Though there was no team score at the Jim Freeman Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky, it was a weekend to remember for a large chunk of the Notre Dame track and field team. With major events like the Penn Relays, ACC Championships and NCAA postseason looming in the suddenly not-so-distant future, the Irish followed up a strong showing at the Jack Shaw Invite the prior weekend by winning seven individual championships in Louisville.
Notre Dame got the weekend off to a strong start on Friday. Freshman Sarah David and senior John Keenan set the tone by winning the women’s and men’s javelin titles with throws of 39.88 and 66.86 meters, respectively.
The Irish continued their winning ways on day two. Junior Eve Balseiro took home the crown for the 400-meter run, posting a time of 54.42 seconds. Notre Dame then authored a clean sweep of the top five spots in the women’s 1500-meter run. Graduate student Anna Sophia Keller led the way with a time of 4:19.98. Sophomore Siona Chisholm finished less than a second behind, with sophomores Sophie Novak, Molly Grant and Paige Grant all close behind. The men’s team also secured the top two spots in the same event. Graduate student Nick Miller came in first with a time of 3:46.16. Fellow graduate student Jackson Storey was second, finishing in 3:48.77.
Junior Michael Shoaf added another individual victory, placing first in men’s shot put with an 18.88-meter throw. Notre Dame had two more top-three finishers in the women’s 400-meter hurdles. Freshman Reese Sanders finished ahead of the pack with a time of 59.83. Another freshman, Remy Finn, placed third for the 400-meter dash, coming in with a time of 56.19. Junior Nick Mota’s 8:33.76 time in the men’s 3000-meter race was also the best of the competition. And the quartet of freshman Molly Bennett, Finn, Sanders and Balseiro led the Irish to victory in the women’s 4x400-meter relay with a total time of 3:43.47.
The Irish will be back in action on Friday. Some of the team will head to Winston-Salem to compete in the Wake Forest Invite on Friday. Others will stay in state and compete at the Indiana Invitational, held at Indiana University, from April 21 to 22.
