SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The indoor track and field season is officially underway as the Irish kicked off the season by both hosting the Blue-Gold Invitational on Friday and sending a contingency to the Boston University Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Saturday.
Jadin O’Brien led the way on the women’s side with three event wins. O’Brien captured the top spot in the 60m hurdles (8.30), 300m (38.85), and shot put (14.91m). Maya Collins added first place finishes in the 60m (7.42) and 200m (24.38) races. Bridget Gallagher won the one-mile race with a time of 4:49.92 for the Irish.
Madison Schmidt tied for the best high jump performance of the day with a 1.75m effort. Jillian Stafford and Isabella Bergloff were second (16.50m) and third (15.76m) in the weight throw. Alaina Brady (8.42) and Addison Berry (8.60) were second and third in the 60m hurdles event, and Nicki Southerland ran unattached and finished second in the mile races with a 4:51.12. Paige Grant (9:57.76) and Molly Grant (10:10.51) were in the top three in the 3000m race for the Irish. Gabriella Zeller placed second in the triple jump (11.17m). Kendall Burgess placed third in the long jump with a 5.68m effort, and Ore Olusi was third in the shot put (13.67m) on Friday.
The men’s squad had four individuals take top honors in their events on Friday at the Loftus Sports Center. Dimitri Nicholson captured first in the 60m with a time of 6.76. John Dearie was the top finisher in the 60m hurdles in 8.40. Zach Hughes ran a 2:22.19 to take first in the 1000m, and Jason Parra took the top spot in the mile race with a time of 4:07.89. Luke Himes, who was competing unattached, was first in the shot put with an 18.34m performance.
Joey Zayszly finished second in the pole vault with a 4.00m effort. Yoosang Kim and Zach Petko were second (16.56m) and third (16.44m) in the shot put for the Irish. Ryan Pajak (4:08.50), Jack Henzke (4:09.42), and Colin Whitaker (4:11.67) gave Notre Dame the top four finishes in the one mile behind Parra’s win. Jason Marchese took second in the 300m in a time of 34.15. Jason Shumaker placed third in the 1000m with a 2:24.68, and Matthew Teague (16.46m) was third in the weight throw for the Irish.
On Saturday, seven Irish runners competed in the Boston University Colyear-Danville Season Opener. Michael Danzi ran a 4:06.05 in the one mile race to place 26th.
Erin Strzelecki ran a 15:34.62 in the 5k race to place 18th out of 161 competitors in the…