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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
The Observer

Notre Dame opens season with Blue & Gold Invitational

Notre Dame kicked off its indoor season with the Blue & Gold invitational Friday. Seven teams including the Irish made their way to Loftus Sports Center to compete in the Invitational, including Bethel, DePaul, Detroit Mercy, Marquette, Northern Illinois and Valparaiso.

A record-breaking moment of the night went to Irish graduate student Jacob Dumford in the 1,000-meter race, who was able to beat out the 2014 school record of 2:22.07 set by Jeremy Rae with his time of 2:21.45. Dumford beat his previous personal record by 2.72 seconds.

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Ann Curtis | The Observer
Irish graduate student Jacob Dumford competes in the distance medley relay during the the ACC Indoor Championships on Feb. 23 at Loftus Sports Center.


This is only the third time Dumford had run the 1,000-meter. The last time was in the same race Rae set the previous school record.

Turning to the women’s distance events, the Irish were able to land three runners in the top four for the mile race with times of 5:08.95 and 5:13.78 by seniors Kaitlin Frei and Stephanie Knight, followed by sophomore Madison Ronzone, who finished with 5:16:61.

The men’s mile also gave way to a promising start for the sophomore class. Sophomore Clayton Goldman ran for a personal best of 4:23.28, finishing in second overall. Sophomore Dustin Macuiba trailed just behind with 4:25.51 to place third.

The men’s and women’s 3,000-meter race proved pivotal for the debuts of freshmen Parker Jones and Kelly Koehnen who each finished first in their respective races.

Notre Dame’s success continued through the distance to the sprints.

The women’s sprints also proved dominant, beginning with a win in the 400-meter by senior Jordan Shead with senior Payton Miller placing third. Both women were also assets to the first place finish in the 4x400 meter relay, as well.

The women continued to dominate as junior Kyla Lewis picked up a personal record and first place finish in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.52 seconds.

Senior Alexis Daugherty placed first in the women’s 800-meter race with a time of 2:15.07.

To continue the key performances, notable debut sprints for the men included those of freshmen Matt Frazier and Evan Radomoski. The two captured first and third place, respectively, in the men’s 800-meter race. Frazier’s time of 1:55.50 earned him the victory with Radomoski close behind with a 1:58.26 time.

Turning to field events, the Irish also proved successful. Women’s shotput had three athletes in the top five. Sophomore Abbey Kapitan placed highest of the Irish, earning second with her 14.86 meter throw.

Junior Daniel Hardiman and sophomore Shae Watkins captured first and second, respectively, in the men’s shotput with throws of 16.19 and 15.80 meters.

Graduate student Nate Richartz placed first in the men’s pole vault, clearing a 5.20 meter jump.

Junior Matthew Birzer jumped 2.14 meters on the men’s high jump to claim second place.

Another personal best came in the women’s weighted throw, as Kapitan once again earned first. She threw for 18.01 meters.

Overall, the Irish proved strong in the Invitational and will compete again in the new year at the Wolverine Invitational on Jan. 13th at the University of Michigan.