Irish Men Win BIG EAST Indoor Track & Field Championship; Women Finish Close Second

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Irish Men Win BIG EAST Indoor Track & Field Championship; Women Finish Close Second

Notre Dame men earn third conference indoor title in five years with closest finish since 1996.
Feb. 18, 2007

AKRON, Ohio -- In a signature performance that was the very definition of a "team success", the Notre Dame men's track & field squad came from behind in the final relay event to win its third BIG EAST Conference Indoor Championship in the past five years and first since 2005, posting a 133.5-131 victory over No. 14/9 Louisville on Sunday afternoon at the University of Akron Athletics Field House in Akron, Ohio. The Irish, who had just one individual champion during the two-day competition, trailed by 3.5 points entering the 4x400-meter relay, but charged to a third-place finish in 3:10.84 (the third-fastest time in school history), earning six team points while UofL did not score after placing ninth (3:19.19). The 2.5-point margin of victory was the closest in the BIG EAST men's indoor meet since 1996, when Georgetown edged Connecticut by one-half point (133-132.5).

The Notre Dame women's track & field squad nearly provided the school with matching conference titles, but it could not fight off a second-day challenge from Georgetown, which earned a 112-102 win over the defending conference champion Irish. It was the slimmest margin of victory in the BIG EAST women's indoor competition since 2002, when Notre Dame defeated Georgetown, 112-110. This year's performance also marked its sixth consecutive top-two finish at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships for the Irish, who won league crowns in 2002 and 2006.

The Notre Dame staff -- head coach Joe Piane, along with assistant coaches Tim Connelly, John Millar, Scott Winsor and B.J. Linnenbrink -- was selected as the BIG EAST Men's Indoor Coaching Staff of the Year. It's the third time the Irish coaches have been tapped for that honor, adding to their awards in 2003 and 2005.

Senior Thomas Chamney (Tipperary, Ireland/St. Columba's) was the only Notre Dame man to win a BIG EAST individual title, successfully defending his 800-meter crown with a victory on Sunday afternoon in 1:51.76. Chamney is the seventh Irish men's track standout to win multiple BIG EAST indoor titles in the same event, and the first since Selim Nurudeen won the 60-meter hurdles championship in 2004 and 2005. Junior John Cavanaugh (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph's) finished third in this year's 800 with a time of 1:52.39, and joined Chamney to help Notre Dame repeat as the 4x800-meter relay victors in 7:31.39.

Chamney now has five indoor all-BIG EAST citations (nine overall), while Cavanaugh is up to three indoor all-conference plaques (four overall), with the 800-meter honor being his first individual accolade. Juniors Brett Adams (Davenport, Iowa/Assumption) and Adam Currie (Verdun, Quebec/Richelieu Valley) also ran on that relay -- Adams participated on his fourth BIG EAST indoor relay medalist (he ran with the victorious distance medley relay crew in 2005 and 2006) and collected his fifth indoor all-conference honor, while Currie claimed indoor all-BIG EAST laurels for the fourth time (fifth overall).

Senior Jordan Powell (Springfield, Ill./Calvary Academy) led off the decisive men's 4x400-meter relay, followed by junior Austin Wechter (Shelby, Ohio/Shelby) and freshman Balazs Molnar (Dunaujvaros, Hungary/Szechenyi Istvan), with senior Ryan Postel (Lexington, Ky./Catholic) running the anchor leg that ultimately brought home the conference title. Powell and Postel each earned their fourth indoor all-BIG EAST certificate (ninth overall for Postel, fifth for Powell), while Wechter is a two-time indoor all-league designee. Molnar also finished third in the 500-meter dash in a personal-best 1:02.14, recording the second-fastest time in school history (just 0.22 seconds behind Steve Dzaibis' 1983 school record of 1:01.92), and adding his second all-BIG EAST citation of the meet.

Two other Irish men turned in second-place finishes on Sunday afternoon, both in field events. Senior Christopher Jacques (Old Brookville, N.Y./Chaminade) cleared a personal-best 2.06 meters (6-9) in the high jump, earning his second all-BIG EAST honor (both indoors). Freshman Eric Quick (Bakersfield, Calif./Liberty) turned in a strong performance in the triple jump with a season-best leap of 14.86 meters (48-9) on his final attempt that was good for his first career all-conference plaque.

Over on the women's side, Notre Dame had three runner-up showings, with two coming in field events. Senior Cassie Gullickson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Brentwood (Tenn.)) matched the best-ever BIG EAST finish (indoors or outdoors) by an Irish triple jumper, placing second with a personal-best mark of 12.33 meters (40-5.5) to garner her first career all-conference designation. Sophomore Mary Saxer (Lancaster, N.Y./Central) took second in the pole vault (and the resulting all-BIG EAST certification) for the second consecutive year, clearing a season-best 3.86 meters (12-8). Classmate Kate Mattoon (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) finished right behind Saxer in third place (3.60m/11-9.75) and was rewarded with her first career all-league award.

Notre Dame also finished second in the women's 4x400-meter relay in 3:41.51, a time that is good for ninth in school history. Senior Maryann Erigha (Stone Mountain, Ga./Chamblee) ran a solid leadoff leg, followed by junior Crysta Swayzer (Houston, Texas/Westbury Senior) and freshman Joanna Schultz (Holmen, Wis./Holmen), with senior Okechi Ogbuokiri (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) taking the baton for the anchor leg. For the veteran Ogbuokiri, it was her sixth indoor all-BIG EAST honor (ninth overall), while the rookie Schultz picked up her first all-conference hardware.

Erigha and Swayzer were double all-league winners on Sunday, as Erigha took third in the 60-meter dash (season-best-tying 7.49 seconds) and Swayzer did likewise in the 500-meter dash in a personal-best 1:12.26 that goes down as the second-fastest in school history (behind only Liz Grow's time of 1:11.65 at the '02 BIG EAST meet). Swayzer now has three all-BIG EAST plaques (all indoors), while Erigha ran her indoor all-conference tally to a school-record seven honors, while extending her school record for combined indoor/outdoor all-BIG EAST citations to 12.

Senior Amy Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick's) joined Erigha and Swayzer as a multiple all-league designee this weekend, placing third in the 3,000-meter run (9:32.67) and provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the process. Kohlmeier, now a three-time all-league honoree (twice indoors), earlier posted an NCAA provisional time in the 5,000-meter run.

Junior Jake Watson (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) was the other Notre Dame male to earn all-BIG EAST classification, finishing third in the mile in 4:05.30. Watson, who already has recorded an NCAA provisional qualifying time in the event, is a first-time all-conference selection in track & field (he garnered a cross country citation this past fall).

Notre Dame athletes will have one final opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Championships when the Irish play host to the Alex Wilson Invitational March 2-3 at the Loftus Sports Center.