Weekly Release #17
5/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Fri-Sun., May 19-21 -- at Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championships (Iowa City, Iowa)
Wed-Sat., May 31-June 3 -- at NCAA Outdoor Championships (Durham, N.C.)
Michigan Heads to Big Ten Championships
The Wolverines will gear up for Big Ten Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Friday through Sunday (May 19-21) in Iowa City, Iowa. Last season the Maize and Blue placed fourth (107 points) at the outdoor conference meet behind Purdue (143), Wisconsin (122) and Minnesota (111).
Leading the way for Michigan will be Brandi Bentley (Detroit, Mich./Marian HS) and Katie Clifford (Grand Rapids, Mich./West Catholic HS). Bentley is the defending Big Ten long jump champion and Clifford has run three NCAA provisional qualifiers in the 3,000-, 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs this season.
Against the Competition
Brandi Bentley will be the favorite in the long jump. The 1999 conference champion will get a challenge from Illinois' NCAA provisional qualifier Tisha Ponder. Katie Clifford will have to fend off some major threats in the long distance races. Clifford, who has run provisional times in the three events, will be challenge by Wisconsin deep long distance runners -- Liz Reusser, Erica Palmer and Erin AufderHeide. Wolverine Katie Ryan (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS), who has an NCAA provisional time in the 10,000-meter run, will challenge in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs and Michigan State's Jennifer Denkins is right there in the 5,000.
Maria Brown (Kingston, Jamaica/Immaculate Conception HS) will be the Maize and Blue's top challenger to Ohio State's All-America sprint duo of Donica Merriam and Dominique Calloway. Brown fared will against Merriam at the Ohio State Triangular (April 22), losing to her by a tenth of a second in the 100-meter dash.
Indiana University will challenge the competition. They have the top shot putter in Jennifer Brown, an NCAA provisional qualifier, and have two provisional relay teams in the 400- and 1,600-meter relays, whose times are sixth and 26th in the country, respectively.
1999 Michigan Big Ten Individual Results
400-Meter Dash 7. Regine Caruthers 56.33 400-Meter Hurdles 9. Tamika Craig 1:03.97 800-Meter Run 4. Adrienne Hunter 2:07.77 1,500-Meter Run 7. Lisa Ouellet 4:31.74 5,000-Meter Run 7. Katie Clifford 17:25.92 Triple Jump 6. Brandi Bentley 39-1 3/4 11. Tasha Phillips 37-3 3/4 Discus 11. Erin Massengale 146-2 19. Julie Presley 130-10 Long Jump 1. Brandi Bentley 21-4 7. Tasha Phillips 19-5 11. Nkechi Okwumabua 18-9 1/4 3,000-Meter Run 6. Katie Clifford 9:55.23 11. Erin White 10:27.91 Shot Put 16. Erin Massengale 37-7 3/4 Pole Vault 8. Candice Mullings 10-10 Hammer Throw 6. Julie Presley 162-4 10,000-Meter Run (Shortened to 17 of 25 laps) 10. Katie Ryan 29:37.75
Wolverines Excel at Home
The Wolverines fared well at their only home event for the outdoor season this past weekend (May 12-13) in the Len Paddock Invitational at Ferry Field. On the first day of the Invitational, Erin White (Battle Creek, Mich./Central HS) won the open section of the 1,500-meter run with a Michigan season-best time of 4:30.70. White's time of 4:30.70 is also a personal record for the Michigan junior.
White was one of five Wolverines to place in the top eight of that event. Senior Julie Froud (St. Mary's, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) placed fourth (4:40.13), Rachel Sturtz (Traverse, Mich./Traverse HS) placed fifth, Jeanne Spink (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea HS) placed sixth (4:42.22) and Katie Easton (Fort Gratiot, Mich./Port Huron Northern HS) placed eighth (4:42.90).
Nipping right on White's heels for Michigan's best 1,500-meter time of the season is Katie Clifford, who placed fifth in the invitational section of that event with a pace of 4:30.76.
The headliner the second day for the Wolverines was senior Brandi Bentley, who won the long jump with a distance of 21-6 1/4, becoming U-M's first automatic qualifier for the 2000 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Bentley's mark is also a new Ferry Field record.
The Wolverines also posted wins in three other events ranging from short sprints to throws. Senior Maria Brown, in her final appearance as a Wolverine at Ferry Field, won the 200-meter dash with a mark of 23.84. Brown also placed runner-up in the 100-meter dash (11.64). Carly Knazze (Southfield, Mich./Southfield HS) and Regine Caruthers gave Michigan three of the top four places in the 200-meter dash by placing third (23.93) and fourth (23.99), respectively.
Michigan enjoyed one other victory out if its sprinters as the 4x100-meter relay foursome delivered a season-best pace of 46.01. Michigan's third and final victory of the day came from April Phillips (Fraser, Mich./Fraser HS), who finished in first place in the shot put. Her distance of 46-11 (14.30m) set a personal best and is also a Michigan season best.
Bentley Among Nation's Elite
Brandi Bentley's NCAA automatic qualifying leap of 21-6 1/4 in the long jump at the Len Paddock tied her for third among the top collegiate marks this season. Bentley, a two-time indoor Big Ten long jump champion and reigning outdoor champ, broke the U-M record and the Ferry Field record for the long jump.
A Quartet of Victories for White
Erin White's victory in the 1,500-meter run (open section), with a personal-best and Michigan season-best time of 4:30.70, was her fourth win in as many weeks. White was triumphant at the Chippewa Invitational (May 6) with a time of 2:13.31, the Ohio State Triangular (April 22) in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:14.7 and the Hillsdale Relays (April 29) in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:36.15.
There's No Place Like Home
Competing at Ferry Field for the first time this season saw the Maize and Blue earn season-best marks by 26 different athletes.
Season Improvements
The most significant improvements in times and distances this weekend at the Len Paddock Invitational:
200-Meter Dash -- Maria Brown ran a 23.84 from a 24.41.
1,500-Meter Run -- Erin White bettered from 4:36.15 to 4:30.70, Katie Clifford from a 4:37.76 to a 4:30.76 and Julie Froud from a 4:49.91 to a 4:40.13.
Long Jump -- Tanisha Williams improved from a 19-0 1/4 to 19-7.
Shot Put -- April Phillips from a 44-7 1/2 to 46-11.
Hammer -- April Phillips improved from a 147-0 to a 160-0.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
