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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Notre Dame finds success in two meets

Irish athletes competed at both Iowa State Classic and the Spire D-1 Invitational this weekend. Performing well both on the track and on the infield, Notre Dame netted three individual first place finishes and multiple personal-best marks over the course of the two-day meets.

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Irish senior Jessica Harris races during the Meyo Invitational on Feb. 3 at Loftus Sports Complex.
Irish senior Jessica Harris races during the Meyo Invitational on Feb. 3 at Loftus Sports Complex.


The Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa, has a reputation for having some of the toughest distance and middle-distance competition of the indoor season. The Irish sent some of their top distance runners there, and they made an impact. On Friday, Notre Dame freshman runners Yared Nuguse and Tyler Keslin competed in the men’s 3,000-meter race, finishing fourth and 14th overall, respectively. Nuguse finished in a time of 8:04.67, while Keslin’s pace was 8:09.93.

On Saturday, the Irish men had two representatives in the 800-meter finals. Graduate student Notre Dame middle-distance specialist Jacob Dumford crossed the line in 1:51.37, with senior teammate Kirk Hansen finishing behind him in 1:55.92.

On the women’s side, senior distance runner Jessica Harris ran the mile Saturday and secured the second-best finish overall amidst stiff competition, finishing with a time of 4:36.46.

The bulk of the team attended the Spire D-1 Invitational in Geneva, Ohio, and many Irish athletes there put themselves in solid position to qualify for the upcoming championship meets.

Notre Dame’s male field athletes finished well across the board. In the men’s weight throw, sophomore throwers Logan Kusky’s 18.26 meter and Shae Watkins’ 16.12 meter throws notched them fifth and 10th place finishes, respectively. Freshman jumper Antonio Villegas Jimenez won first overall in the long jump with a mark of 6.73 meters. Further adding to the Irish men’s success in the infield, sophomore Carter Sorenson pulled out a third-place finish in the heptathlon.

The Irish women also had marked success in the field events. Graduate student thrower Indi Jackson competed in the shot put, throwing for 14.87 meters and earning the third place spot overall. Irish sophomore Kassadee Ifft and her teammate freshman McKenna Caskey tied for fifth overall in the pole vault, both clearing the bar at 3.87 meters. Freshman thrower Rachel Tanczos placed seventh in the weight throw with a distance of 17.85 meters.

On the track, the Irish runners also performed well, especially in the sprint events. In the women’s 200-meter dash, three Notre Dame sprinters placed near the top: senior Jordan Shead earned third, with teammates sophomore Naya Sharp and junior Kyla Lewis finishing ninth and eleventh overall, respectively.

The Irish women performed well in the 60-meter hurdles. Sophomore sprinter Summer Thorpe placed first overall in the event, Sharp earned fourth and sophomore Grace Cronin finished seventh overall. In the 60-meter dash, Lewis and Sharp finished in the top-10, placing eighth and ninth, respectively.

The third and final first place finish came in the 4 x 400-meter relay. The team of Shead, Thorpe, sophomore Madysen Hunter and senior Allison Bartoszewicz bested the competition with a finishing time of 3:41.09.

Senior Kaitlin Frei represented the Irish in the 5,000m run, placing eighth and crossing the line in 17:12.59.

The most notable performance on the men’s side came from sophomore sprinter Troy Pride Jr., who secured third place in the 60-meter dash, finishing third overall in the event.

The Irish have one final home meet before the ACC Championship meet. The Alex Wilson Invitational will be taking place at Loftus Sports Complex on Saturday, with competition beginning at 11 a.m.