Relay competes with U.S. Olympic squad
By DAVE COOK
Sports Writer
This weekend at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., lack of preparation and a last minute line-up change proved to be a good thing for the Notre Dame women's 4x100 relay team.
The distractions kept Tameisha King, Liz Grow, Kymia Love and Ayesha Boyd from thinking about the team who was racing right next to them — the United States Olympic squad.
Their lack of nervousness led to a second-place finish of 44.3 seconds in the relay, a new school record. The time also places the Irish in the top 10 among 4x100 relay teams in the nation.
"It was a nice distraction, because I think if we had thought about who we were running against, Chryste Gaines, Inger Miller, these amazing Olympians who are practically our role models, I think we would have been really nervous and would not have done as well," said Grow, who runs the second leg of the relay.
Due to the stringent rules of the meet, the Irish were only able to warm up for 40 minutes prior to the race, when they are used to at least an hour of warming up.
"I felt before they called us out to the track that I was unprepared," Grow said. "I hadn't done as many strides as I usually do. I didn't feel that I was ready to go. So I wasn't even nervous to run against Team USA."
A last-minute change was also made in the lineup. Kristen Dodd was replaced with Kymia Love after sprinting coach John Millar decided that Dodd was not well enough to run in the relay.
Although the Irish came in second to the Team USA "A" squad, they were able to edge out the "B" squad by .03 seconds.
Victories for the Irish at the Mt. SAC Relays came from Boyd in the 100-meter dash, with a season best time of 11.69 seconds, and Megan Johnson in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4 minutes, 27.21 seconds.
Although Johnson won her heat of the 1,500, women's distance coach Tim Connelly was hoping she had raced in a more competitive field.
"She wasn't in a heat where there were people at her level," Connelly said. "She led every step of the way, and most of the race she was 10 meters in front of everybody. I tried to get her into a better heat but they [the Mt. SAC officials] wouldn't switch her."
Jen Handley ended up taking third place in the College 5,000, but Connelly was hoping she would be able to race in the faster Invitational 5,000.
"She didn't get into the Invitational 5,000, so she ended up in the College 5,000 where she led most of the race," Connelly said. "It was frustrating not to get accomplished what we wanted to get done."
The final Irish runner at the Mt. SAC Relays was Lauren King, who raced in the fastest heat of the 1,500 taking fifth place with a time of 4:23.47.
The mile relay team for the women was hoping to run an automatic NCAA qualifying time at the Mt. SAC Relays, but a fumbled baton exchange ruined all hopes of achieving that goal. Despite the fumble, the relay team still finished in third with a time of 3:35.99.
"We had trouble with the hand-off because we switched the order [of runners],"
said Grow. "We weren't quite as prepared as we liked to be, but we still ran a pretty decent time."
With Ayesha Boyd performing particularly strong the last several weeks, sprinting coach John Millar switched the positions of Boyd and Kymia Love in the mile relay, making Boyd the lead runner and Kymia the second runner.
The Irish also competed in two field events at the Relays. Jamie Volkmer took seventh place in the pole vault with a vault of 11 feet, 5.75 inches, and Tameisha King took fourth in the long jump with a jump of 18-11.75.
While the Irish were on the West Coast, several sprinters raced in the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational in Claremont, Calif. the Friday before the Mt. SAC Relays.
The most notable of the races was the 400-meter dash, where Liz Grow took first place by beating long-time rival Foye Williams, who races with the club team Etobkoke Gladstone. Williams beat Grow earlier in the season at the Meyo Invitational, where she edged out Grow by .35 seconds.
"It felt really good to get a little revenge," Grow said. "I knew if I focused on beating her, I'd run a fast time."
Grow's 400-meter time of 52.61 seconds beats her previous best of 53.14 seconds set earlier this season, and is currently the sixth-fastest time in the nation.
The Pomona-Pitzer Invitational also provided an opportunity for Love to practice with the 4x100 team after Millar decided that Kristen Dodd was not able to run.
With Love in the line-up, the relay team took 11th place at the Pomona Invitational with a time of 44.70 seconds.
Now, only one weekend separates the Irish from now and the Big East Outdoor Championships, where they look to defend their indoor title. The Irish hope to get more Big East qualifying times as they travel to the Drake Relays and the Purdue Invitational.
"We're getting ready for the Big East Championships," Connelly said. "That's our No. 1 priority right now."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, April 23, 2002
