NIRCA Track & Field Nationals 2025

Apr 09, 2025

On Friday, April 4th, 2025, the I’ish boarded the bus and began their voyage through time and space towards the former capital of the Confederacy: Richmond, Virginia. With joy in their hearts and conquest on their minds, they grew to embrace the journey, to love one another, and to hate Pink Floyd. After a long trip, the team ate a splendid meatless pasta dinner, participated in some quiet meditation, and went to bed with full stomachs and eager wills. Here are some of our favorite pictures from the bus ride and hotel!

Sprinting Events

Aided by the heat, ND absolutely killed it in the sprinting events. In the 100m, Mara Morales ran 15.08 for 43rd, and despite Braeden’s discouragement, Natalie Morris ran 16.99 for 51st. In the 100m hurdles, Theresa Kerker ran 18.20 for 11th. Morgan Casey was tired after previous races and a long day of non-stop trash talking, but she still ran the 200m in 28.77 for 28th and a new club record. Not far behind was Mara Morales in 30.96 for 52nd. On the men’s side, Braeden Smith started off his incredible weekend, running 23.85 for 37th to break his own club record.

Past her “high-school glory” but still hungry for team glory, Morgan Casey ran the 400m in 1:04.27 for 25th. Theresa Kerker followed that up with a 1:07.22 for 43rd (Pete Heesters slayed on that seed time, only missing it by 0.22 seconds, about the time it takes for an automobile to deploy an airbag). After that, Leah Harker ran 1:08.61 for 52nd. Both men ran season best times, with Braeden Smith running 51.31 for 12th to break his own club record again, and Jack O’Connell, fueled by the memories of events long past, ran 53.18 for 35th.

In the 400m hurdles, Morgan Casey ran 1:11.56 for 12th, and Theresa Kerker ran a massive PR of 1:12.90 for 15th. Both went under the previous club record. Jack O’Connell ran 1:00:45 for 17th, also setting the club record.

Distance Events

To start things off, our SMC kween Hannah Walsh dominated the infamous NIRCA half in a brisk 1:39:07 for 11th place (way to go!).

(the beginning and end of an era)

In the 800m, Elizabeth Schmidt ran 2:23.21 for 9th, missing the All-American hat trick by one spot but setting an outdoor club record. Elena Rossen ran 2:31.92 for 32nd and followed it with round 1 (of 2) of Chipotle for the day. Next up was Aine Fitzpatrick in 2:44.32 for 68th. On the men’s side, Jack O’Connell experimented with running more than one lap and did extremely well, running 2:06.73 for 73rd. Ryan Soenen ran 2:10.31 for 104th. This is an incredible time, but he didn’t seem to think so, so he comforted himself by looking at animal pictures from his world-famous trip to the zoo. Completing his dramatic return to racing, Ryan Illikman ran 2:12.27 for 126th. Sean Wilson found a way to ditch his family for 2 minutes to run a 2:14.09 for 142nd. Jonathan Karr followed up his breakthrough 1500m with an outstanding 2:47.28 for 218th.

In the 1500m, Elizabeth Schmidt ran 4:50.23 for 6th, her first All-American performance. Aine Fitzpatrick ran 5:23.11 for 41st, Katie Burke ran 5:43.44 for 74th, and Clare Lucey ran 5:46.86 for 80th. Carlos Jison ran 4:24.30 for 93rd, Zach Wrobel summoned his inner middle distance runner to run 4:27.46 for 116th, Ryan Illikman ran 4:29.41 for 122nd, Sean Wilson ran 4:34.26 for 149th, Andrew Jitendran ran 5:06.46 for 248th, and Jonathan Karr ran a huge PR of 5:09.54 for 257th.

After a mid-race lap-counting mishap in the 5000m, Elizabeth Schmidt got her second All-American of the day in what became the women’s 4600m. After an exhausting first day, the men fought hard together in the early morning 5000m: Owen Donaher ran 16:02 for 23rd, Ryan Fryer ran 16:16 for 34th, Zach Wrobel ran 16:28 for 48th, Carlos Jison and Jack Whitman both had excellent races, each running 16:44 for 69th and 70th, respectively, Winston Fairchild ran an execrable 17:11 for 93rd, and Jonathan Karr ran 19:29 for 139th. Finally, in the 3000m Steeplechase, Ingrid Corpus ran 12:27.43 for 6th place, securing a spot as an All-American.

Field Events

Shot put: Jack O’Connell threw 8.54 m for 36th, setting a new club record. He also jumped 17-0.50 for 41st, setting another club record.

Relays

The women’s 4x100m team of Theresa Kerker, Leah Harker, Mara Morales, and Natalie Morris ran a time of 59.14 for 20th, breaking the club record. The team had 2 men’s and 2 women’s 4x400m squads run. The women’s “A” team of Theresa Kerker, Elena Rossen, Elizabeth Schmidt, and Morgan Casey ran a mind-blowing 4:21.56 for 12th, breaking the club record. The women’s “B” team of Leah Harker, Clare Lucey, Mara Morales, and Katie Burke ran a time of 4:57.89 for 30th. The men’s “A” team of Ryan Soenen, Jack O'Connell, Braeden Smith (🥵), and Ryan Fryer ran an incredible time of 3:29.72 for 12th, breaking the club record by over 10 seconds. After an incredible start off the blocks and an announcer-worthy finish, the men’s “B” team of Zach Wrobel, Owen Donaher, Carlos Jison, and Winston Fairchild ran a time of 4:03.23 for 45th.

The women’s 4x800m team of Ingrid Corpus, Clare Lucey, Katie Burke, and Elena Rossen ran 10:11 for 7th place and 2 pts on the board. The men’s team of Ryan Fryer, Winston Fairchild, Jack Whitman, and Ryan Soenen ran a new club record of 8:18 for 12th.

Recap

Overall, this was an incredibly successful meet and a great way to finish off the track season. Including Jack O’Connell’s 2 new entries in the field events, 12 club records were set in one weekend. The women’s team placed 10th overall in the country, with 3 All-American performances. Looking ahead, many of the team’s runners will be competing at Notre Dame’s very own Holy Half Marathon this upcoming Saturday. Go Irish!

Post by: Winston Fairchild

Photos by: Winston Fairchild, Jonathan Karr, Clare Lucey, Morgan Casey, and Owen Donaher