NOTRE DAME PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Alan Wasielewski 219-631-7516

Irish continue to show improvement throughout the roster: The
University of Notre Dame men's track and field team will split in two this
weekend for the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., and the Indy Invitational
in Indianapolis, Ind.. The Irish are coming off of a third place finish in
the Tom Botts Invitational in Columbia, Mo., last weekend and a second
place finish in the Spring Opener at home two weeks ago.
Pat Conway, Derek Dyer, Tom Gilbert, Quill Redwine and Ryan Shay
will make up the men's team representatives at the 2001 Mt. SAC Relays. The
rest of the team will be making the trip to Indianapolis for the Indy
Invitational on Saturday, April 21.

Irish continue preparations for BIG EAST outdoor championship: The
Notre Dame men's track team is beginning to take shape into a contending
team at the 2001 BIG EAST outdoor track and field championship in
Piscataway, NJ, next month. Senior All-American distance specialist Ryan
Shay (Central Lake, Mich.) will be a favorite in both the BIG EAST
Championship and the NCAA Championship in the 10,000-meter run. Shay ran a
28:40.03 time in the 10,000 at the Stanford Invitational on March 31st, the
fourth-best time in the nation this year.

This weekend, Shay will make the trip to the Mt. SAC relays and
compete in the 5,000 meters, attempting to qualify for the NCAA
Championship in a second event. Shay has run the 5,000 in 14:43.51 this
season at the Spring Opener. Shay will not be alone in the BIG EAST 10,000
meter run, either. Teammates Todd Mobley (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Sean
McManus (Hernando, Fla.) have qualified for the BIG EAST Championship race.
The Irish distance corps received a boost last weekend when cross
country All-American Pat Conway (Springfield, Va.) began competition in the
outdoor season. Conway won the 1,500 meters at the Tom Botts Invitational
in a personal-best 3:50.09. Conway will run his second 1,500 meter race a
the Mt. SAC Relays this weekend. Freshman David Alber (Dayton, Ohio) also
has helped the team with two consecutive solid finishes in the 3,000-meter
steeplechase, posting a top time of 9:26.79 at the Tom Botts Invitational.
Long jump specialist Tom Gilbert (Rock Falls, Ill.) also will be at
the Mt. SAC event, attempting to improve his 6.81m (22-4 1/4) leap from the
Arizona State Invitational. Freshman Godwin Mbagwu (Petersburg, Va.)
matched Gilbert's mark last week at the Tom Botts Invitational and also
boasts the top triple jump measurement on the team (14.40m, 47-3) for the
outdoor season. Junior Quill Redwine (San Antonio, Texas) also has been
steady in the triple jump (season-best 13.82m effort) and has really
stepped up to the challenge in the high jump. Redwine finished second in
the high jump at the Tom Botts Invitational last weekend after winning the
Spring Opener high jump competition with a career-best 2.10m (6-10 3/4)
effort. Redwine will compete in both events at the Mt. SAC Relays this
weekend.

Junior Derek Dyer (Huntington, Ind.) has been Notre Dame's most
consistent thrower this season, posting team-bests in the shot put (47-4
1/4) and the discus (179-11). Dyer's 179-11 discus throw at the Spring
Opener was a personal best for the two-year monogram winner and he hopes to
even toss a better mark at the Mt. SAC event this weekend.
Junior Josh Heck (Mishawaka, Ind.) is another field event athlete
that seems to be at the top of his game this season. Heck cleared a
personal-best 16-0 in the pole vault at the Tom Botts Invitational last
weekend.

Results from the Mt. SAC Relays are available at http://ibm.mtsac.edu

and also on the official Notre Dame athletics website: www.und.com

 
Alan Wasielewski, Publicity Assistant
University of  Notre Dame Sports Information
112 Joyce Center, Second Floor
Notre Dame, IN 46556
(219) 631-3397/(219) 631-7941 (fax)
cell phone: 219-315-5746
E-mail: [email protected]