Hillsdale Wide Track Classic Recap

We were excited to compete in the Hillsdale Wide Track Classic this past Saturday. We had 27 runners, the most at any track meet in running club history. Last year we had 13 runners at Hillsdale, that's a 108% growth rate year-over-year. This team growth led to 9 club records being set, 7 events which were ran for the first time including our first ever field event. The men placed 5th out of 17 and the women placed 6th out of 18. The teams that competed consisted of schools from NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, NCCAA, NJCAA Division 1, NIRCA, and 4 teams from Canada.

The day started with Andrew Roland competing in our first ever field event, the long jump. He set a club record of 5.55 meters. His jumps were 5.34, 5.55, and 5.52 meters respectively. 

Next up was the men's 5K led by Pieter Heesters coming in 3rd, scoring 4 points for the team, and having the 3rd fastest indoor 5K time in club history with a time of 15:32.07.  The other 5K runners also had great performances: Andrew Jitendran (18:50.69), Maksym Zarodniuk (19:04.46), and Jonathan Karr (20:05.68).

Next up, Daniel O'Gara ran our first ever men's 60 meter dash with a club record of 7.40.

Hezekiah Williams, Andrew Jitendran, Daniel O'Gara, and Jack Mangione competed in our first ever 4x200-meter dash, setting a club record of 1:50.13. The 4x200-meter dash was added one day before the entry deadline so it was great to form a team and score 4 more points.

Next up was the women's mile led by Emily Arenas (5:20.53) and Sarah Mirkin (5:35.52) in 4th and 5th place scoring 3 and 2 points for the club respectively. The great runners that followed were Lucy Noris (5:53.31), Kayla Anderson (5:54.74), Audrey Filonczuk (6:14.03), and Jenny Wolf (6:14.07).

Ryan Fryer placed 5th in the first heat of the mile with a time of 4:41.70 and scored 2 points for the club. Winston Fairchild (4:50.24) and Nate Moller (4:50.69) led the second heat of the mile and Joshua Frabutt (5:07.54) and Thomas Joyce (5:09.54) ran together, everyone having great performances.

Patrick Jamieson had a spectacular 800 meter run with a time of 2:03.29, the second fastest in club history followed by Connor Evans with a time of 2:15.03.

Michela Giura ran our first ever women's indoor 200 setting a club record with a time of 29.60.

Daniel O'Gara (24.37), Andrew Roland (25.00), and Hezekiah Williams (28.67) all had great performances. Danny and Andrew had the 2 fastest indoor 200 meter times in club history.

Karson Girvin led the women's 3K for the running club earning 5th place and 2 points with a time of 11:04.87 followed by Gracie Wetli (11:18.57), Claire Reid (11:21.76), and Audrey Filonczuk (12:48.60).

Sean Uhran (9:13.17) had a great performance in the 3K placing 5th and scoring 2 points for the club followed by Winston Fairchild (9:58.69).

The women had a spectacular indoor 4x400 meter relay performance destroying the club record by 11.5 seconds. Emily Arenas (1:09.27), Sarah Mirkin (1:07.79), Lucy Noris (1:11.15), and Michela Giura (1:10.51) set a new club record with a time of 4:24.52.

The men ran their first ever indoor 4x400 meter relay. Hezekiah Williams (1:10.95), Andrew Roland (55.47), Connor Evans (58.73), and Patrick Jamieson (58.40) set a club record with a time of 4:03.60.

The women ran their first ever DMR. Gracie Wetli (4:21.42),  Audrey Filonczuk (1:19.70), Sarah Harman (3:12.25), and Karson Girvin (5:47.56) had a spectacular race setting the club record record with a combined time of 14:40.93. The other women DMR teams scratched so it was great to see the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Spirit come alive, silencing the other fans and winning the event, earning the team 7 more points.

The final event was the men's DMR: Sean Uhran (3:29.54), Jack Mangione (56.98), Pieter Heesters (2:13.32), Ryan Fryer (4:48.61). This was also the mens first ever DMR with the team setting a club record of 11:28.46. They scored 5 points for the team beating Western Michigan's NIRCA Club, Western Track & Field Club.

Club Records:

Men's Long Jump 1st Place - Andrew Roland: 5.55 meters

Men's Indoor 5K 3rd Place - Pieter Heesters: 15:32.07

Men's Indoor 60 Meter Dash 1st Place - Daniel O’Gara: 7.40

Men's Indoor 4 x 200 Meter Relay 1st Place -  Hezekiah Williams, Andrew Jitendran, Daniel O'Gara, and Jack Mangione: 1:50.13

Men's Indoor 800 2nd Place - Patrick Jamieson: 2:03.29

Women's Indoor 200 Meter Dash 1st Place - Michela Giura: 29.60

Men's Indoor 200 Meter Dash 1st Place - Daniel O'Gara: 24.37

Men's Indoor 200 Meter Dash 2nd Place - Andrew Roland: 25.00

Women's Indoor 4 x 400 Meter Relay 1st Place - Emily Arenas, Sarah Mirkin, Lucy Noris, and Michela Giura: 4:24.52

Men's Indoor 4 x 400 Meter Relay 1st Place - Hezekiah Williams, Andrew Roland, Connor Evans, and Patrick Jamieson: 4:03.60

Women's Indoor DMR 1st Place - Gracie Wetli,  Audrey Filonczuk, Sarah Harman, and Karson Girvin: 14:40.93

Men's Indoor  DMR 1st Place - Sean Uhran, Jack Mangione, Pieter Heesters, and Ryan Fryer: 11:28.46

You can view all running club records and results here.

Meet results can be found here.

Looking Forward

Our next official running club meet is the Illinois Club Relays on Saturday, February 26. We are looking forward to this meet, which is often referred to as Indoor Club Nationals since there are several top team competing.

The top women's team that competed in Illinois Club Relays last year were #1 Illinois, #2 Michigan, #4 Wisconsin, #7 Ohio State, # 8 Indiana, #9 Notre Dame, and #16 Purdue

The top men's team that competed in Illinois Club Relays last year were #3 Michigan, #4 Wisconsin, #5 Illinois, #8 Ohio State, # 9 Indiana, #12 Cincinnati, and #15 Purdue

If you are interested in joining the Notre Dame Running Club and are a Notre Dame, Holy Cross, or St. Mary's student we would love to have you on the team. We have runners of all abilities and are accepting of all track and field athletes.

Feel free to contact us at runclub@nd.edu if you have any questions.

Practice times and other information can also be found on our website.

Post By: Jonathan Karr and the Notre Dame Running Club