Gallo, Bickett Garner Academic All-District Recognition
6/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan women's track and field team members Lindsey Gallo (Freehold, N.J./Howell HS) and Melissa Bickett (Akron, Ohio/Revere HS) were named to the the 2004 CoSIDA Academic All-District IV Division I first and second team, respectively, for women's track and field and cross country, announced Thursday (June 3). The teams are made up of student-athletes from Division I schools in Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.
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She continued her strong year during the indoor track season, as she was a two-time All-American at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Gallo garnered her first of the two citations as the anchor of U-M's seventh-place distance medley relay team. She earned All-America status individually as well when turned in the best NCAA mile performance by a Wolverine, crossing the finish line sixth with a personal-best time of 4:40.66.
During the outdoor season, Gallo did what no other Wolverine had done before her, winning both the 800- and 1,500-meter run titles at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Gallo earned the first of her two gold medals with a tactical victory in the 1,500m as she crossed the finish line in 4:24.37 following a strong kick over the final 50 meters to win by 0.86 seconds. Gallo won going away in the 800, as she pulled away from the field on the back straightaway of the final lap.
Last week at the NCAA Mideast Regional, Gallo earned her second straight trip to the NCAA Championships when she won the 1,500m with a personal-best time of 4:11.27. The time set a meet record and was just 0.04 seconds shy of Michigan's school record of 4:11.23, set by Sue Foster (1980-83) in 1983.
Bickett, a 2004 NCAA Women's Enhancement Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, was named to the second team following an outdoor season in which she won her first Big Ten title and qualified for her third straight NCAA Championship.
At the Big Ten Championships, Bickett scored her first league event title when she won her signature event, the discus, with a mark of 171-10. The victory came in dramatic fashion, as the senior quad-captain opened the event with a toss of 153-11, which put her in fifth position overall in the event. However, she fouled on her next two throws, while Ohio State's Amarachi Ukabam, the 2003 champion, and Illinois' Marie Hilmersson bettered their marks to push Bickett into seventh place heading into the finals.
The U-M school record holder rebounded on her first throw in the finals and moved all the way into the first position with a pitch of 169-3. Throwing in the second position in the finals, she had to wait as six other competitors tried to beat her mark, so, on her final throw of the day, she pushed the bar even further when she sent the discus 170-10 feet away from the throwing circle.
Like Gallo, Bickett too won an event at the NCAA Mideast Regional -- the discus -- marking the second best throw in Michigan history with a toss of 186-3. The pitch was just two inches shy of her own school-record hurl of 186-5.
To be nominated for Academic All-District honors, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher. Team members are selected by a vote of the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) within the district. Gallo and 11 other first-team selections will appear on the national ballot for the Verizon Academic All-America Women's Track and Field/Cross Country team.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
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