Oct. 18, 1997

Depth Key to Irish Success in '98

After two third-place finishes in the 1996 BIG EAST indoor and outdoor championships and two second-place finishes in 1997, Notre Dame's men's track and field team inches closer to its first BIG EAST title. The Irish fell to Connecticut by four points at last year's indoor championships while Georgetown nipped Notre Dame in the outdoor meet.

"Our goal for 1998 is to win the BIG EAST championships, but as usual, it will be very difficult," says head coach Joe Piane, now in his 23rd year at the helm of the Irish, the longest stint of any current Notre Dame head coach.

Sprints
Sprint and hurdles coach John Millar will field the deepest group of Irish sprinters in recent history.

"Our sprinters are stronger and are a lot deeper this year," says Millar, who also serves as speed coach for all of Notre Dame's teams. "We have improved a great deal and should score more points at the big meets. No longer do we have to count on the same people so that will be a plus. In past years we've been dependent on the football team for sprinters but any help we get from them now will be a bonus."

The Irish should be particularly strong in the 400 meters with senior All-American Danny Payton (Las Vegas, Nev.) and sophomore Chris Cochran (Crystal Lake, Ill.) returning. Payton ran the 400-meter leg of the distance medley relay team that finished eighth at the 1997 NCAA indoor championships. He was also part of the BIG EAST champion distance medley relay team. Individually, Payton also ran in the 200 and 400 meters.

Cochran pleasantly surprised Millar in 1997 with his two sixth-place finishes at the BIG EAST championships in the indoor 400 meters and outdoor 200 meters. He ran the fastest 400 meters on the team with 48.10 indoors and 47.62 outdoors.

Junior Bobby Brown (Lauderhill, Fla.) also gave the Irish solid results in the 400 meters last year with his fourth-place finish at the BIG EAST outdoor championships and fifth place in the indoor.

Long jumper Marshaun West (Sikeston, Mo.) can provide the Irish with depth in the sprinting events thanks to his versatility and range. He contributed in 100, 200 and 400 meter events and could also help out in dual meets and in the relays. West's versatility will also be maximized at the BIG EAST championships.

A trio of freshmen may jump in right away and be effective. Jermaine Brown (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) was a three-time 100-meter state champion in Minnesota. Travis Davey (St. James, N.Y.) has a lot of range and has come into his own the last couple of years. Terry Wray (Brandon, Miss.) was a two-time all-state selection in the 200 and 400 meters.

Two-time senior All-American Allen Rossum (Dallas, Texas), also a cornerback on the football squad, finished seventh in the 55 meters at the 1995 and 1997 NCAA championships and could excel for the Irish once again. A number of freshman football players could also bolster the Irish sprinting corps.

Hurdles
Two-time NCAA participant Errol Williams (Lauderhill, Fla.) will once again lead the Irish hurdlers. Williams, who ran in the NCAA 110-meter hurdles as a freshman in 1995, made a return trip in 1997 in the 110-meter hurdles and advanced to the semifinals. He placed third at the BIG EAST championships and was fourth in both the indoor and outdoor 200 meters.

"We will be depending on Errol once again in 1998," says Millar. "Hopefully he can build on last year and advance to the finals. Errol will also help us in the 400-meter hurdles."

Joining Williams in the hurdle events will be senior Kevin Reher (Sarasota, Fla.). Reher has improved tremendously with his hard work and has concentrated on the 55- and 110-meter hurdle events.

"Kevin Reher is another person that will come through and help us in the BIG EAST," says Millar. "He also has the potential to help us in the relays."

Sophomore Deveron Harper (Orangeburg, S.C.) could also contribute in the hurdle events. He ran in three hurdle events in 1996 with a sixth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles at the Alex Wilson Invitational.

Middle Distance
Notre Dame's middle distance runners suffer the loss of one of the best middle distance runners in school history. All-American and school record holder in the 800 meters, Jeff Hojnacki will need to be replaced. Piane will look to a number of returning runners to take over Hojnacki's role.

"We are really looking for some of our younger runners to step up and come through for us," says Piane.

The Irish will look to senior Mike Conway (Springfield, Va.) to give the same solid results as he did a year ago. Conway finished third at the BIG EAST indoor championships in the mile and ran the fastest indoor mile on the team in 1997 in 4:10.16.

Sophomore Phil Mishka (Toledo, Ohio) ran the second-fastest 500 and 800 meters on the team as a freshman. His 800-meter times were second only to Hojnacki.

The sophomore threesome of Tom Dietrich (Alliance, Ohio), Nick Fehring (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Tim Kober (Gillette, N.J.) should also contribute. Dietrich placed third at the Alex Wilson Invitational in the 500 meters and was third in the 800 meters at the Miami Classic. Fehring ran at the BIG EAST championships in the 1,000 meters and will look to build on that experience. Kober ran exclusively outdoors in the 800 meters and had his best finish at the Billy Hayes Invitational in eighth place.

Distance
Leading the pack of distance runners, both figuratively and literally, will be senior All-American Jason Rexing (Pickerington, Ohio). Rexing earned All-America honors for the third time in his career in 1997 in the indoor season with Payton on the distance medley relay team. In the 1996 NCAA outdoor championships Rexing was an All-American in the 10,000 meters and is also a 1996 cross country All-American. He is becoming one of Notre Dame's most experienced runners in school history with three appearances in NCAA track championship events so far in his career.

"Jason is the heart and soul of the distance runners," says Piane. "He's been very consistent for three years. He had another very good year last year. Jason did a great job for us."

Besides his NCAA experience, Rexing has won six BIG EAST titles in his two years in the conference, including two indoor 5,000-meter titles and two outdoor 10,000-meter titles. In his first BIG EAST outdoor championships in 1996 as a sophomore, Rexing was named the championship's most outstanding track performer.

Senior Jim Pilla (Red Bank, N.J.) placed fifth in the 5,000 meters at the Meyo Invitational a year ago, but had his best results outdoors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Pilla took third place at the BIG EAST championships in the steeplechase in 1997 and also finished third in two meets. With the graduation of 1997 BIG EAST steeplechase champion Derek Seiling, the Irish will need Pilla's solid results more than ever.

Senior Scott Grace (Oakland, Mich.) also scored points for Notre Dame at the BIG EAST championships with his seventh-place finish in the indoor 5,000 meters. He followed up that performance by taking eighth in the 10,000 meters at the outdoor championships.

Another of Notre Dame's top returning distance runners is junior Antonio Arce (Palmdale, Calif.). Arce ran only in the outdoor season in '97 but showed promising results by finishing the season very strong. In his only 10,000-meter event of the season, he finished fifth at the BIG EAST championships.

Sophomore Sean McManus (Hernando, Fla.), eighth in the BIG EAST indoor 3,000 meters, junior Tim Engelhardt (East Syracuse, N.Y.) and junior Ryan Blaney (Toms River, N.J.) should also contribute in the distance events.

Field Events
Junior pole vaulter Mike Brown (Rancho Sante Fe, Calif.) highlights the field athletes as Notre Dame's only returning individual BIG EAST champion. Brown set a school record in the outdoor pole vault as a sophomore as he won the Mt. SAC Relays with his record vault of 17-3. He won five events last year, never finishing lower than fifth.

"If Mike Brown continues to improve the way he has, he'll pole vault over 18 feet," says Notre Dame field coach Scott Winsor. "He is a tough kid who works hard and has given us some incredible results."

Senior Mike Stany (Frankfort, Ky.) looks to fill the void left by 1996 BIG EAST pole vault champion Dave Gerrity. Stany has impressed the coaches with his hard work and showed off his improvement by participating in the BIG EAST championships. Winsor is looking for Stany to clear 16 feet as a senior. Sophomore Jesse Masloski (Waterown, S.D.) could also contribute in the pole vault.

Senior Chris Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.) is another of Notre Dame's top returning finishers at the BIG EAST championship. He threw the javelin to a third-place finish at the conference meet for the second consecutive season. Smith finished in the top four in six out of seven events with a career-long throw of 195-11.

"Mike Brown and Chris Smith have really helped us at the BIG EAST meet," says Winsor. "They are crucial to our title hopes in 1998."

West won five of six long jump events in the 1997 indoor season, including the second-best jump in Irish history at 24-9 1/4. He placed third at the BIG EAST indoor championships in the only long jump event he did not win in the indoor season. West slipped to eighth at the outdoor championships but jumped a career-best 24-10 1/2 in a second-place finish at the Alabama Relays.

"Marshaun was almost always over 24 feet in his long jumps," says Winsor. "When he gets a little bit stronger as he matures, Marshaun could be Notre Dame's best long jumper ever."

Senior Jay Hofner (Wheaton, Ill.) finished seventh in the 35-lb. weight throw in the BIG EAST indoor championships and improved to fourth in the hammer at the outdoor championships in 1997. Winsor is looking for Hofner to continue his impressive improvement and to lead the young group of Irish throwers.

Junior Dan Greff (Houston, Texas) and sophomores Niall Cannon (Mequon, Wis.), Paul Lewis (Rockford, Ill.) and Matt Thompson (Granite Bay, Calif.) have shown considerable improvement in various throws and should be ready to contribute.

Senior Dan Frigo (Downers Grove, Ill.) looks to reach 6-8 in the high jump that he accomplished as a sophomore. Freshman Andrew Cooper (Granville, Ohio) has high jumped 6-8 in high school and should team with Frigo to give the Irish a powerful duo in the high jump.

Talented freshman Matt Dewey (Paxton, Ill.) qualified for the 1997 USA Track and Field junior nationals in the discus and should excel in that event for the Irish.

"We are looking for Matt to contribute, at least at the BIG EAST level," Winsor says.n Notre Dame aims for its first BIG EAST title with balance and depth throughout the roster.Junior Mike Brown will defend his BIG EAST indoor and outdoor pole vault titles. M en's Track & Field Preview M en's Track & Field PreviewDepth Key to Irish Success in '98All-American Danny Payton is just one of Notre Dame's deep and talented group of 400-meter runners.