Irish season prepares them for Big East Championships
By BRIAN BURKE
Sports Writer
The Big East Championships have finally arrived.
Beginning this Friday the Notre Dame men's and women's track and field teams will take all of their preparation put in at meets such as the Arizona State Invita-tional, the Mt. SAC Relays, and the Drake Relays to Piscataway, N.J., and make a run for Big East titles. The overall outlook for the Irish appears very good, and the runners' familiarity with their conference competition has given them them optimism going into the meet.
The men's sprints appear to be a particularly strong area for Notre Dame heading into the weekend. The 4 x 100-meter relay team of Marshaun West, Chris Cochran, Travis Davey, and Tom Gilbert holds the school record and will definitely be expected to rebound from last week's troubles at Drake, where they ran well, but struggled with baton exchanges.
"We're not really worried about the 4 x 100, we know we're fast," West said. "We'll be working on exchanges in practice and we'll get it right. We're going into the meet very confident. We feel we can definitely sweep the sprints, and me and Tom Gilbert can go one and two in the long jump. We're not going in looking at any times because a lot of us haven't run as fast as we know we can. Especially in the 4 x 100 we're looking to peak in the Big East and make nationals."
"If we go in and run our race, it's ours to win," Davey said. "Miami has a good 4 x 100 team, but we feel if we run like we should, we'll win."
Aside from the 4 x 100 and the long jump, West will also enter the 200-meters (which he won last year), the 100-meters, and the 4 x 400-meter relay with Cochran, Davey, and Terry Wray.
"Person-ally I'm in the best shape I've ever been, and I'm the strongest I've ever been," the All-American West said. "I want to get a good early jump so I can concentrate of the other events."
Along with West, Cochran will look to defend a Big East title in the 400 meters.
While the sprinters expect a great deal of success, the distance runners also see their performance as integral to the team's success. Leading the corps of runners will be Ryan Shay in the 10,000 and 5,000 meters, and Luke Watson in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.
"I think everyone's pretty much ready," Shay said. "All the distance guys know points have to come out of us if we're going to win."
Shay enters the 10,000 meter race having qualified for the Olympic trials, ranked second in the country, and the clear favorite in the Big East.
"I don't think there's any big names in particular going up against me," Shay said. "I expect some runners to push me but I'll be the one coming out on top. A lot of guys running the 5,000 are doubling in other events, so not everyone in there is fresh. I know Georgetown will have someone in there that's fresh, but I feel I'm in good enough shape to possibly win both the 10,000 and the 5,000."
Along with Shay and Watson, 800-meter runners Phil Mishka and Tim Kober will be looked upon to contribute as well. Both have qualified provisionally for the NCAA championships, and Kober comes into the meet running well, having just qualified last week at Drake. Other NCAA qualifiers Marc Striowski (10,000 meters) and Antonio Arce (5,000 meters) look to be factors from this deep group.
For the women, much of Notre Dame's fortunes, at least for the sprinters, lie on the shoulders of Liz Grow. Though just a sophomore, she is one of the top sprinters in the nation. Grow will run the 200- and 400-meters, as well as the 4 x 100- and 4 x 400-meter relays.
"I'm feeling great. I took last week off. I'm ready to roll," Grow said. "It should be a really fun meet. That sprint relay is really going to surprise everyone."
Joining Grow in the 4 x 100-meter relay will be freshmen Tameisha King and Kymia Love, as well as Carri Lenz.
"I'm excited about it because of the freshmen," Grow said. "I ran it last year with Carri; she's a junior. Now we have Kymia and Tameisha and they're really fast."
Another big name for the Irish women in this meet would have to be high jumper Jennifer Engelhardt. Engelhardt is the first and only woman at Notre Dame ever to clear six feet, and will be among the very best jumpers at the Big East.
"I think outdoor is just a great meet," Engel-hardt said. "I'm coming off some great practices. Tameika Thom-pson from UConn, we've been neck and neck through the years and generally the trend has been she's taken indoor and I've come back and taken outdoor, so I guess it's on my turf now."
While Engelhardt is out to help the women take the Big East title, she also realizes this is an opportunity for her to qualify for the NCAA championships.
"It's gone through my mind," Engelhardt said. "I sat down with my coach and pretty much decided it's gotta come. When I put the added pressure on I don't jump as well. I just have to go out there and have fun."
The women distance runners took this past weekend off and look to come into Big East competition rested. Leading the way will be senior Allison Klemmer, Notre Dame's only female distance runner to earn a NCAA qualification. Along with Klemmer, Patty Rice is another strong runner in the 1,500.
Other women who should contribute include freshman Jamie Volkmer and sophomore Dore DeBartolo. Volkmer holds the Notre Dame records in the pole vault and triple jump. DeBartolo, meanwhile has the school record in the hammer throw, and also has enjoyed success in the shot put this year.
"It's usually a Holy War with Georgetown, Villanova, Boston College, and St. John's there," head coach Joe Piane said. "It should be fun."
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, May 3, 2000
