The end of Spring Break also marked the end of the indoor track and field season for the Demon Deacons.  Four track and field athletes traveled to last chance meets the weekend of March 5-6, in hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships, March 12-13. Senior Jon Reid and sophomore Molly Binder both traveled to New York City for a meet hosted at the Armory Track Complex.

Photo courtesy of Media Relations

Reid ran in the 400m dash and took first place.  However, he was unable to improve upon his season-best time of 47.07, which he had run the previous weekend at the ACC Indoor Championships.  His ACC Indoor time provisionally qualified him for NCAA’s, but wasn’t fast enough to make the final list.  However, Reid has focused his training on succeeding in the outdoor season, and he still has high hopes for upcoming meets.

“My goal this year was to focus more on my outdoor season because I’m going to extend my outdoor season after the college season ends, to train back in Canada for Canadian nationals,” Reid said.  “I did wish I made indoor NCAAs in the 400, but even at the last chance meet in New York, my legs were still tired from ACCs the week before.”

Binder ran the 800m dash at the Armory and placed sixth with a time of 2:10.92.  This wasn’t fast enough to provisionally qualify for NCAA’s.

At Notre Dame’s last chance meet, sophomore sisters Dina and Anna Nosenko competed to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

A. Nosenko competed in the 5,000 meter run, where she stepped on the inside of the track and fell, and was forced to withdraw from the race.  However, the next day, she competed in the 3,000 meter run.  Although she was still a little beat up from her fall the previous day, A. Nosenko ran a time of 9:29.02 and placed third.  However, this was still a second behind her season-best and was not fast enough to qualify for NCAA’s.

D. Nosenko competed in the one mile run and finished with a time of 4:41.10.  This was fast enough to place third, set a new school record and qualify for the NCAA Championships the following weekend.

“I really wanted to perform my best after rather disappointing mile I ran at the ACC’s,” D. Nosenko said. “The track is not standard 200m, but 320m so when I was racing I did not know how fast I was going. Coach Annie told me just to race people and match every move the leaders will do, so I tried to do this and after I crossed the finish line I was really surprised to find out my time, because it is a big PR for me.”

After qualifying for the NCAA’s, D. Nosenko traveled to the University of Arkansas where she competed in her preliminary heat for the mile run.  She ran in the first of two heats and placed fifth, with a time fast enough to qualify her on to the finals.

In the finals, D. Nosenko ran a time of 4:43.73, which was enough to place her ninth overall.  For her first NCAA competition, it was an impressive performance.

“I did not expect to go for indoor NCAA at all, so I was happy with just going there and competing with best athletes in the US,” D. Nosenko said.  “However, in the back of my mind I was always hoping to get into the final, but I did not want to think about it a lot, so not to be disappointed if I didn’t get into the final and not to spoil my first experience with bitter feelings.  The NCAA experience was incredible and unforgettable.”

Up next for the team is the Wake Forest Open.