Weekly Release #8
2/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Fri-Sat., March 1-2 -- at Alex Wilson Invitational (South Bend, Ind.), 6 p.m./10:30 a.m.
Fri-Sat., March 8-9 -- at NCAA Indoor Championships (Fayetteville, Ark.), noon/2 p.m. CST
This Week: Alex Wilson Invitational
The University of Michigan women's track and field team heads to South Bend, Ind., Friday and Saturday (March 1-2) for the two-day Alex Wilson Invitational hosted by the University of Notre Dame. Events are scheduled begin at 6 p.m. on Friday and at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday in the Loftus Sports Complex.
Last Week: Big Ten Conference Indoor Championships
Led by Athlete of the Meet Katie Jazwinski (Grand Rapids, Mich./West Catholic HS), the U-M women's track and field team claimed its third Big Ten Conference indoor title in five years, posting three event victories and four second-place finishes during the two-day event, to outpoint runner-up Indiana 116-114.5 in the closest finish in Big Ten indoor meet's 21-year history. Jazwinski, who was second in the 3,000 meters last Saturday (Feb. 23), won the mile and took second in the 5,000 meters the Sunday (Feb. 24) in State College, Pa., while Ursula Taylor (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg HS) was crowned Big Ten champion in the 600 meters and the team of Jane Martineau (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant HS), Vera Simms (Mililani, Hawaii/Mililani HS), Stephanie Hirtle (Salmon Arm, B.C./Salmon Arm HS) and Katie Ryan (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS) took first place in the distance medley relay. Following the championships, Michigan head coach James Henry was named Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his 18-year career with Wolverines.
Michigan Moves into Second Place in Big Ten Record Books
With Michigan's fifth Big Ten Conference Indoor Team Championship, the Wolverines move into a second-place tie with Illinois (five) for the most team titles won since the inception of the indoor championship in 1982. The Maize and Blue has won three of the last five championships with back-to-back titles during the 1998-99 indoor seasons. Wisconsin leads the Big Ten with seven team titles in the championship's 21 years of competition.
Champions of the West
Michigan runners claimed victory in three events during the Big Ten Conference Indoor Championships last weekend (Feb. 23-24), as Katie Jazwinski won the mile run, Ursula Taylor took the 600-meter crown and the team of Jane Martineau, Vera Simms, Stephanie Hirtle and Katie Ryan won the distance medley relay. The three event titles surpassed the two victories the Wolverines claimed at the 2001 Big Ten Indoor Championships, when Jazwinski and Rachel Sturtz (Traverse City, Mich./Traverse City HS) won the 5,000 and 800 meters, respectively.
All-Big Ten Conference
With victories in the mile run and 600-meter dash, Katie Jazwinski and Ursula Taylor earned All-Big Ten first team honors at the Big Ten Conference Indoor Championships last weekend (Feb. 23-24) in State College, Pa. Jazwinski also earned a pair of All-Big Ten second team honors with runner-up finishes in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters, while Rachel Sturtz and Melissa Bickett (Akron, Ohio/Revere HS) earned second-team All-Big Ten honors for their second-places in the 800 meters and shot put, respectively.
Athlete of the Meet
Senior Katie Jazwinski became the third woman in Michigan history to earn the Athlete of the Meet award for her efforts at the Big Ten Conference Indoor Championships (Feb. 23-24). Jazwinski competed in the three events during the two-day championship, running four races in the process due to a preliminary run for in mile. In her four races, Jazwinski posted NCAA provisional times in three of the four events, with an individual championship in the mile run (4:48.46) and a pair of runner-up finishes in the 3,000 meters (9:35.00) and 5,000 meters (16:46.23). With the honor Jazwinski joins Molly McClimon (1994) and Tania Longe (1998) as Michigan's Big Ten indoor Athletes of the Meet.
Jazwinski Goes 1, 2, 2
Katie Jazwinski was Michigan's ironwoman last weekend at the Big Ten Conference Indoor Championships (Feb. 23-24) as she competed in three events (four races due to a preliminary run in the mile), running two events each day while recording NCAA provisional marks in three of the four races. On the first day of competition (Saturday) she ran to a second-place finish in the 3,000-meter finals, recording her first NCAA provisional time of season at 9:35.00. Jazwinski then set a pair of NCAA provisional times in the mile and the 5,000 meters on Sunday. In the opening event of the day Sunday, the mile run final, she ran to a first-place finish and NCAA provisional time of 4:48.46. It was Jazwinski's fourth Big Ten individual event championship of her career as she won the 5,000 meters at the indoor championship as a junior in 2001 and is currently the two-time defending champion in the outdoor 3,000 meters. Later in the meet, she took to the track for her final appearance and came within three seconds of defending her 5,000 crown as she finished runner-up with her third NCAA provisional time, 16:46.23.
Taylor Made
Ursula Taylor gave the Wolverines their third event championship of the Big Ten Conference Indoor Championships (Feb. 23-24) when she posted a time of 1:31.49 in the first heat of the 600-meter dash final. Taylor had to wait and see if her time would hold up because Swanne Gordon of Michigan State, who posted the fasted time in the preliminaries, was running in the second heat. Taylor's mark withstood the challenge as Gordon finished in 1:31.93. The victory was Taylor's fourth of the season and first-ever Big Ten Conference title. Taylor's victory in the 600 meters was Michigan's second in the 21-year championships' history, joining her with Adrienne Hunter, who won the event crown in 1999.
Three Out of Five Ain't Bad
Three Wolverines finished in the top five spots in the 800-meter finals last Sunday (Feb. 24) at the Big Ten Conference Indoor Championships, with Rachel Sturtz leading the way with a runner-up finish. Sturtz, running a season-best 2:09.24, came within one second of defending her Big Ten title in the event as she placed second behind Purdue's Kim Jordan (2:08.28). Stephanie Hirtle crossed the line two spots behind Sturtz for a fourth-place finish in a time of 2:11.38. Theresa Feldkamp (Lorain, Ohio/Amherst Steele HS) took fifth place in the race when she crossed just 0.3 seconds behind Hirtle for a time of 2:11.70. The trio combined for the Maize and Blue's largest event point total of the championships, earning 17 total points.
Bickett Sets Pair of PRs
Melissa Bickett out-threw her old personal-best record of 49-9 3/4 in the shot put when she finished runner-up in the event at the Big Ten Conference Indoor Championships with an NCAA provisional toss of 50-4 3/4. Bickett's provisional throw was her fifth of the season, as she placed second in the event for the fourth time during the 2002 indoor campaign. Bickett also set a new personal best in the weight throw as she threw the 20-lb weight 52-4. The throw broke her old record (51-11 3/4) by more than four inches.
Simpson in the Sand
As the Wolverines' only competitor in the triple jump last weekend at the Big Ten Conference Indoor Championships (Feb. 23-24), Teyonna Simpson (Fremont, Calif./Mission San Jose HS) made it count as she marked a personal-best 40-4 1/4 en route to a third-place finish. Simpson's record jump beat her old mark of 40-1 1/4 by three inches, as she surpassed the 40-foot barrier for the first time this season. Her third-place performance at the championships ties her career-best finish at the Big Ten meet. She placed third in the event at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in 2001 when she set her previous personal-best 40-1 1-4.
Weight Throw Wonders
Junior April Phillips shattered her week-old school record in the weight throw (60-6 1/2) as she sent the 20-lb. weight 61-9 at the Big Ten Conference Indoor Championships (Feb. 24). Phillips' throw broke her old record by more than 15 inches and earned her fifth place in the event. The throw also marked the third consecutive week that she posted an NCAA provisional mark. It was the seventh time this season she has broke the U-M school record.
Phillips in the Weight Throw
Jack Harvey Invitational (Jan. 5) 54-6 1/4 Indiana Dual (Jan. 12) 55-3 1/4 Red Simmons Invitational (Jan. 19) 55-9 3/4 Michigan Intercollegiate (Jan. 26) 52-4 George Mason Patriot Games (Feb. 2) 57-5 USTCA Collegiate Challenge (Feb. 8) 58-6 3/4# Harold Silverston Invitational (Feb. 16) 60-6 1/2# Big Ten Indoor Championships (Feb. 24) 61-9# # NCAA Provisional Mark
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
