Michigan
Florida State Relays
Simms Leads Maize and Blue at Florida State Relays
3/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The University of Michigan women's track and field team opened the outdoor season with strong showings from Vera Simms (Mililani, Hawaii/Mililani HS), Stephanie Hirtle (Salmon Arm, B.C./Salmon Arm Senior HS) and the middle distance relay teams as the Wolverines concluded competition at the non-scoring Florida State Relays (March 21-23) with five first-place finishes on the Mike Long Track.
Simms led the Wolverines' attack with two individual titles on the final two days of competition. On Michigan's second day of competition (Friday, March 22) Simms placed first in the Garnet Section of the long jump when she marked 18-7 1/4, 15 inches farther than second-place Justina Williams of the College of Wooster (17-4 1/2).
Simms won her second individual crown as she crossed the line at 59.58 in the 400-meter hurdles Gold Championship event, her second event of the day. Her time was only 0.28 seconds shy of an NCAA provisional mark. In Simms' first race on Saturday (March 23), she posted a time of 14.35 in the open 100-meter hurdles for a second-place finish.
Hirtle took first place in the Garnet Section of the 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.92, nearly three seconds ahead of her nearest competition. Hirtle's victory in the event is the first of her career, as her previous best finish (fourth place) came at the George Mason Patriot Games (Feb. 2).
The Maize and Blue's other two victories came in the 4x800- and 4x1,500-meter relays. Michigan not only won both events, the Wolverines placed two relay teams in the top two spots in each race. In the 4x800-meter relay Michigan's "A" team crossed the line with a time of 9:03.00, bettering the "B" team's second-place time of 9:40.65. In the 4x1,500-relay the team of Michigan "A" took first place with a time of 18:30.35, with Michigan "B" finishing in 19:41.42.
The Wolverines travel to Palo Alto, Calif., next Friday and Saturday (March 29-30) for the Stanford Invitational held on the campus of Stanford University.
Event Winners/U-M Finishers
Thursday Results
Hammer Throw (Gold) 1. Candice Scott, Florida 187-0# (59.43m) 2. April Phillips, U-M 183-2 (55.83m) 13. Melissa Bickett, U-M 149-0 (45.42m)
Friday Results
Javelin Throw (Gold) 1. Emily Carlson, Unattached 167-1 (50.92m) 8. Janelle Jaha, U-M 127-2 (38.76m) 16. Melissa Bickett, U-M 104-0 (31.70m) 20. Tara Kennedy, U-M 88-8 (27.04m) 22. Ashley Eckel, U-M 76-8 1/4 (23.37m) 25. Amy Bicknell, U-M 68-8 1/2 (20.94m) Long Jump (Garnet) 1. Vera Simms, U-M 18-7 1/4 (5.67m) 3. Annessa Schnur, U-M 17-3 (5.26m) Shot Put (Garnet) 1. Mandy Kinney, Florida State 47-5 (14.45m) 13. Ashley Eckel, U-M 38-2 1/4 (11.64m) 19. Tara Kennedy, U-M 33-8 3/4 (10.28m) Discus Throw (Garnet) 1. Dayana Octavien, South Florida 167-1# (50.92m) 4. April Phillips, U-M 147-10 (45.07m) 9. Tara Kennedy, U-M 132-1 (39.79m) 16. Amy Bicknell, U-M 108-1 (32.95m) 21. Ashley Eckel, U-M 103-1 (31.42m) 100-Meter Dash (Gold) 1. Monique Tubba, Unattached 11.55 32. Teyonna Simpson, U-M 13.02 5,000-Meter Run (Gold) 1. Tara Quinn, South Florida 16:32.17# 8. Chelsea Loomis, U-M 17:54.65 100-Meter Hurdles (Gold) 1. Alisha McClinton, Georgia Tech 13.77 8. Sharifa Jones, U-M 14.53 17. Vera Simms, U-M 15.77 21. Annessa Schnur, U-M 16.17 4x400-Meter Relay (Gold Preliminaries) Heat One 1. Morgan State 3:43.62q 4. Michigan 3:49.79q (Mora Arnold, Shalina Rankin, Rachel Sturtz, Ursula Taylor) 4x800-Meter Relay (Gold) 1. Michigan "A" 9:03.00 3. Michigan "B" 9:40.65 Distance Medley Relay (Gold) 1. Georgia Tech 11:34.66 2. Michigan 11:44.06 200-Meter Dash (Garnet) 1. Monique Tubba, Unattached 24.15 11. Sharifa Jones, U-M 25.39 13. Mora Arnold, U-M 25.59 400-Meter Dash (Garnet) 1. Laura Gerber, Unattached 56.42 11. Keri Kirk, U-M 1:00.67 800-Meter Run (Garnet) 1. Stephanie Hirtle, U-M 2:14.92 10. Erika Flannery, U-M 2:21.93 15. Edna Kollarits, U-M 2:24.61 1,500-Meter Run (Garnet) 1. Melissa DeLeon, Florida 4:37.47 2. Katie Ryan, U-M 4:38.12 3. Lindsey Gallo, U-M 4:39.07 7. Andrea Parker, U-M 4:42.73 10. Jeanne Spink, U-M 4:50.70 13. Sarah Pizzo, U-M 4:56.26 15. Anna Jones, U-M 4:59.92 17. Katie Easton, U-M 5:01.94 400-Meter Hurdles (Garnet) 1. Medea Ashton, Morgan State 1:02.68 6. Annessa Schnur, U-M 1:04.83 11. Cristy Tzilos, U-M 1:06.66
Saturday Results
Long Jump (Gold) 1. Kim Jones, Florida State 19-5 3/4 (5.94m) 3. Sharifa Jones, U-M 19-0 (5.49m) Shot Put (Gold) 1. Candice Scott, Florida 50-9 1/2# (15.48m) 3. April Phillips, U-M 48-6 3/4 (14.80m) -- Melissa Bickett, U-M Foul Discus Throw (Gold) 1. Aretha Hill, Unattached 196-1 (59.72m) 6. Melissa Bickett, U-M 159-4 (48.58m) Triple Jump (Gold) 1. Shanta Smith, Georgia Tech 41-2 1/4 (12.55m) 2. Teyonna Simpson, U-M 39-11 1/4 (12.17m) 100-Meter Hurdles (Open) 1. Kim Jones, Florida State 13.96 2. Vera Simms, U-M 14.35 800-Meter Run (Gold) 1. Nicole Campbell, Georgia Tech 2:07.22@ 5. Rachel Sturtz, U-M 2:11.70 6. Ursula Taylor, U-M 2:12.38 400-Meter Dash (Gold) 1. Shauna Quinn, Florida State 55.69 3. Mora Arnold, U-M 56.62 400-Meter Hurdles (Gold) 1. Vera Simms, U-M 59.58 5. Shalina Rankin, U-M 1:02.80 6. Sharifa Jones, U-M 1:02.86 4x400-Meter Relay (Gold) 1. Morgan State 3:42.00 4. Michigan 3:46.00 (Mora Arnold, Shalina Rankin, Rachel Sturtz, Ursula Taylor) 4x1,500-Meter Relay (Gold) 1. Michigan "A" 18:30.35 2. Michigan "B" 19:41.42 1,600-Meter Sprint Relay (Gold) 1. Tennessee 3:50.96 5. Michigan 4:10.80 @ NCAA automatic mark # NCAA provisional mark
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
