This past weekend, both the Irish men’s and women’s squads competed in the 37th annual Sun Angel Track Classic hosted at Arizona State. The competition began Friday at Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, and featured 16 Notre Dame student-athletes.
In the few events that took place on opening day, the Irish began on strong footing with junior Anthony Shivers’s 58.37-meter distance throw in the men’s hammer throw, a mark that would eventually land him in second place in the final standings behind Air Force senior Spencer Baldwin. Shivers’ second-place finish followed a first-place one in the discus at the Stanford Invitational on April 1. Senior Nick Hauser followed Shivers’ efforts by placing fifth overall with a top throw of 60.73 meters in the premiere men’s hammer throw. Hauser saved his best for last, making his scoring attempt on his sixth and final throw. Shivers and Hauser set the tone for the other 14 Notre Dame athletes who began competition Saturday.
Senior Margaret Bamgbose, a 2015 All-American, raced to two first-place victories — in the 400-meter dash individually and in the 4x400-meter relay along with graduate student Kaila Barber and sophomores Parker English and Jordan Shead. Bamgbose also notched a fourth-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay with Barber, English and freshman Kyla Lewis.
Bamgbose was not the only member of the Irish who found success in Arizona, however, with Barber posting a :57.85 mark in the 400-meter hurdles to place second overall. Racing alongside her was Shead, who finished 10th. In the 200-meter dash, English finished fifth while Lewis finished 12th. Lewis would add a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter dash, and sophomore Allison Bartoszewicz followed .01 seconds behind her to take seventh.
Sophomore Payton Miller finished 19th overall in the 400, and Notre Dame graduate-turned-volunteer assistant coach Jade Barber set the standard for her athletes by taking second in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of :13.07.
Sophomore Drake Stimson represented the men on the track with a time of 54.31 in the 400, as did volunteer assistant coach Chris Giesting, who took third place in the 400 with a time of :45.88.
Shivers returned Saturday to add an eighth place in the discus throw to his second place in the men’s hammer throw, and sophomore Hunter Holton finished 13th in the high jump.
With the conclusion of the Sun Angel Classic, the Irish now gear up for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 16.
