Home is where the heart is.
Following a long holiday break and a quick road trip down I-65 to West Lafayette, Ind. for the Purdue Invitational, the Irish track and field squad returns home for the Notre Dame Opener today at Loftus.
The Opener, which is slated to begin at 5 p.m., is the first of three consecutive home meets to open up the 2006 calendar year.
The Irish are coming off of a solid performance at Purdue. A select group of team members traveled to the meet, with the jumpers and throwers leading the squad in the unscored meet.
The women's squad swept the high jump competition, while the men's squad had a very good showing the weight throw. Freshman Lauren Biscardi led all competitors with a jump height of 5-foot-6.
Another of the highlights for Head Coach Joe Piane was the improvement shown by his throwers.
Sophomore Kyle Annen picked up third-place honors in the weight throw at Purdue but was disappointed overall.
"Our marks at the first meet of the year were slightly subpar due to heavy work loads and training loads during finals week," he said. "The long layoff helped us immensely, we were able to revive our bodies and come back to school fresh for the season."
It is important for the Irish to come out strong in the Opener, as they have quite a few big meets coming up on the schedule, Piane said. This weekend marks the second of five consecutive weekends that they will be in action, and the middle three meets are to be held in the friendly confines of Loftus.
"We always have the goal of improving our marks and working towards marks that will help gain our team points for the Big East Conference championship," Annen said. "In a situation of three consecutive meets at home we are always looking for consistency and to become more comfortable with our event."
Looking ahead at the schedule, the Irish have two more weeks to prepare until the prestigious Meyo Invitational is held the weekend of Feb. 3. The Irish currently have 29 athletes qualified for the Big East Championship, and will look to pick up even more qualifications in the coming weeks.
