The DePaul men's and women's track and field continue to surge through their 2009-10 season on Fri., Jan. 15 at the Notre Dame Indoor Opener held at the Loftus Sports Center. Field events begin the evening at 4 p.m. (CST), and the running events get
CHICAGO - The DePaul men's and women's track and field continue to surge through their 2009-10 season on Fri., Jan. 15 at the Notre Dame Indoor Opener held at the Loftus Sports Center. Field events begin the evening at 4 p.m. (CST), and the running events get underway at 5 p.m.
The Blue Demons, in addition to the hosting Irish, will face student-athletes from Butler, Loyola-Chicago, and the women's squad from Western Michigan.
DePaul opened its season at Notre Dame during the Blue and Gold Meet. Two school records were broken at the Loftus Sports Center, as Mary Cate Quiett reset her own 1,000m and Chris Kyles claimed the all-time best 60m time. Following Friday's meet, the Blue Demons will return to Notre Dame two more times during the indoor season- first for the Meyo Invitational on Feb. 5-6, followed by the Alex Wilson Invitational on Mar. 5-6.
Full results and recaps can be found at www.DePaulBlueDemons.com.
Purdue Playback
The Blue Demons opened 2010 at the Purdue Invitation in West Lafayette, Ind. Highlighting the evening was Joe Strawder and Idia Omogiate, who picked up wins in the triple jump and 60m, respectively. Strawder eclipsed the BIG EAST standard in both the long and triple jumps, while Alanna Kovacs (shot put), Tim Vala (weight throw), and Kyles (60m) also earned a nod.
Strawder Making Strides
Strawder, a senior jumper from Houston, Texas, earned his second triple-jump win of the season at the Purdue Invitational, nailing a career-best leap of 14.77m. At the same meet, he also extended his season-high long jump performance to 6.98m- a mark which tied him for second place. Earlier this year, Strawder won the triple jump at the Blue and Gold Meet in dramatic fashion. Finding himself in last place after fouling on his first three passes down the runway, he landed a jump of 14.30m to claim the win.
Just Another Day
Senior thrower Brad Millar remains perfect this season, winning the weight throw competition during every appearance thus far. His most recent distance of 19.72m set a new career high, met the BIG EAST standard, and surpassed NCAA provisional qualifications. Millar currently ranks third on the NCAA Descending Order List, while coming in at first, by nearly two meters, on the BIG EAST's counterpart.
You Give An Inch...
... and the Blue Demons will take the mile. Four student-athletes have qualified for the BIG EAST Indoor Championships, the most of any school in the league, including Terah Cheatham, Mary Cate Quiett, Max Rodrigues and Greg Udzielak. All four have logged top-five finishes in the event during their qualifying performances. In addition, Quiett and Cheatham rank No. 1 and 2, respectively, on the league's performance list.
Quiett Making Noise
Quiett, a junior from Mishawaka, Ind., got 2009-10 season off right, breaking her DePaul indoor 1,000m record for the third time in as many years at the Blue and Gold Meet held at Notre Dame. Her time of 2:52.83 was not only 10 seconds faster than the second-place runner, but it also met the BIG EAST qualification mark in the event. Quiett followed that up with another BIG EAST nod, this time in the mile race, during the EIU Early Bird Classic.
Week One Winner x2
Quiett and Strawder made Blue Demon history, claiming two of the four BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week Awards for their performances at the Blue and Gold Meet during the first week of competition. Not only is the honor a first for either student-athlete, but it is also the first time that DePaul has claimed more than one of the awards in a single week. Quiett and Strawder join thrower Brad Millar and cross country runner Matthew Graham on the elite list of Athlete of the Week awardees for the Blue Demons.
Kyles' a Keeper
In his first-ever collegiate race, freshman Chris Kyles broke the DePaul 60m record, clocking a time of 6.97 en route to a second-place finish at the Blue and Gold Meet. Kyles repeated his 6.97 performance during the preliminaries of the Eastern Illinois Early Bird Classic.
Up Next:
The Blue Demons return to action on Saturday, January 23 when they travel to Madison, Wis. for the Badger Track Classic.
