April 27, 2002

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The University of Notre Dame Men's and Women's Track and Field Teams were scheduled to compete at both the Boilermaker open in West Lafayette, Indiana and the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, but bad weather impeded them in both attempts.

The Boilermaker Open was cancelled shortly after it had started its second day of competition on Saturday, due to poor weather conditions. Only the women's 5000-meters and the women's Javelin were completed. Notre Dame's Rachel Endress, a sophomore, finished second in that 5000-meter posting a time of 18:07.90. Endress was followed in the same race by freshman Jackie Heap, her time of 18:13.86 earned a third-place finish. In the events run on Friday, Notre Dame men and women only picked up two other top-three finishes at this rain-shortened event. Senior Jamie Volkmer placed third in the triple jump with a season-best leap of 11.97m (39' 3.25"). Goodwin Mbagwu finished third in the men's triple jump posting a distance of 14.16m (46' 5.5"). The Boilermaker Open, held at Purdue University, was not a team-scored event. Complete results can be found at www.purduesports.com.

Irish athletes competing at the prestigious Drake Relays ran into weather difficulties of their own. Due to bad weather conditions, all Irish runners were pulled out of competition on Saturday. Notre Dame athletes were able to compete in Friday races, which were highlighted by the Notre Dame 4x1600m relay team taking first place. This was the first time in 60 years that the Irish have won the longest race of the meet in Des Moines. This weekend marked the 93rd running of the Drake relays, which is considered by many to be one of the premier track meets in the United States, and it is not a team-scored event. Complete results from the Drake Relays can be found at www.drakerelays.com.