Weekly Release #21
6/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Upcoming Schedule ...
Wed-Sat., June 9-12 -- at NCAA Outdoor Championships (Austin, Texas)
This Week: Texas Bound -- NCAA Outdoor Championships ...
The University of Michigan women's track and field team ends its 2004 season of competition this week, as the Wolverines proudly send six athletes to participate at the NCAA Outdoor Championships Wednesday though Saturday (June 9-12) in Austin, Texas. Michigan's six qualified competitors -- senior quad-captains Melissa Bickett (Akron, Ohio/Revere HS), Carly Knazze (Southfield, Mich./Southfield HS) and Vera Simms (Mililani, Hawaii, Mililani HS), graduate/senior Lindsey Stephenson (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg HS), senior/junior Lindsey Gallo (Freehold, N.J./Howell HS) and sophomore Elizabeth Boyle (Northbrook, Ill./New Trier HS) -- begin their quest for NCAA honors Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m. CDT with Boyle and Stephenson in the preliminaries of their respective events.
Schedule of Events for U-M Competition (Times CDT) ...
Wednesday (June 9) 1:00 p.m. Javelin (Prelims) 1:00 p.m. Pole Vault (Prelims) 4:00 p.m. Discus (Prelims)
Thursday (June 10) 5:20 a.m. 200-meter dash (Semis) 6:20 p.m. 400-meter hurdles (Prelims) 7:55 p.m. 1,500-meter run (Semis)
Friday (June 12) 3:30 p.m. Discus (Final) 6:30 p.m. Pole Vault (Final) 8:15 p.m. Javelin (Final) 9:30 p.m. 400-meter hurdles (Semis)
Saturday (June 13) 7:20 p.m. 1,500-meter run (Final) 7:40 p.m. 400-meter hurdles (Final) 8:15 p.m. 200-meter dash (Final)
Michigan at the NCAA Outdoor Championships
From 1988-99, Michigan had at least one NCAA outdoor All-American in nine of the 13 years. The Wolverines have never won an individual title at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, but they have had four runner-up finishes, all in the 5,000-meter run.
U-M NCAA Individual Runners-Up
| Sue Schroeder | 5,000-meter run | 1985 |
| Sue Schroeder | 5,000-meter run | 1986 |
| Molly McClimon | 5,000-meter run | 1993 |
| Katie McGregor | 5,000-meter run | 1998 |
Under head coach James Henry the Maize and Blue has been to the NCAA Outdoor Championships 15 times since 1985. The Wolverines' best finish at the championships under Henry was a 15th-place showing in 1998 with 15 total points.
Recapping the 2004 NCAA Mideast Regional ...
The Wolverines sent 22 athletes to Baton Rouge, La., for the 2004 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships. Of the 22 athletes, six have qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships to be held in Austin, Texas, June 9-12.
Highlighting the weekend were first-place performances by Lindsey Gallo in the 1,500m, Melissa Bickett in the discus and Lindsey Stephenson in the javelin. Other NCAA National qualifiers came from Elizabeth Boyle in the pole vault and Carly Knazze in the 200m.
Gallo's win in the 1,500m marks the second consecutive year she will go on to represent the Wolverines at NCAA Championships with a personal-best time of 4:11.27. Bickett's first-place showing in the discus will send her to the Championships for the third straight year with a throw of 186-3, just two inches shy of her personal-best.
The Wolverines will send a javelin-thrower to the NCAA Championships for the first time, as Stephenson won the Regional event with a mark of 162-0. Boyle finished second in the pole vault with a height-clearance of 13-1 3/4, securing her spot as the first Michigan vaulter to qualify for the Championships.
Knazze and Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame HS) also showed standout performances at the Mideast Regional. Knazze will represent the Maize & Blue at the Championship meet in the 200m, after edging out Hauser-Price with a 23.52 finish. Hauser-Price placed sixth in the event in 23.66, and sixth in the 100m in 11.56.
Where the Wolverines Are ...
The Wolverines enter the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships with six athletes qualified to compete in six events down in Austin, Texas. Following is a list of how the Maize and Blue stack up in the national competition:
Michigan Performers in the NCAA Championships
200m Dash 1. Tonette Dyer, San Diego St. 22.34 27. Carly Knazze, U-M 23.57 1,500m Run 1. Tiffany McWilliams, Miss. St. 4:09.19 2. Lindsey Gallo, U-M 4:11.27 400m Hurdles 1. Sheena Johnson, UCLA 54.32 23. Vera Simms, U-M 58.21 Pole Vault 1. Chelsea Johnson, UCLA 15-0 (4.57m) 10. Elizabeth Boyle, U-M 13-6 1/4 (4.12m) Discus 1. Becky Breisch, Nebraska 207-1 (63.12m) 2. Melissa Bickett, U-M 186-3 (56.78m) Javelin 1. Inga Stasiulionyte, USC 182-3 (55.57m) 9. Lindsey Stephenson, U-M 165-9 (50.52m) Shot Put 1. Laura Gerraughty, UNC 60-10 (18.54m) 26. Melissa Bickett, U-M 52-1 3/4 (15.89m)
Triple Threat ...
With its first-place finish at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, Michigan has now claimed the Big Ten team title three straight years for the first time in school history. U-M is just the second team in Big Ten history to accomplish the feat. Wisconsin is the only other team in league history to have won the team trophy three or more years in a row, as the Badgers claimed four straight conference outdoor crowns from 1984-87.
All-Big Ten Honors ...
Four Michigan athletes earned All-Big Ten first-team honors, as Lindsey Gallo (800m, 1,500m), Melissa Bickett (discus), Elizabeth Boyle (pole vault) and Lindsey Stephenson (javelin) all stood a top the podium following event victories.
The Wolverines also received four All-Big Ten second team accolades from Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame) (100m, 4x400m relay), Mora Arnold (Gregory, Mich./Chelsea HS) (4x400m relay), Carly Knazze (4x400m relay) and Shavonne Maclin (University Heights, Ohio/Beaumont School) (4x400m relay).
Galloping Gallo ...
Senior/junior Lindsey Gallo became first Wolverine to win a running event at the NCAA Mideast Regional, as she ran a very tactical race to win the 1,500-meter run in a personal-best and meet record 4:11.27. Gallo shadowed Mississippi State's Tiffany McWillams for a majority of the race, but with 150 meters to go, the Michigan mid-distance specialist took off and sprinted around McWilliams turning over very nicely into the finish line for the event title.
Ga-llo Can She Go ...
Lindsey Gallo's personal-best showing of 4:11.27 in the 1,500-meter run two weeks ago at the Mideast Regional shattered her previous personal best in the event as her old mark stood at 4:16.35, which she set last year at the Cardinal Invitational (5/2/03). The time was also just 0.04 seconds shy of Sue Foster's (1980-83) school record 4:11.23 set back in 1983. Gallo did set the a new meet record in the event however, as McWilliams held the old mark with a 4:14.36 set last year in Columbus, Ohio.
Gallo at the Outdoor NCAAs ...
This will be Lindsey Gallo's second straight trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Last year in her first appearance at the national championships meet, Gallo placed 10th in her heat of the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:21.50. The time positioned her 19th overall, one spot out of All-America status.
UF-OOOOO That's a Win ...
Senior quad-captain Melissa Bickett secured her spot at the NCAA Championships when she won the discus for the first time at the Regional meet with the second farthest throw of her career, 186-3. The throw was just two inches shy of her personal-best and Michigan school-record mark of 186-5, which she set last year at the Penn Relays (4/26/03).Bickett's winning mark bettered her nearest competitor by 4-2 as Kentucky's Ildiko Varga tossed the flying saucer 182-1.The victory came on the heels of her first career Big Ten Conference title, which she won with a pitch of 171-10.
Tales of the Flying Saucer ...
With the discus victory at the NCAA Mideast Regional, Melissa Bickett has now won her signature two meets in a row. Her most recent victory came with a toss of 186-3, a distance that ranks as the second best throw in Maize and Blue history. It ranks second, only to another one of her marks, a personal-best and U-M school record pitch of 186-5.
Bickett at the Outdoor NCAAs ...
Melissa Bickett will be making her fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, all of which she qualified for in the discus. Last year she earned her All-America status when she finished seventh in the event with a toss of 168-6 in the finals. As a sophomore she placed 11th in the event with a mark of 169-1. During her freshman campaign she was 18th spinning the discus a distance of 140-5.
Get the Point ...
Graduate/senior Lindsey Stephenson continued to take full advantage of her final year of eligibility, as she earned her second trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a victory in her signature event, the javelin throw. Stephenson launched the pointy stick 162-0 to win the event for the fourth straight meet. Two weeks ago at the Big Ten Championships, Stephenson marked a personal-best distance of 165-9 to win the gold medal and help U-M to it third straight team title at the meet. With the victory, Stephenson automatically advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, marking the first time a Michigan javelin throw has qualified for the national championships in coach Anne Takacs-Grieb's eight years as the throwing coach for the Wolverines.
Stephenson at the Outdoor NCAAs ...
Lindsey Stephenson has qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second time in her career, both times she has advanced to the national championship meet in the javelin. As a sophomore in 2001, Stephenson finished 15th in the javelin at the Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
What Ya Doing Up There ...
Sophomore Elizabeth Boyle became the first Wolverine to ever qualify for the NCAA Championships in the pole vault when she finished second in the event at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships with a height clearance of 13-1 3/4. Boyle, Michigan's school record holder for both the indoor and outdoor pole vault, will head to Austin, Texas for the national championships as the No. 9 seed in her event. At the Big Ten Championships this year she became the first U-M athlete to ever win the gold medal in the pole vault as she was the only competitor to clear 13-1 3/4. A week prior to that performance, Boyle set Michigan's outdoor mark in the event with a vault of 13-6 1/4.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
