish will compete in a string of events that feature national powerhouses, including the Razorback Invitational next weekend and the Meyo Invitational the weekend after that.

Though the competition may be tough, Giestling said the most important thing for the Irish is to get healthy.

“The ACC is very, very tough this year,” Giestling said. “We’ve got a good team. It’s all about getting healthy for us right now. We’ve had a got of injuries, a lot of guys are going to miss the indoor season, and so if we can just get healthy we’ve got a shot to crack the top three tier.

"It’s anyone’s game at the ACC — anything can happen. We’ll work on getting healthy, but I think we’re looking good for now.”

Notre Dame's next meet is next weekend at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas.