After meeting a season-best 13 BIG EAST Conference qualification marks at the Notre Dame Indoor Opener, the DePaul men's and women's track and field continue to surge through their 2009-10 season on Saturday, Jan. 23 at the Badger Track Classic in Ma
CHICAGO - After meeting a season-best 13 BIG EAST Conference qualification marks at the Notre Dame Indoor Opener, the DePaul men's and women's track and field continue to surge through their 2009-10 season on Saturday, Jan. 23 at the Badger Track Classic in Madison, Wis. Field events inside The Shell begin at 11 a.m. (CST), while the running events start at noon.
The Blue Demons, in addition to the hosting Badgers, will face student-athletes from Winona State, Concordia, UW-Platteville, and Edgewood.
Last weekend DePaul saw three new student-athletes qualify for the BIG EAST Indoor Championships, including Idia Omogiate (60m), Tim Nedow (shot put), and Matt Babicz. Lindsey Holden, Chris Kyles, and Mary Cate Quiett, who have all earned a bid to the championships earlier this season, all qualified in a new event.
Full results and recaps can be found at www.DePaulBlueDemons.com.
New in Blue
Tim Nedow, a transfer from Tulsa who was added to the roster in January, has already made a statement in the BIG EAST after his first meet in a Blue Demon uniform. He shattered his previous indoor shot put PR by more than a meter with a distance of 16.75m. After just one meet, the sophomore ranks second on the league's descending order list.
January's other addition is sprinter Tonderai Tomu. The Stevanage, England native will start competing later in the season.
Looking Good At The Loftus Center
The Blue Demons competed at Notre Dame's Loftus Center during the Irish's Indoor Opener on Jan. 15 and grabbed a season-high 13 BIG EAST qualifying marks. In their first meet at the Loftus Center, the Blue and Gold Meet, both Mary Cate Quiett and Chris Kyles broke school records. DePaul returns to the venue two more times before the indoor season concludes.
Purdue Playback
The Blue Demons opened 2010 at the Purdue Invitational 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 third triple-jump win of the season at the Notre Dame Indoor Opener, nailing a career-best leap of 14.89m to come just an inch-and-one-half shy of the school record. Not only has he won every triple jump competition of the season, but he has improved on his performance during each week. 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 has placed first or second in the weight throw competition during every appearance thus far. His distance of 19.72m, throw at the EIU Early Bird Classic, set a new career high, met the BIG EAST standard, and surpassed NCAA provisional qualifications. Millar currently ranks sixth 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, 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, Cheatham and Udzielak rank in the top-10 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 next weekend, January 29-30, when a portion of the team travels to Bloomington, Ind. for the Indiana Relays. The remaining student-athletes are set to compete in the Chicago Duals, hosted by the University of Chicago in Hyde Park.
