Irish host quality field at Meyo Invitational
By: ANDY TROEGER
Sports Writer
Having already qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 3,000 meters, Irish senior Luke Watson will be looking to add another great performance to the Irish record books Saturday as Notre Dame hosts the annual Meyo Invitational.
The Meyo Invitational, held tonight and Saturday at the Loftus Sports Center, will highlight many of the top teams in the nation. Michigan, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Windsor and Michigan State will be sending both their mens and womens teams, while Georgetown is sending only their men's team. Also competing on the womens side are Arkansas, Maryland, Clemson and Tulane.
In what could become the signature event of this year's Invitational, Watson will be looking to become the second Notre Dame runner ever to break the sub-four minute mile barrier against an elite field.
"There are five guys in the field that could break four minutes," Irish coach Joe Piane said. "We need Luke to run well."
In addition to Watson, both the mens and womens teams will be looking to continue their strong early season performances this weekend.
The men have been led by their distance group and sprinter Selim Nurudeen. Nurudeen is among the Big East leaders in the 60-meter dash and the 60-meter hurdles, and is expected to content for the 60-meter hurdles title at the Big East Championships. In addition to Watson, the Irish have many other runners that either are looking to qualify for the Big East Championship or are looking to strengthen their already solid qualifying times for that event.
"We still need to get a few more people in the Big East," said Piane.
For the women, the Irish will be looking for continued production from seniors Tameisha King and Jaime Volkmer. Also important will be the depth of the Irish sprinters, including Big East qualifiers Kymia Love and Kristen Dodd. Lauren King and Molly Huddle will be looking to improve on their already strong times in the distance events.
The field this weekend will also include many talented athletes, making the Meyo one of the most important indoor meets in the Midwest.
The mens and womens teams for Michigan feature NCAA qualifiers, as the mens distance medley relay team also qualified for the NCAA's at the adidas Boston Games. Darnell Talbert will challenge Nurudeen in the 60-meter hurdles.
Arkansas' women team features NCAA mile qualifier Christin Wurth, while Angel Heath, the NCAA runner-up in the long jump last year, will challenge King in that event.
Clemson's Joana Costa is also expected to challenge Volkmer in the pole vault. Costa has previously qualified for the 2002 NCAA Championship and is a former ACC Champion in the event.
All Sports Stories for Friday, February 7, 2003
