Speed, All-American-style
Wanzo, relay recognized as NAIA All-Americans at Indoor Nationals
| Results |

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Notre Dame Men's and Women's Track teams competed at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Indoor National Championships Thursday through Saturday, Mar. 6-8. The Falcons' participation in the event, with a program-record 12 athletes, was highlighted by senior speedster April Wanzo (Cleveland, OH), who earned her fourth and fifth All-American awards in her well-decorated NDC career.

Wanzo competed in three events for the Falcons - the 60 Meter Dash, the 200 Meter Dash, and the 4x400 Meter Relay. In the 60 and the 200, her qualifying times of 7.68 and 25.24 seconds, respectively, were just shy of program records. The four-year veteran advanced to the finals in the 60 Meter Dash and finished sixth overall, clocking in at 7.85.

Wanzo also ran the fourth leg of the Women's 4x400 Meter Relay, which also placed sixth. (Top-six finishers in each event are awarded NAIA All-American status.) She was joined on the award-winning relay by freshman Tiffany Patrick (Norwalk, OH), sophomore Cherice May (Euclid, OH), and sophomore Arvesha Hill (Euclid, OH). The relay blazed the indoor surface of the Johnson City Memorial Center in 3:56.43 to set a new program record.

"This capped off a terrific indoor season for us," said NDC Head Coach Joe Magill. "I'm very happy for April and our relay. It's a tremendous accomplishment. The team really came together and supported each other this winter."

The NDC Women placed T-37th in the three-day event, with a team score of two points.  The men’s team did not score. Azusa Pacific University (CA) and Wayland Baptist University (TX) won the Men's and Women's Championships, respectively, with totals of 64.75 and 71.The race for the championship in the combined meets was the closest in association history. No Falcons medaled, but three program records were either set or tied in the event hosted by East Tennessee State University.

In addition to the record-setting Women's 4x400 Relay, freshman Khadiya DeSilva (East Cleveland, OH) tied her own program record in the Women's High Jump with a distance of 1.60m (5-03.00). Her jump was good for a tenth place finish.

On the men's side, the 4x400 Meter Relay (Robinson-Kinches-Sheffey-Bruce) set a new program record while finishing in fifth place in a preliminary heat. Their time of 3:22.08 topped the previous school record by two seconds.

Elsewhere during the weekend, Cherice May competed in the Women's 800 Meter Run and clocked with a time of 2:19.91. Senior thrower Landon Huvler (Lexington, OH) finished 11th in the Men's Shot Put with a distance of 13.89m (45-07.00). Teammate Ryan Clark (Fr/Novelty, OH) competed in the Pole Vault.

The National Championship meet closes out the Indoor season for the Falcons. The Falcons commence the outdoor portion of their schedule on Saturday, Mar. 22 when they travel to Muskingum, Ohio for the Muskingum Invitational.

NOTES FROM THE NEST...

APRIL MARCHES ON:  With April Wanzo’s All-American performances in Tenn., the Cleveland native earned her NDC-record fourth and fifth such awards.  Wanzo has now won the All-American award twice in indoor competition and twice in outdoor, in four consecutive track seasons.  The 5-foot-6 sprinter placed third in the 400 Meter Dash at the 2007 Indoor Championships.  She placed fourth in the 400 at the 2007 Outdoor Championships and sixth in the same event at the 2006 Outdoor Championships.

DANDY DOZEN:  In all, a record 12 NDC athletes competed in nine events in Johnson City.  NDC sent five athletes to compete in six events at last year’s (2007) Indoor Nationals. … The roster for Tenn. included seven freshmen from Head Coach Joe Magill’s 2007 recruiting class and 16 current NDC record-holders.

MAGNIFICENT SEVEN:  The Johnson City meet, which marked the NAIA's 43rd Indoor Championships, closes out the Falcons' indoor season. In seven indoor events, the NDC squad set 20 new program records (men seven, women 13). The Falcons showed considerable improvement in two particular areas - relays and field events. Three NDC relays set new Blue & Gold bests, and Falcon athletes combined to set seven new marks in field events. ... The NDC indoor season was highlighted by the team's men's-women's sweep of the Greater Cleveland Championships Feb. 22.