Irish leaders top team with NCAA qualifying times
By DAVE COOK
Sports Writer
Senior leadership combined with superb underclassman talent has been the story of the 2002 men's and women's track and field teams. In the Meyo Invitational this weekend, Notre Dame's seniors led a deeply talented underclassmen team to several NCAA qualifying times and many victories against one of the most competitive fields in the nation.
The highlight of the weekend was in the women's mile relay race. Under the leadership of senior and anchor runner Liz Grow, the team took first place in the invitational with a time of 3:38.58, a time that is currently second best in the nation.
The team consisting of Grow, sophomores Ayesha Boyd and Kristen Dodd, and junior Kymia Love has been together for almost two years now and are looking take first at the NCAA indoor championships in early March.
"We're all like sisters. We trust each other and we want to do our best," said Grow. "We knew this would be one of our only opportunities to qualify for nationals. This has been my dream."
Their blazing NCAA provisional qualifying time set a school, track and meet record, and was over an 11-second improvement on their time in last year's Meyo Invitational.
"I wasn't expecting to be second in the nation," said Grow. "When I crossed the finish line and it said we ran 3:38, I started crying. It's been so exciting."
The mile relay team also had a lot of success in other races in the meet. Boyd won the 60-meter dash with Dodd finishing behind Boyd in 4th place. Grow and Love finished second and third respectively in the 400 meter dash behind prospective Olympic athlete Foye Williams. Their times were NCAA provisional qualifying times.
Senior Amanda Alvarez was also looking strong on Saturday. Alvarez won the 500-meter run in 1:14.94 to earn her first victory of the season.
Sophomore Megan Johnson, the school record holder in the outdoor 1500 meters, was coming into top form on Saturday. Johnson won the mile run in a time of 4:51.39, just three seconds off a NCAA provisional qualifying time.
Jamie Volkmer, after struggling the last two weeks in the pole vault, took first place with a 12-foot vault. Volkmer also took first in the triple jump, an event she has excelled in this year.
Rounding off the strong women's showing was Tameisha King, taking second place in the 60-meter hurdles and first place in the long jump by almost 2 feet. Her long jump distance of 20 feet 7 inches was a provisional qualifier.
Senior leadership was also displayed in the men's events, especially by the distance runners.
David Kimani of Alabama won the 5000-meter race with Irish senior Ryan Shay right behind him in 13:46.80. Kimani and Shay are ranked first and second respectively in the nation right now in the 5000, and both runners posted NCAA automatic qualifying times. Shay's time was also a personal best time and school record.
Shay and classmate Luke Watson worked off each other in the 3000-meter run. They exchanged the lead several times, but in the end it was Watson with a strong kick in the last several hundred meters that pushed him in front of Shay for the win. Their times of 7:54.02 and 7:58.73 respectively, were also NCAA automatic qualifying times.
Senior Sean Zanderson was at his best on Saturday. Zanderson posted a personal best 4:09.12 in the Meyo Mile. The Meyo Mile is famous around the country because it is the race that top runners around the country compete in to try to run a sub-4 minute mile. This year the best time was 4:03.26 by Steve Sherer of Michigan State.
In the regular men's mile, freshman Eric Morrisson was on top with a time of 4:09.76. Fellow freshman Dwight Ellick had great success in the sprint events. Ellick finished second in the 200 meter dash and fourth in the 60 meter dash.
Overall, the Irish had 10 victories in 38 events. Eight runners or teams also qualified for the NCAA indoor championships in March. That is not including the men's distance medley team who qualified last weekend for the indoor championships. Of those 8 qualifiers, five are seniors or included seniors on the team.
Next weekend the Irish look to continue their success at the Windsor Invitational in Windsor, Ontario.
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 4, 2002
