Weekly Release #17
5/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Fri-Sun., May 17-19 -- at Big Ten Outdoor Championships (Madison, Wis.)
Wed-Sat., May 29-June 1 -- at NCAA Outdoor Championships (Baton Rouge, La.)
This Week: Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championships
The University of Michigan women's track and field team heads to the Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championships Friday through Sunday (May 17-19) hosted by the University of Wisconsin on the Dan McClimon Memorial Track in Madison, Wis. Field events and the heptathlon are featured Friday, as events get underway at 1 p.m. CDT. Saturday's action begins at 10:45 a.m. with the heptathlon long jump with the 4x100-meter relay trials scheduled to begin running events at 2:10 p.m. The triple jump begins Sunday's competition at 11:40 a.m. and the 4x100-meter relay final opens running events at 12:55 p.m.
Last Meet Recap: Len Paddock Invitational
Michigan ran to five event titles at the two-day non-scoring Len Paddock Invitational (May 10-11) as freshman Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame Prep) led the Wolverines with a combined three first-place finishes. Hauser-Price earned two individual titles with wins in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. She was also a member of the winning 4x400-meter relay team. Along with Hauser-Price, Katie Jazwinski (Grand Rapids, Mich./West Catholic HS), Robin Landfair (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) and Tracy Egnatuk (Albion, Mich./Albion HS) won events for the Maize and Blue. Eganatuk's time of 2:08.59 in the invitational 800-meter run was a personal best and is the fastest in the Big Ten this is season. In field events, April Phillips (Fraser, Mich./Fraser HS) threw a pair of NCAA provisional marks in the hammer throw and the shot put. Her distance in the shot put broke the 13-year-old outdoor record as she threw 51-10 1/2.
Last Year at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships
The Maize and Blue concluded the 2001 Big Ten Outdoor Championships with a fourth-place finish behind individual event titles by Katie Jazwinski, Nicole DeNamur (Algoma, Wis./Algoma HS) and Rachel Sturtz (Traverse City, Mich./Traverse City HS). Jazwinski became the first Wolverine to defend her title in the 3,000 meters as she ran to a first-place finish at 9:35.43. On the final day of competition, DeNamur cleared 5-8 1/2 in the high jump to win her first Big Ten Conference Championship title. Sturtz, who won the 800 meters at the 2001 indoor championships, repeated the feat on Indiana's Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex as she crossed the line at 2:07.76.
Michigan at the Big Ten Championships
The Wolverines have won the outdoor team title three times in the program's 21 years of Big Ten Conference outdoor competition. Michigan's three conference titles came in 1993, 1994 and 1998. U-M's 179 total points in 1994 rank as the most points ever scored by a Big Ten program. The Maize and Blue also produced three second-place finishes in 1982, 1983 and 1997. The Wolverines have had two athletes named Athlete of the Championship as Richelle Webb (1991-94) won the award in 1994 and Tania Longe (1995-98) earned the honor in 1998. Head coach James Henry has been named Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year on three occasions, in 1993, 1994 and 1998.
Last Time in Madison
The Big Ten Outdoor Championships have been held in Madison, Wis., twice since the inception of the meet in 1982. Wisconsin last hosted the meet in 1994 when the Wolverines won the team title by 39 points as the Maize and Blue compiled a Big Ten Championship record 179 points. At the 1994 championships Richelle Webb (1991-94) won the Athlete of the Championship award for her individual titles in the 100 and 200-meter dash and James Henry was honored as Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Michigan Goes for Season Sweep
The Wolverines look to win their second conference title of the 2002 campaign this weekend (May 17-19) when the Maize and Blue heads to Madison, Wis., for the Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championships. During the indoor season Michigan won its fifth team championship in the closest conference meet in its 21-year history. Behind Katie Jazwinski's Athlete of the Championship performance, the Wolverines outpointed Indiana 116-114.5. Michigan has accomplished the season sweep of both conference track and field titles twice, in 1994 and 1998. Wisconsin leads a group of three other Big Ten schools that have completed the season sweep of conference titles. The Badgers have won both meets on five occasions, including a span of six consecutive championships between 1984-86.
Top 10 in the Big Ten
Entering the championship meet in Madison, Wis., the Wolverines have four top marks in Big Ten Conference as Melissa Bickett (Akron, Ohio/Revere HS), Tracy Egnatuk (Albion, Mich./Albion HS), Katie Jazwinski and Vera Simms (Mililani, Hawaii/Mililani HS) hold the top spots in the discus, 800 meters, 5,000 meters and 400-meter hurdles, respectively.
Michigan Performers in the Big Ten Top 10
100-meter Dash 1. Tahesia Harrigan, Minnesota 11.41 8. Sierra Hauser-Price, U-M 11.75 100-meter Hurdles 1. Perdita Felicien, Illinois 12.86 7. Robin Landfair, U-M 13.82 200-meter Dash 1. Rochelle Boone, Indiana 23.35 5. Sierra Hauser-Price, U-M 23.96 400-meter Dash 1. Tia Trent, Indiana 52.98 6. Mora Arnold, U-M 55.71 400-meter Hurdles 1. Vera Simms, U-M 59.22 4. Sharifa Jones, U-M 1:00.41 6. Shalina Rankin, U-M 1:00.80 800-meters Run 1. Tracy Egnatuk, U-M 2:08.59 2. Katie Jazwinski, U-M 2:09.53 4. Stephanie Hirtle, U-M 2:10.01 5. Ursula Taylor, U-M 2:10.29 6. Rachel Sturtz, U-M 2:10.75 1,500-meter Run 1. Bethany Brewster, Wisconsin 4:17.71 2. Katie Jazwinski, U-M 4:21.38 5. Lindsey Gallo, U-M 4:29.50 8. Rachel Sturtz, U-M 4:32.16 10. Stephanie Hirtle, U-M 4:33.16 4x400-meter Relay 1. Indiana 3:37.49 6. Michigan 3:45.32 (Mora Arnold, Shalina Rankin, Rachel Sturtz, Ursula Taylor) 5,000-meter Run 1. Katie Jazwinski, U-M 16:02.78 7. Andrea Parker, U-M 16:56.46 10,000-meter Run 1. Jamie Krzyminski, MSU 33:58.89 3. Katie Ryan, U-M 35:17.47 Discus 1. Melissa Bickett, U-M 186-5 Hammer Throw 1. Katie Craig, Ohio State 192-10 2. April Phillips, U-M 189-3 High Jump 1. Tami Smith, Ohio State 6-0 3. Stephanie Linz, U-M 5-8 1/2 4. Nicole DeNamur, U-M 5-8 9. Jennifer Kulchar, U-M 5-7 Long Jump 1. Rose Richmond, Indiana 21-0 5. Sharifa Jones, U-M 19-7 3/4 6. Vera Simms, U-M 19-6 1/2 Shot Put 1. Alexis McCall, Ohio State 52-10 3/4 2. April Phillips, U-M 51-10 1/2 7. Melissa Bickett, U-M 49-0 1/4 Triple Jump 1. Cathy Ross, Wisconsin 42-4 3/4 8. Teyonna Simpson, U-M 40-2 3/4
Phillips Sets Third Record
April Phillips registered her third school record of the 2002 season last weekend at the Len Paddock Invitational (May 11) when she threw 51-10 1/2 in the shot put. Phillips' mark surpassed Sonya Payne's (1987-89) 13-year-old outdoor record distance of 51-9. The distance earned Phillips her seventh NCAA provisional qualifying mark of the 2002 outdoor season. She currently ranks second in the Big Ten Conference and 21st in the NCAA according to www.bigten.org and www.ncaachampionships.com.
Record Setter
With April Phillips' latest accomplishment, the junior tri-captain has broken three school records during the 2002 season. Phillips set her latest record last weekend as the Wolverines hosted the Len Paddock Invitational (May 11), their only home outdoor track meet of the year. It marked the second consecutive weekend that Phillips mustered a school-record throw. A week prior at the Jesse Owens Classic (May 5) she set the hammer throw record at 189-3, breaking her own mark of 186-3. During the indoor season, the three-event record holder broke the weight throw record seven times, eventually setting the mark at 61-9 at the Big Ten Indoor Championships (Feb. 24).
Hauser-Price Goes 3-for-4
Freshman Sierra Hauser-Price competed in four races last Saturday (May 11) on her home track of Ferry Field, winning three of the four. Hauser-Price registered victories in a pair of individual events as she won the 100- and 200-meter dashes. She also ran the third leg of the winning 4x400-meter relay team. She is the only Wolverine this year to win three events at one meet.
Egnatuk Sets New Big Ten Best
Freshman Tracy Egnatuk set a personal-best time of 2:08.59 in the invitational 800-meter run last week at the Len Paddock Invitational (May 10) as she earned one of five Michigan first-place finishes at the two-day meet. The time lowered her previous best of 2:09.18 set two weeks ago (May 3) at the Cardinal Twilight in Palo Alto, Calif. For the second consecutive week, Egnatuk broke the Big Ten Conference season-best mark in the 800-meter run. Last week's time bettered teammate Katie Jazwinski's time of 2:09.53 (Stanford Invitational, March 29) and with a run of 2:08.59, Egnatuk became the second Wolverine freshman to lead the Big Ten with a sub-2:09.00 time in the event this year. During the indoor season freshman Theresa Feldkamp (Lorain, Ohio,/Amherst Steele HS) led the conference with a time of 2:08.34.
DeNamur Goes Home
Defending Big Ten high jump champion Nicole DeNamur returns to her home state of Wisconsin this weekend (May 17-19) as the Wolverines look for their second Big Ten team title of 2002. DeNamur enters the outdoor championship meet ranked No. 4 in the conference following a season-best jump of 5-8 last week at the Len Paddock Invitational (May 12).
Bickett Continues National Top Ranking
Sophomore thrower Melissa Bickett (Akron, Ohio/Revere HS) posted an NCAA leading 186-5 in the discus three weeks ago at the Penn Relays (April 26), a distance that continues to lead the nation as of May 13 according to www.ncaachampionships.com. The reigning Junior Pan-American Championships gold medalist in the event earned an NCAA automatic qualifying mark for her efforts, the first of her career. The distance shattered her previous personal best of 171-9 (Mt. SAC Relays, April 21, 2001) by nearly 15 feet and broke Penny Neers' 20-year-old school of 184-8 by nearly two feet. Bickett leads the nation by just over four feet as her nearest competitor, Krista Keir of Ohio State, sits in second place at 182-4.
Leaders and Best
Led by Athlete of the Meet Katie Jazwinski, 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 to outpoint runner-up Indiana 116-114.5 on Feb. 23-24 in State College, Pa. It was the closest finish in Big Ten indoor meet's 21-year history. Jazwinski earned Athlete of the Meet honors with her 26-point performance that included a victory in the mile run and runner-up showings in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
The Wolverines also earned titles from Ursula Taylor (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg HS), who was crowned Big Ten champion in the 600 meters, while the team of Jane Martineau (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant HS), Vera Simms, Stephanie Hirtle (Salmon Arm, B.C./Salmon Arm Senior 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.
With the Wolverines' fifth Big Ten indoor team title, the Maize and Blue move into a second-place tie with Illinois for the most team titles won since the inception of the indoor championship in 1982. Wisconsin leads the Big Ten with seven team titles in the championship's 21-year history.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
