FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 3, 2009
Contact: Farrah Segaloff
401-453-0660, fsegaloff@bigeast.org
Louisville Women and Notre Dame Men Claim 2009 BIG EAST Outdoor Track And Field Titles
--Notre Dame Defeated Louisville by Half a Point for Men’s Conference Title --
VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Louisville Cardinals won the women’s BIG EAST Track and Field title, while the Notre Dame Fighting Irish won the men’s BIG EAST Track and Field title on the final day of the 2009 BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Villanova.
Notre Dame claimed it sixth BIG EAST Outdoor Track and field title with 130.50 points. Louisville was right behind the Irish with 130 points for the runner-up position. The men of Georgetown placed third with 92 points, while Cincinnati placed fourth. Rutgers rounded out the top-five with 75.50 points.
Louisville finished with a team total of 138 points. This is the second consecutive year that the Cardinal women have won the title. Connecticut was runner-up with 102 points. Georgetown also placed third with 91 points, while Notre Dame finished with 85.5 points for fourth place. Host Villanova came in fifth with 80 points.
Senior Cory Thorne of Louisville was named the men’s Most Outstanding Track Performer. Thorne won both the 3,000 meter steeplechase and the 5,000 meter. In the steeplechase, Thorne finished in 8:43.50 to qualify for the NCAA Regionals. In the 5,000 meter, Thorne finished in 14:14.48 to qualify for the IC4A.
Louisville redshirt junior Tone Belt was named the men’s Most Outstanding Field Performer. Belt placed first in the long jump with a distance of 7.63 meters (25’-00.50”). Belt also took first place in the high jump with a height of 2.16 meters (7’-01.00”). The junior’s height was also an NCAA Regional qualifying height. This was the third high jump title for Belt after taking the crown in 2006 and 2007.
Sophomore Trisha-Ann Hawthorne of Connecticut was named the women’s Most Outstanding Track Performer. Hawthorne placed first in both the 100 and 200 meters. In the 100 meter, Hawthorne finished in 11.58 in the 100 meter and 23.73 in the 200 meter to qualify for the NCAA Regionals in both events.
Louisville senior Jere’ Summers was named the women’s Most Outstanding Field Performer for the second consecutive year. Summers won both the shot put (15.78) and hammer (60.12m) to qualify for NCAA Regionals in both events.
The Notre Dame coaching staff was selected as the men’s BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year, while the Louisville coaching staff was honored as the women’s BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
The NCAA Regionals will be held May 29-30 at four different sites with the finals to be held June 10-13 at John McDonnell Field at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.
Men’s Team Standings (final)
1) Notre Dame 130.50
2) Louisville 130
3) Georgetown 92
4) Cincinnati 84
5) Rutgers 75.50
6) Connecticut 69
7) USF 51
8) Villanova 50
9) Syracuse 49
10) Pittsburgh 42
11) Seton Hall 32
12) Providence 25
13) DePaul 20
14) Marquette 7
Men’s Individual Champions
100m Antony Hobwana, Pitt 10.57
110m Hurdles Chris Kinney, GU 13.96
200m Bruce Owens, RU 21.44
400m Elvis Lewis, VU 46.14
400m Hurdles Glenn Fowler, USF 51.05
800m Sean Tully, VU 1:50.08
1,500m Liam Boylan-Pett, GU 3:41.47
3,000m Steeplechase Cory Thorne, UofL 8:43.50
5,000m Cory Thorne, UofL 14:14.48
10,000m Patrick Smyth, ND 30:41.89
Long Jump Tone Belt, UofL 7.63m (25’-00.50”)
Triple Jump Eric Jones, Pitt 15.02m (49’-03.50”)
High Jump Tone Belt, UofL 2.16m (7’-01.00”)
Pole Vault Matt Schipper, ND 5.25m (17-02.75)
Shot Put Steve Hnat, UofL 18.45m (60’-06.50”)
Discus Josh Greenwald, UofL 55.38m (181’-08.00”)
Javelin Jeremy Pennino, RU 65.80m (215’-10.00”)
Hammer Throw Jeff Mensch, ND 58.79m (192’-10.00”)
Decathlon Sean Smith, UConn 6,946 points
4x100m Relay Cincinnati 41.15
(B. Bruner, A. Drakeford, C. Van Cura, E. Igeleke)
4x400m Relay Seton Hall 3:11.00
(S. Morris, J. Gurr, K. Ellis, C. Cox)
4x800m Relay Villanova 7:25.85
(C. Harper, C. MacKenzie, J. Apwah, D. Tully)
Men’s Most Outstanding Track Performer: Cory Thorne, Louisville
Men’s Most Outstanding Field Performer: Tone Belt, Louisville
Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year: Notre Dame
Women’s Team Standings (final)
1) Louisville 138
2) Connecticut 102
3) Georgetown 91
4) Notre Dame 85.50
5) Villanova 80
6) Cincinnati 54
7) West Virginia 50
8) Pittsburgh 44
9) Seton Hall 36
10) USF 35
11) St. John's 34
12) Syracuse 31.50
13) Marquette 24
14) Rutgers 19
15) Providence 16
15) DePaul 16
Women’s Individual Champions
100m Trisha-Ann Hawthorne, UConn 11.58
100m Hurdles Mycaiah Clemons, Pitt 13.58
200m Trisha-Ann Hawthorne, UConn 23.73
400m Joanna Schultz, ND 53.12
400m Hurdles London Finley, GU 58.20
800m Clarrise Moh, SHU 2:06.37
1,500m Maggie Infeld, GU 4:16.37*
3,000m Steeplechase Sarah Morrison, VU 10:12.4
5,000m Clara Grandt, WVU 16:07.55
10,000m Danette Doetzel, PC 33:23.22
Long Jump Rachel Gehret, UofL 6.23m (20’-05.25”)
Triple Jump Seirde Forde, UofL 12.24m (40’-02.00”)
High Jump Carin Knight, UConn 1.78m (5’-10.00”)
Pole Vault Mary Saxer, ND 4.20m (13’-09.25”)*
Shot Put Jere’ Summers, UofL 15.78m (51’-09.25”)
Discus Jaclyn Espinoza, ND 50.80m (166’-08.00”)
Javelin Amanda Martin, UConn 48.51m (159’-02.00”)
Hammer Throw Jere’ Summers, UofL 60.12m (197’-03.00”)
Heptathlon Uhunoma Osazuwa, SU 5,236 points
4x100m Relay Connecticut 45.38
(M. Hodges, T. Hawthorne, P. George, J. Foreman)
4x400m Relay Seton Hall 3:35.66
(A. McCoy, T. Friday, C. Moh, J. Hayes)
4x800m Relay Georgetown 8:42.40
(C. Whalen, R. Tomlin, E. Infeld, M. Infeld)
* - meet record
Women’s Most Outstanding Track Performer: Trisha-Ann Hawthorne, Connecticut
Women’s Most Outstanding Field Performer: Jere’ Summers, Louisville
Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year: Louisville
The BIG EAST is the largest and most diverse Division I conference in the country. It was formed in 1979 and represents the athletic interests of 16 member institutions including the University of Cincinnati, University of Connecticut, DePaul University, Georgetown University, University of Louisville, Marquette University, University of Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh, Providence College, Rutgers University, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, University of South Florida, Syracuse University, Villanova University and West Virginia University. The BIG EAST Conference has captured 26 national championships in six different sports and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series. For more information on the Conference and its membership, please visit www.bigeast.org.