Weekly Release #16
5/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Fri-Sat., May 10-11 -- host Len Paddock Invitational (Ferry Field), 6:30 p.m./12:30 p.m.
Fri-Sun., May 17-19 -- at Big Ten Outdoor Championships (Madison, Wis.)
This Week: Host Len Paddock Invitational
The University of Michigan women's track and field team plays host to the Len Paddock Invitational, its lone home meet of the outdoor season this weekend, as 20 teams plan to compete on Michigan's Ferry Field Friday and Saturday (May 10-11). Field events kick off both days with competition beginning at 11 a.m., and running events begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.
Last Year at the Paddock Invite
The Wolverines won three event titles last year at the Len Paddock Invitational as April Phillips (Fraser, Mich./Fraser HS), Tasha Phillips (Sarasota, Fla./Booker HS) and the 4x100-meter relay team took top spots in their respective events. On the first day of competition April Phillips took first place in the hammer throw with a toss of 183-6, 21 feet further than any other competitor. Tasha Phillips and the 4x100-meter relay team won their races on the Invitational's second day of competition. Phillips won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.24 while the 4x100-meter relay team won the event with a season-best time of 45.92.
Phillips Snaps Own Records
Junior thrower April Phillips broke her own mark in the hammer throw last weekend at the Jesse Owens Classic with a runner-up throw of 189-3 (57.68m) to set the Michigan school record in the event by three feet. Phillips' toss surpassed her previous record throw of 186-3 set on Ferry Field last year at the Ohio State-Michigan State-Central Michigan Quad Meet (April 14, 2001). The 189-3 distance earned her first NCAA provisional mark of the season and shattered her previous season-best mark by nearly six feet (183-5 at the Penn Relays, April 25). Phillips also set a new standard in the Big Ten Conference with the throw. The 189-3 toss ranks first in the Big Ten this season according to www.bigten.org, surpassing the 188-8 mark by Illinois' Marie Hilmersson. It marks the first time this season and second time in her career that she has earned NCAA provisional honors in the hammer throw. Phillips currently holds a pair of U-M school records. She broke the indoor weight throw record seven times during the indoor season, eventually setting the mark at 61-9 (18.82m) at the Big Ten Indoor Championships (Feb. 24).
Jazwinski Lowers Mark
Senior tri-captain Katie Jazwinski (Grand Rapids, Mich./West Catholic HS) lowered her personal-best time in the 1,500 meters last Friday (May 3) when she posted her second NCAA provisional mark of the season with a time of 4:21.38 on Stanford's Cobb Track. Running in the Cardinal Twilight, Jazwinski shaved 1.09 seconds off her previous personal best mark of 4:22.47 set earlier this season at the Miami Invitational (April 13).
Provisional Proficiency
Katie Jazwinski has competed in the 1,500-meter run twice during the 2002 outdoor campaign and in each race she has posted an NCAA provisional time. As Michigan's top distance runner this season, Jazwinski led the Wolverines on the track at the Miami Invitational (April 13), setting a meet record in the 1,500-meter run with a then personal-best and NCAA provisional mark of 4:22.47. She lowered that mark last Friday (May 3) at the Cardinal Twilight on the campus of Stanford University when she set a personal-best time and earned provisional honors for the second time this season with a clocking of 4:21.38. According to www.ncaachampionships.com, Jazwinski ranks 16th in the nation in the 1,500-meter run as of May 5.
Cobb Track Produces Top Times
The Wolverines have traveled to the campus of Stanford University three times this season and Katie Jazwinski has made the most of the trip on each occasion. In her three ventures to the Palo Alto, Calif., Jazwinski has posted three personal-best times, including an NCAA provisional mark in the 1,500-meter run and an NCAA automatic mark in the 5,000-meter run. When the Maize and Blue competed on Cobb Track the first time this year, Jazwinski recorded a personal best and the top time in the Big Ten Conference in the 800-meter run at 2:09.53 at the Stanford Invitational on March 29. The Wolverines made a return trip to Cobb Track on April 19, when Jazwinski again registered a personal-best and Big Ten-leading time, with her first NCAA automatic qualifying mark of the season at 16:02.78 in the 5,000-meter run. Last Friday (May 3), U-M made its final trip to the West Coast and Jazwinski posted her third personal-best time on the track with an NCAA provisional time of 4:21.38 in the 1,500 meter-run.
Hauser-Price is Right
Freshman Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame Prep) registered a pair of personal bests in the sprints last Sunday afternoon (May 5) at the Jesse Owens Classic hosted by Ohio State. Hauser-Price set her first of two personal-best times in the 100-meter dash when she placed fourth in the event with a mark of 11.75. The time was 0.20 seconds faster than her old mark of 11.95 set at the Miami Invitational (April 13). Later in the meet, Hauser-Price recorded her second personal best of the day with a run of 23.96 in the 200-meter dash. The time shaved 0.15 seconds off her previous clocking of 24.11 ran at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational (April 19).
Bickett Continues National Top Ranking
Sophomore thrower Melissa Bickett (Akron, Ohio/Revere HS) posted an NCAA-leading 186-5 in the discus two weeks ago at the Penn Relays (April 26), a distance that continues to lead the nation as of May 5 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.
Personal Best Weekend
Michigan saw 11 Wolverines set personal-best marks last weekend with April Phillips leading the way as she broke her year-old school record in the hammer throw with a toss of 189-3 at the Jesse Owens Classic (May 5). Here is a list of the 11 U-M athletes who set personal records over the weekend:
Tracy Egnatuk 800-meter Run 2:09.18 Katie Jazwinski 1,500-meter Run 4:21.38 Andrea Parker 5,000-meter Run 16:56.46 Sierra Hauser-Price 100-meter Dash 11.75 Sierra Hauser-Price 200-meter Dash 23.96 Mora Arnold 400-meter Dash 55.71 Robin Landfair 100-meter Hurdles 13.82 Vera Simms 100-meter Hurdles 14.25 Doris Simmons 100-meter Hurdles 14.69 Tara Kennedy Discus 135-4 April Phillips Hammer Throw 189-3 Melissa Bickett Hammer Throw 157-5
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 (Mililani, Hawaii/Mililani HS), 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
