hurdles at the Dave Rankin Invitational, good for a third-place finish … ran the 100 hurdles in 15.45 for 11th place at the Dave Rankin Invitational. HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL: Five-time letterwinner in cross country and track and field at La Reina (Calif.) … 11-time Tri-Valley league champion in five different events … went undefeated in the Tri-Valley League during her entire high school career … finished seventh nationally in the heptathlon at the 2006 AAU
GENA BLEYER Senior Middle Distance Chesterfield, Mo. St. Joseph’s Academy AS A JUNIOR: Opened her 2010-11 campaign with a third place finish in the mile at the Blue & Gold Invitational with a time of 5:22.85…took home an 11th place finish in the 1,000m run at the Notre Dame Invitational after finishing the race in 3:05.74…competed in the 1,500m run at the Purdue Mike Poehlein Invitational finishing in a time of 5:01.25…
Junior Olympics … earned All-American honors in the 4x800 relay in 2007 … ranked in the top-20 in the country in the 100 hurdles … holds over 40 school records and the Tri-Valley League 100 hurdle record … holds the 300-hurdle record for Ventura County … earned Ventura County first-team honors five times … inducted into the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame and La Reina High School Hall of Fame in 2008 … named to the Daily News All-Area first team in 2008 … member of
the National Honor Society and California Scholarship Federation … born February 16, 1990, in Los Angeles, Calif. … daughter of Greg and Joy Blanchard … has two sisters … sister, Brianna, competes in swimming and track at Pepperdine … hails from the same area as former Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen … enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters and is majoring in psychology.
clocked a personal best 4:54.16 in the 1,500m run for 11th place at the Purdue Dave Rankin Invitational…closed out the season with an appearance at the Gina Relays in the 1,500m run and clocking a time of 4:56.02 for 23rd place in the event. AS A SOPHOMORE: Competed in three events for the Irish track team … started the campaign at Notre Dame Indoor Opener, racing to a 13th-place finish in the 800 in 2:32.88 … finished seventh at the Notre Dame Invitational in the 1,000 after clocking a 3:13.69 … concluded season in the 1,000 at the Meyo Invitational, finishing 10th in her heat and 40th overall after recording a 3:10.47. AS A FRESHMAN: Opened the season with a third-place finish in the 1,000 (3:03.70) at the Blue and Gold Invitational … finished 10th in the 1,600 at the Notre Dame Indoor Opener in 5:16.30 … finished 14th in the 1,600 (5:18.12) at the Notre Dame Invitational … ran the 800 in 2:21.59 at the Indiana Relays ...ran two events at the Meyo Invitational, finishing in 2:27.70 in the 800 and 3:02.89 in the 1,000.
HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL: Lettered three times in cross country at St. Joseph’s Academy (Mo.) … three-time cross country team MVP … three-time cross country all-state honoree … earned two letters in track and field … track and field MVP her junior and senior years … all-state in track and field as a junior and senior … member of National Honor Society … daughter of Frank (‘87) and Susan Bleyer … father played football at Notre Dame … has two sisters, Mady and Marge … enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business as an accounting major and the College of Arts and Letters as a sociology major.
BLEYER’S INDOOR BESTS 800m 1,000m Mile
2:21.59 (Indiana Relays, 2009) 3:02.89 (Meyo Invitational, 2009) 5:18.12 (Notre Dame Invitational, 2009)
BLEYER’S OUTDOOR BESTS 1,500m
4:54.16 (Dave Rankin Invitational, 2011)
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