The Notre Dame track and field team competed against a number of different schools this past weekend in the Meyo Invitational, and five Irish athletes set NCAA provisional marks at the meet.
Matt Shipper was the only one on Friday, with a personal best 5.22 meter pole vault. Junior Joanna Shultz, with a second place in the 400-meters, along with Kelly Langhans in the 800-meters, Lindsey Ferguson in the 3000-meters, and Jack Howard in the 800-meters also set the mark. They join teammates Anna Weber and Mary Saxer as the NCAA provisional qualifiers for the Irish.
Saxer also had a very successful weekend, winning the women's pole vault and breaking her own Loftus Sports Center record with a vault of 4.15 meters.
In the Meyo Mile, five runners ran sub-four-minute miles. Paul Springer, with a 21st place finish, was the highest Irish finisher in the Ryan Shay 3000-meter run.
Friday's meet featured a number of unseeded races and events, some of which the Irish won. In the men's 500 meters, Billy Buzaid continued his successful senior season with a first-place time of 1:02.82. Fellow senior Anna Weber also performed well, being the top collegiate finisher in the women's weight throw. Patrick Smyth finished off his day with a win in the 5000-meters, followed by Dan Jackson and Ryan Jacobs in ninth and 10th, respectively.
On Saturday, when the more competitive seeded races were ran, a number of Irish athletes put forth strong efforts. Notre Dame won the women's 4X400-meter relay with a time of 3:40.53. Sophomore Denes Veres placed second in the men's shot put, followed by sophomore John Belcher in seventh and freshman Andrew Hills in 10th.
Finally, the Notre Dame men's 4X400-meter relay team brought the Invitational to a close with a time of 3:11.64, good enough for a fifth place finish.
The Irish will head to Windsor, Ontario for the Windsor Team Challenge next weekend before traveling to New York City for the Big East Championships.
