Macdonald, Legg Pace Butler At Meyo Invitational
Senior Joe Macdonald hit an NCAA qualifying mark and freshman
Kirsty Legg broke the school record in the mile to highlight a
strong performance but the Butler track and field squad at the
prestigious Meyo Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame Friday through
Sunday (Feb. 5-7).
Macdonald captured a championship ribbon and ran a personal best
of 8:00.73 in the men’s 3,000 meter run. He beat former
Michigan All-American Lex Williams in the runner-up position and
finished more than six seconds ahead of the next collegiate
finisher, Spencer Beatty of Michigan State. Macdonald’s
time topped the NCAA qualifying standard and ranks him 13th on the
NCAA list for the men’s 3,000.
Legg placed fourth in the women’s mile in 4:48.27, breaking
the school mark of 4:53.30 set by teammate Katie Clark at the
Gladstein Invitational last month. Legg’s time missed
the NCAA qualifying standard by just over a second.
The Bulldogs also picked up strong efforts from seniors Rob
Mullett and Kris Gauson in the men’s “Meyo Mile”
and freshmen Lauren McKillop and Clark in the women’s
3,000. Mullett ran a personal best and topped the NCAA
qualifying standard with a time of 4:02.10 to place sixth in
the event, while Gauson finished seventh in 4:03.68, missing the
NCAA standard by .18. It was the first race this season for
Gauson, who has been hampered by a leg injury.
Clark ran a person best 9:33.10 and placed 15th in the
women’s 3,000, while McKillop had a personal best 9:35.95 and
placed 16th. Both were just shy of the NCAA qualifying
standard of 9:32 and the Butler record of 9:30.76.
Others recording personal bests at the Meyo Invitational were
Shelbi Burnett in the women’s mile (5:01.39), Kaitlyn Love in
the women’s 800 (2:14.93) and Madison Roeder in the
men’s 5,000 (14:31.32).
Senior Sara Bird won the second section of the women’s 5,000
and placed 15th overall with a time of 17:48.73. Senior Andy
Baker placed 15th in the men’s 5,000 in 14:28.58, while
senior Tom Boardman finished in 14:50.51. Also competing for
the Bulldogs were senior Stephen Lisgo in the men’s mile
(4:14), junior Brent Sever in the men’s 60 hurdles (8.60) and
freshman Romeo Harper in the men’s 60 (7.14) and the
men’s 200 (22.71).
“Overall, I’m pleased with our meet this
weekend,” said Butler head coach Matt Roe. “In
particular, I’m with our freshmen women’s distance
runners, who all ran personal bests in one of the most competitive
meets in the nation. They showed a lot of poise and
toughness.”
“We had a lot of athletes either get an NCAA qualifying mark
or come very close, as well as several league-leading marks and
personal bests. Next week in Seattle will be a great test for
us to challenge school records and get more athletes in position to
qualify for the NCAA meet.”
Butler will have nine athletes competing at the Husky Classic in
Seattle, Wash. On the men’s side, Roe will take Baker,
Lisgo, Mullett, Gauson, Macdonald and Madison Roeder. Legg,
Clark and McKillop will compete for Butler’s women.
