Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 OCT. 30, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE C oming from little Woodinville, Wash., Irish junior distance run- ner Olivia Markezich was provided a weather warning from her father, Ron, when his daughter was considering a move from the stable maritime climate outside of Seattle to the Mother Nature mood swings of the Midwest. And considering Ron Markezich also was a standout Irish distance runner — the Notre Dame 10,000-meter record- holder when he graduated in 1989 — her father's advice hit home. "The scariest part of coming to Notre Dame was the winters, I was kind of nervous about that," Olivia said with a laugh while recalling her 2,100-mile re- location. "But it wasn't as bad as my dad made it sound. I think he just wanted me to expect the worst during the win- ter so it wouldn't seem that bad." Weather warnings and reverse psy- chology aside, Olivia is still following in her father's footsteps, sort of. While dad enjoyed most of his racing success running on flat track surfaces, Olivia took a different route this spring and began competing for Notre Dame in the steeplechase. This event — typically a 3,000-meter race but sometimes 2,000 meters — is as much an obstacle course full of wa- ter and walls as it is a traditional cross country-type trail race. Olivia became a quick study in an un- familiar event and this spring during her first season ever competing at it, she fin- ished second at the ACC Championships in 9:45.00 — a time, that by standard, secured her a spot in the 2021 U.S. Olym- pic Trials for the Tokyo Summer Games. And only about two weeks before the trials, Olivia also reached the steeple- chase finals in the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and fin- ished 10th. Both of those elite meets were held at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, the mecca of competition for any college track and field athlete. "Having a chance to compete there twice," Olivia said, "that was a really a great experience and something I'll never forget." Ironically, Olivia's quick rise from steeplechase newbie to U.S. Olympic Trials competitor wouldn't have hap- pened had the Tokyo Games not been pushed back a year from the spring of 2020 to 2021 because of the pandemic. "It was hard having the entire [2020 outdoor] season canceled," she said. "But maybe it ended up a blessing in disguise." Markezich will resume her steeplechase pursuits in the spring of 2022, but in the meantime she and her Irish teammates have been preparing for the 2021 ACC Cross Country Championships Oct. 29, on her home course at Notre Dame. Markezich finished 21st for the sixth- place Irish last October at the confer- ence meet in Raleigh, N.C. And while Markezich explained that the team's times and finishes during the 2021 regular season didn't necessarily reach expectations, the Irish are ready to improve and excel this postseason. "We have been making progress throughout the last couple of meets so it's been good to see the hard work pay- ing off," she said. ✦ A Quick Study, Olivia Markezich Setting A Unique Distance Course Markezich, who earned a qualifying time in the steeplechase last spring for the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, is focused on a strong finish in the ACC Cross Country Championships hosted by Notre Dame Oct. 29. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS ND SPORTS CROSS COUNTRY On Oct. 15, the Irish men placed fifth out of 40 schools at Pre-Nationals in Tallahassee, Fla., while the women finished 11th out of 36 teams at the Nuttycombe Invitational at Madison, Wis. … Next up, Notre Dame hosts the ACC Champi- onship Oct. 29. MEN'S GOLF Notre Dame concluded its fall slate by carding an 8-under-par 256 to finish first out of six schools in the Stephens Cup Oct. 18-19 at Roland, Ark. WOMEN'S GOLF The Irish shot an 8-over 872 to come in 13th out of 15 schools at the University of Illinois Invitational Oct. 11-12 in Medinah, Ill. HOCKEY (3-0-0 OVERALL) No. 12/13 Notre Dame opened the season with a 5-2 victory versus Long Island University Oct. 9 in South Bend … The Irish then picked up a pair of road wins, 2-1 in overtime at Michigan Tech Oct. 15 and 5-2 at Northern Michigan Oct. 16. MEN'S SOCCER (9-4-1 OVERALL, 4-1-1 ACC) The No. 20 Irish extended their win streak to six matches with a 2-0 win at Clemson Oct. 9, a 1-0 double-overtime victory at Pittsburgh and a 3-0 triumph at home versus Illinois-Chicago. WOMEN'S SOCCER (12-2-1 OVERALL, 6-1-0 ACC) No. 15 Notre Dame defeated Louisville 3-0 at home Oct. 7 and topped Clemson 2-1 in two over- times Oct. 10, but had its eight-match win streak snapped with a 2-1 loss at No. 2 Virginia Oct. 17. MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING (2-0 OVERALL) The Irish began their season with victories ver- sus Pittsburgh (200.5-152.5) and Cleveland State (261-92) Oct. 15-16 in South Bend. WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING (2-0 OVERALL) No. 25 Notre Dame also started its season with a pair of home wins over Pittsburgh (271-82) and Cleveland State (300-52) Oct. 15-16. VOLLEYBALL (8-10 OVERALL, 5-3 ACC) The Irish has now won five out of six matches, with 3-0 wins against Syracuse Oct. 8, Boston College Oct. 10 and Virginia Tech Oct. 17 sand- wiched around a 3-0 loss to Wake Forest Oct. 15. — Steve Downey Irish Roundup