Rynda Breaks School Record, Takes NCAA Lead at Notre Dame
2/5/2022 4:20:00 PM
// Kyle Terwillegar
Site: South Bend, Ind. (Loftus Sports Center)
Event: Notre Dame Meyo Invitational
U-M Result: No team scoring
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sat., Feb. 11-12 (at Wisconsin Windy City Invitational / Chicago, Ill.), TBA
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Multiple-time Big Ten champion Aurora Rynda made all sorts of history Saturday (Feb. 5) at the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational as the Wolverines geared up for a run toward the looming postseason.
Rynda clocked a blistering 2:02.89 to win the 800-meter competition by nearly three seconds over Iowa’s All-American Mallory King, breaking the school record by nearly a half-second among a litany of accolades achieved by the performance.
Her effort eclipsed the nearly 14-year-old U-M record of 2:03.37 held by multiple-time NCAA champion and Olympian Geena Gall.
No other woman in NCAA Division I this year had dipped below 2:04, let alone 2:03, making Rynda the fastest woman in the country as the regular season approaches its conclusion in two weekends’ time. The time all but assured her a spot at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, potentially as one of the favorites.
Globally, it ranks her No. 13 in the world on the 2022 all conditions list. She achieved the time on Notre Dame’s oversized track, making it ineligible for the official top performers list reserved for World Athletics standard 200-meter tracks.
Only one other woman in all of Big Ten history — Amy Wickus of Wisconsin nearly 30 years ago — has ever run faster indoors on any track size. On the all-time, all-conditions Canadian list, she jumped from No. 32 to No. 9.
Rynda was just the tip of the spear of a distance crew that looks to be rounding into shape heading into the Big Ten Championships in two weekends’ time.
In the mile, both Samantha Tran and Ericka VanderLende crossed the line nearly simultaneously in career-best fashion, with Tran taking fifth in 4:42.28 and VanderLende sixth in 4:42.81.
Kayla Windemuller posted a career best of her own at 3,000 meters in 9:19.57 for eighth place overall.
In the only field event action of the weekend for the Wolverines, Amanda Schaare took fifth in the shot put with a best of 15.74m (51 feet, 7.75 inches) she launched in the fourth of six rounds.
Michigan returns to full strength on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 11-12) for the final big regular-season road trip of the winter at the Wisconsin Windy City Invitational at the new Track and Field Center at Gately Park in Chicago, Ill.
Michigan Results by Event
q = qualified for final
800 meter run
Final
1. Aurora Rynda / 2:02.89 [U-M Record]
13. Alice Hill / 2:10.94
15. Lucy Petee / 2:12.11
Unseeded
4. Lauren Fulcher / 2:10.74 [New PR]
Mile
Final
5. Samantha Tran / 4:42.28 [New PR]
6. Ericka VanderLende / 4:42.81 [New PR]
Unseeded
16. Amber Gall / 5:00.12
18. Eva Jansohn / 5:01.49
3,000 meter run
Final
8. Kayla Windemuller / 9:19.57 [New PR]
21. Julia Vanitvelt / 9:52.18
Unseeded
7. Samantha Saenz / 9:42.46 [New PR]
Shot Put
Final
5. Amanda Schaare / 15.74m (51-7.75)
14. Corinne Jemison / 14.08m (46-2.25)
