DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Blue and Gold Invitational
DePaul Opens Season In Record-Breaking Fashion
12/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | TRACK AND FIELD
Dec. 2, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The indoor track and field season could hardly have opened in a more encouraging fashion for DePaul as the Blue Demons squads racked up BIG EAST Conference qualifying marks and school records in the Blue and Gold Meet hosted by Notre Dame on Friday.
"The team as a whole came out prepared, performed well, and started the season off right," head coach Dave Dopek said following the opener. "Team energy was way up and their performances benefited greatly."
DePaul concluded the day with first place finishes in the women's weight throw and shot put, the men's 60 meter dash, the men's one-mile run, and the men's shot put competitions.
The Blue Demons' Alanna Kovacs took over in the Blue and Gold meet's throw competitions. The senior thrower notched a school record in the shot put event with a mark of 14.51 meters, a BIG EAST qualifying measurement. Kovac's 17.08 meter weight throw was also a conference qualifying mark for DePaul and was good enough for first place at the opening event.
On the men's side, senior Tim Nedow continued his reign as top BIG EAST thrower as he registered a school-record 19.51 meter shot put throw, earning him first place at the meet. He followed the 19.51 meter toss with an equally impressive 19.10 meter throw. His longest toss not only earned him a place at the BIG EAST Championships, but the throw gave Nedow an NCAA qualifying mark.
"Tim had an awesome day," Dopek noted. "Two consecutive tosses over 19 meters. The big guy is really starting to figure it out."
Aside from Nedow, the Blue Demons saw stellar performances out of Jordon Vaughn and Chris Miedema. Vaughn, a freshman, took home first place in the men's 60 meter dash with a time of 6.91 seconds-qualifying him for BIG EAST Conference action. Miedema excelled in the men's one-mile run, crossing before two of his DePaul teammates. Miedema's 4:18.03 time in the run qualified him for the BIG EAST championships. DePaul claimed the top three spots in that event with Max Clink (4:22.76) and Ian Sanchez (4:23.98) placing second and third, respectively.
In addition, four other Blue Demons notched BIG EAST qualifying efforts. In the weight throw, Jazmyne Durrah and Melissa Fraser each reached BIG EAST marks, while Lindsey Holden qualified in the 400 meter dash and Matt Babicz qualified in the shot put event.
Overall, DePaul put forth a solid showing in its indoor opener. "Now we'll get back to work preparing for mid January," Dopek stated.
The Blue Demons do not compete again until Jan. 14 when they travel to Madison, Wis., for the Badger Track Classic hosted by the University of Wisconsin.
Players Mentioned
