Young Irish women's team takes seventh place finish at Championship
By NOAH AMSTADTER
Assistant Sports Editor
Youth proved to be the key as the Irish women's track and field team finished seventh last weekend at the Big East Indoor Championships.
The Irish earned 57.5 points, while Georgetown won the meet with 111.
While no athlete brought home a gold medal from the meet at the Carrier Dome, there were many strong performances.
Junior Liz Grow failed to defend her conference championship in the 400-meters. Pittsburgh's Tia Tabb took the race from the start, finishing seven hundredths of a second ahead of Grow. Still, Irish head coach Joe Piane thought Grow ,who also competed in the 60-meters and the 4x400-meter relay, ran well for the weekend.
"Liz Grow had a pretty good weekend," Piane said. "She ran well several times."
Jaime Volkmer took the only other silver medal for the Irish, placing second in the pole vault. Volkmer cleared 12 feet, 1 1/2 inches in the event, second only to West Virginia's Erin Nett, who cleared 12-5.
"I think she finished where she probably should have," said Irish field events coach Scott Winsor. "She had good attempts at 12-6, she'll make that soon."
The Irish scored 14.5 points in the pole vault, the most points in any event. Freshman Jill Van Weelden tied for fifth in the event, clearing 11- 3.
"She's a good competitor," Winsor said. "She didn't let the atmosphere of the Big East get to her at all."
Sophomore Tameisha King performed solidly in the 60-meter hurdles and the long jump, earning third-place in the long jump and fourth in the hurdles. Piane said King was not satisfied.
"If you asked her, she'd tell you she could have done better in both," Piane said.
King's long jump of 19-11 was a full foot behind Seton Hall's Nolle Graham. Gina Harris of Miami also jumped 19-11 but topped King with a longer second-best jump.
In the hurdles, King entered the finals with the second-best qualifying time, before taking fourth in 8.49 seconds. Her performance provided five valuable points for the Irish.
"She did a good job in the hurdles for us," said Winsor. "She'll be the first person to admit that she could have taken second in the long jump."
Kristen Dodd surprised coaches and teammates alike, scoring in both the 60-meters and the 400-meters.
Dodd was entered in the 60-meter dash more for experience than to earn points, yet she became the only Irish athlete to qualify for the finals in that event. Dodd's time of 7.73 seconds earned the Irish two valuable points.
In the 400-meters, sophomore Kymia Love took sixth place in 56.16 seconds, while Dodd took eighth, running 57.30.
Because the 200-meters immediately followed the 400, Grow did not compete in the shorter race, despite owning the best Irish time. Dodd's classmate, Ayesha Boyd, made up for Grow's absence, placing eighth in 25.27 seconds.
Freshman Megan Johnson scored the only Irish points in a distance race, placing fifth in the mile in 4:57.26. Sophomore Jennifer Handley just missed scoring in the 3,000 meters, placing ninth in 9:48.45.
In the high jump, freshman Jennifer Kearney took sixth in her first ever away meet, clearing the bar at 5-4.
"She had one good attempt at 5-6," Winsor said. "She needs to mature as an athlete and not let circumstances get under her skin and affect the way she's going to compete."
In the pentathlon, sophomore Betsy Lazzeri placed seventh, accumulating 3375 points. Fifth-year shot-putter Emily Bienko just missed the finals in the shot-put as her throw of 42-9 placed eleventh overall.
"I was really surprised that Emily's throw did not make the finals," Winsor said. "Her third throw was her best throw and I think she would have been able to score for us."
The Irish also earned valuable points in the relays. In the 4x400-meter relay, the team of Grow, Love, Dodd and Boyd took fifth, finishing in 3:44.73.
In the 2-mile relay, the team of Johnson, Leanne Brady, Rachel Endress and Kristen Flood took seventh.
The final relay, the distance medley, earned the Irish 2 points in placing seventh. Amanda Alvarez, Peterson, Flood and Endress finished in 12:13.20.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, February 20, 2001
