Seven flags over South Euclid
Notre Dame Track star leaves as seven-time All-American

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio –When senior April Wanzo (Cleveland, OH) earned a pair of fourth place finishes at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Outdoor National Championships last month (May 22-24), she closed out her collegiate athletic career by accomplishing something no other Notre Dame athlete had done.  In fact, in the 38-year history of NDC Athletics, no other student-athlete has come even close to capturing the hardware with which Wanzo now walks away.  

At the outdoor nationals, the senior speedster earned a pair of NAIA All-American awards – one in the Women's 400 Meter Dash and one more as the anchor runner of the Notre Dame Women’s 4x400 Meter Relay; that in itself is special.  She adds those to a stockpile of five All-America performances earned in previous National Championships, and she leaves College Road with an unprecedented seven such awards in tow.  

Wanzo, a Cleveland native, figured in all 11 points scored by the NDC Women’s team at the National Championships, which were held in St. Louis. The NDC Women scored their points on the two fourth-places finishes and on an eighth-place finish in the 4x100 Meter Relay, which again was anchored by the veteran Wanzo.  The St. Louis performance was rife with records, all around.  

Wanzo ran a personal-season-best time of 55.87 in the 400 Meter Dash (she owns the Falcons’ record of 55.63).  The 4x400 Meter Relay posted an NDC-record time of 3:50.53 at nationals.  In addition, the 11 teams points scored by the Women’s squad and their place of finish (23rd) are also new Notre Dame bests.

"April is a special athlete," said NDC Head Coach Joe Magill, who has been at the helm of Men’s and Women’s Track & Field since 2006. “What I especially enjoy about April is that as good as she is athletically, she is even better as a person. I'm very proud of her performance in St. Louis.”

That stellar athletic performance wasn’t a given when Wanzo arrived at the South Euclid campus four years ago.

“(April) came here as a relative unknown,” said Magill.  “Through hard work and determination, she gradually developed into a multiple All-American.”

Those multiple All-America awards come from the sport’s two annual national championships – one for Indoor Track Field, one for Outdoor.  Over her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons at NDC, Wanzo won three indoor All-Americas and four in outdoor competition.  Five of the awards came in individual competitions while two came in relay events.  The NAIA recognizes the Top-6 finishers in each National Championship event as an All-American.

All told, the 5-foot-6 sprinter placed sixth in the 400 (outdoor) in 2006, third in the 400 (indoor) in 2007, fourth in the 400 (outdoor) in 2007, sixth in the 60 (indoor) in 2008, and fourth in the 400 (outdoor) in 2008.  Her two relay Top-6s were posted in the indoor and outdoor finales in 2008, both in the 4x400 Meter Relay.  Her seven total All-American awards stand as a Notre Dame all-sports record, and her four earned in the 2008 season are an NDC Track & Field record.

Wanzo’s name also dots the Notre Dame all-time record book for best times in multiple events.  She is the Falcons’ record-holder in five events (outdoor 400, indoor 55, 300, 400, and 500).  She’s also a member of five record relay quartets.

Wanzo’s career at NDC is also a signpost of sorts.  She came to Notre Dame and joined a program in its infancy (NDC Track & Field was instituted in 2002).  As she leaves (Wanzo graduated in May), the program is in a much better state.  This season, the Notre Dame Men’s and Women’s teams enjoyed success in the regular season and both the Indoor and Outdoor National Championship meets.  The NDC Women’s squad earned multiple Top-3 finishes in meets, including a first-place finish in the 2008 Greater Cleveland Championships.

“In many ways, I view April’s career as a metaphor for our program,” said Joe Magill, reflecting on the career of his star performer.  “She developed while she was here.  Hard work and a team-first attitude paid dividends. I think that’s what is happening with the program as a whole, although it remains to be seen how far we develop. I have a suspicion that in future years when we look back on the beginning stages of the Notre Dame College track and field program, we are going to look at April as the cornerstone upon which everything is built.”

For additional information, contact Notre Dame Sports Information Director Skip Snow at 216.373.5319 or ssnow@ndc.edu.

Notre Dame College is a co-educational liberal arts institution in South Euclid, Ohio. The Notre Dame Athletics Department sponsors the Falcons' participation in 18 men's and women's sports. The College is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the American Mideast Conference (AMC), which is the largest NAIA conference in the country.

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