Weekly Release #18
5/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sat., May 7-8 -- host Len Paddock Invitational (Ferry Field), 9 a.m./11 a.m.
Fri-Sun., May 14-16 -- at Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championships (West Lafayette, Ind.)
This Week: Home Sweet Home ...
The University of Michigan women's track and field team will host its first and only outdoor track and field meet of the season this Friday and Saturday (May 7-8), as it welcomes teams from around Michigan and Ohio to Ferry Field for the Len Paddock Invitational. The men's hammer throw kicks off Friday's competition at 9 a.m. with the first track event, the women's 100-meter hurdles, slated for 6 p.m. later that night. Saturday's action gets underway with the men's pole vault at 11 a.m., while the women's 4x100-meter relay starts things off on the track at 1 p.m. This is the final regular-season meet for the Wolverines before they attempt to defend their 2003 Big Ten outdoor team championship next weekend (May 13-15) at the conference meet in West Lafayette, Ind.
Results will be posted following the completion of each day's final event and can be found at MGoBlue.com. Admission for the two-day meet is free.
Why the Paddock ...
Lenwood Paddock was an assistant trainer at Michigan for 33 years who worked with all sports, including track and field. Paddock's career spanned the football coaching tenures of Fritz Crisler, Bennie Oosterbaan, Bump Elliot and Bo Schembechler. In his first season with the Wolverines, 1947-48, Michigan won national championships in football, ice hockey and swimming, the men's basketball team captured the Big Ten title and Charles Fonville set a world record in the shot put. On March 3, 1984, the Michigan track team re-named its training room the Lenwood Paddock Training Room.
Break It Down ...
Started last year, during the 2003 outdoor season, four regional meets will now be held to determine the participants for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Michigan is in the Mideast Region and will compete in its regional meet which will be held May 28-29 at the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La. In order for an athlete to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, she must finish in the top five of an individual event or be a member of a top three relay at the regional championship. The track and field committee will also select a group of at-large athletes to round out the remainder of the Championships field in each event, similar to provisional-qualifying marks in the past.
Recapping the Weekend at From Coast to Coast ...
Michigan divided into two squads again lat weekend as the Maize and Blue was represented in Palo Alto, Calif., for the Cardinal Invitational and Columbus, Ohio for the Jesse Owens Classic. Over on the West Coast, four tracksters posted NCAA regional qualifying marks, led by graduate/senior Jesse Allen-Young (Loveland, Colo./Thompson Valley HS), who earned a trip to Baton Rouge, La., when she won the C Section of the 1,500-meter in a season-best 4:27.07.
Back in Big Ten country, fellow graduate/senior Lindsey Stephenson (Hamburg, N.J./Hamburg HS) won for the first time in a Michigan uniform as she stuck the javelin an NCAA regional qualifying 154-10.
Their Last Time at Ferry Field ...
Michigan has 13 athletes who will be making their final appearance at Ferry Field this weekend (May 7-8). Those who will be running, jumping or throwing for the final time in the Maize and Blue at Michigan's home outdoor track and field will be Jessie Allen-Young, Mora Arnold (Gregory, Mich./Chelsea HS), quad-captain Melissa Bickett (Akron, Ohio/Revere HS), Erika Flannery (Perry, Mich./Perry HS), Janelle Jaha (Stanley, N.D./Stanley HS), quad-captain Carly Knazze (Southfield, Mich./Southfield HS), Robin Landfair (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS), Brianne Page (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest HS), Annessa Schnur (Butler, Pa./Butler HS), quad-captain Doris Simmons (Cassopolis, Mich./Ross Beatty HS), quad-captain Vera Simms (Mililani, Hawaii/Mililani HS), Lindsey Stephenson and Candice Wilkey (Elmvale, Ontario/Elmvale District)
The Graduates ...
Graduate students Jesse Allen-Young and Lindsey Stephenson both accomplished Michigan firsts last Friday (April 30). Allen-Young earned a trip to Baton Rouge, La., and the Mideast Regional Championships, when she posted her first NCAA regional qualifying time of the season with a 4:24.07 mark in the in 1,500-meter run. Stephenson, who already surpassed the qualifying standard in her signature event, the javelin, earned her first victory in at Michigan when she won the event with a season-best distance of 154-10.
That's Our Jessie ...
Jessie Allen-Young for the third time this season, when she won the C Section of the 1,500-meter run at the Cardinal Invitational last Friday (April 30). She took the top spot in the four-lap race as she crossed the finish line with a season-best and NCAA regional qualifying mark of 4:27.07. It marks her first NCAA regional qualifying honor of her Michigan career, as her previous best in the Maize and Blue was 4:31.96 set back on the opening weekend of the outdoor season (March 19). With the time, Allen-Young will be able to compete at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in Baton Rouge, La., May 28-29.
Point Me in the Right Direction ...
Lindsey Stephenson won her first event as a Michigan Wolverine when she tied a season-best with a throw of 154-10 to win the javelin last Friday (April 30) at the Jesse Owens Classic. The distance is an NCAA regional qualifying mark. Stephenson's previous best showing as a Wolverine was a runner-up finish, which she accomplished twice, at the Mt. SAC Relays (April 16) and at the Florida State Relays (March 20).
The Great Outdoors ...
The Wolverines enter the 2004 outdoor season as the two-time defending Big Ten Conference outdoor champions. Michigan has won five outdoor team titles under head coach James Henry (1993, '94, '98, 2002 and '03). Following each of the outdoor wins, Henry was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
On the Horizon ...
The Wolverines will look to get back atop the podium at the Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championships next weekend (Friday-Sunday, April 14-16) at the league meet on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Competition gets under way Friday with the heptathlon 100-meter hurdles. Saturday begins with the heptathlon long jump, while the final day's action starts with the triple jump and discus.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
