Irish men return as runner-ups
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Assistant Sports Editor
The senior-dominated Irish couldn't get over the hump, finishing as the runner-up in the Big East Indoors Track and Field Championships for the fourth straight year.
Georgetown outdistanced Notre Dame in men's competition 139 to 125, but Notre Dame came closer to victory than in previous years.
"Whenever you get second place, at least for us, you're never satisfied," sophomore distance runner Luke Watson said. "We know that we could have made up 13 points. But overall, it was a pretty strong performance."
The Hoyas edged the Irish in several events, allowing them to turn the corner to triumph.
"We knew it would be a really big challenge to beat them," senior sprinter Chris Cochran said. "They're a very good middle-distance team, and the indoor championships are really kind of structured around the middle distance."
Although Irish seniors Tim Kober and Phil Mishka put forth strong performances in the 500-meter run, the 800-meter and the 1000-meter, the Hoyas came out with the advantage thanks to a deeper squad.
Kober captured second in the 800-meter run in a time of 8 minutes, 22.51 seconds, but Georgetown had three runners in the top eight to top Kober's point total. Kober also took third in the 500-meter run, with Hoyas athletes on his heels in fourth and fifth places.
Mishka smashed the Notre Dame school record in the 1000-meter run by over a second, taking the runner-up position in a time of 2:22.22. Despite his outstanding race, the Hoyas were able to better his scoring by placing three runners in the top eight.
"On the strength of Tim Kober and Phil Mishka, they really came through for us and scored some much-needed points," Watson said.
Watson ran a difficult double, with mile preliminaries on Saturday and finals on Sunday, followed by the 3,000-meter run two hours later. His performance was no worse off for the challenge, as he placed third in the mile (with Hoyas runners taking first and fourth), succeeded by a fourth place finish in the 3,000-meter run.
"It was a tough double to run, the mile and then the 3,000 two hours later," Watson said. "I'm not really used to that."
In the 5,000-meter run, Ryan Shay and Marc Striowski ran for fifth and sixth places, respectively.
A big difference in the scoring came in the relays. Georgetown outraced Notre Dame in the 4x800-meter relay, 4x400-meter relay and distance medley relay.
Cochran seized victory in the 60-meter dash and the 400-meter run. His 60-meter time of 6.79 seconds was a new meet record. In the 400-meter run, he won in a time of 47.76.
"I was very pleased to go out my senior year winning the events I was entered in," Cochran said. "Basically in the Big East, I was just looking to do my best, to win."
Senior Marshaun West excelled in his return from a hamstring injury, winning the long jump and taking over second in the 200-meter dash. The Irish went one-two in the long jump, as Gilbert was the runner-up behind West.
Fellow senior Matt Thompson took third in the 35-lb. weight throw, recording a hurl of 17.97 meters. Sophomore Quill Redwine earned third in the triple jump.
The women's squad placed sixth of 13 teams in the conference, dropping from third place a year ago.
"Obviously we didn't do as well as we were supposed to," sophomore sprinter Liz Grow said. "That happens on any given day. We just didn't perform up to par."
Villanova and Georgetown duked it out for the championship, with Villanova conquering its competitor 101 to 100.5. Miami placed third, followed by Seton Hall and West Virginia, with Notre Dame taking sixth with 68.5 points.
"We were ready and mentally prepared," freshman Tameisha King said. "A lot of other teams stepped up."
Notre Dame's strong areas were the field events, where it picked up the majority of its points.
King captured second in the long jump, with her season-best leap of 20-4 3/4.
"I was excited about my long jump because it was an improvement," King said.
Fellow freshman Jaime Volkmer jumped to fourth place in the triple jump.
In the high jump, senior All-American Jen Engelhardt earned second by leaping 5-9 3/4. Connecticut's Tamika Toppin cleared the bar at 5-10 3/4, besting Engelhardt for the fourth straight year indoors.
Volkmer vaulted to second in the Big East with a vault of 11-3 3/4, and Natalie Hallett joined her in Irish scoring with a fourth-place finish.
Also in the field events, Emily Bienko, a senior, was fourth in the Big East pentathlon with 3,349 total points. Sophomore Dore DeBartolo placed sixth in the 20-lb. weight throw and eighth in the shot put.
Grow was the lone victor for the Irish women, racing to first in the 400-meter run in a time of 55.27 seconds. She crossed the line a hair ahead of West Virginia's Tameca Williams, who completed the race in 55.28.
"I really wanted to win, and I thought I could win," Grow said. "I just try to run to win, and time usually takes care of itself."
The Irish were shut out of all other individual running events except the 5,000-meter run, in which senior All-American Alison Klemmer took seventh.
Both the 4x400-meter relay and the distance medley relay took fourth for Notre Dame.
The 4x400-meter relay team of Carri Lenz, Amanda Alvarez, Kymia Love and Grow set a new school record with a time of 3:45.29.
The Irish will rest this weekend and return to action at home with the Alex Wilson Invitational March 3-4.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, February 22, 2000
