Weekly Release #15
5/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sat., May 5-6 -- host Len Paddock Invitational (Ferry Field)
Fri-Sun., May 12-14 -- at Big Ten Outdoor Championships (East Lansing, Mich.)
This Week: Celebrating 100 years on Ferry Field
Along with the celebration of the 100 years of Ferry Field's existence, the Wolverines will be hosting the annual Len Paddock Invitational on Ferry Field on Friday-Saturday (May 5-6). The Len Paddock Invitational is the only home outdoor meet of the season for the Wolverines, and it is slated to start at 11:00 a.m., with the men's hammer throw, women's to follow and at 10:00 a.m., on Saturday with the men's discus, women's to follow.
Last year at the Len Paddock Invitational, the Wolverines earned five NCAA regional qualifying standards along with three first place performances.
Remarkable Relays
Continuing the tradition of strong relay action at the Drake Relays, the Wolverines claimed the distance medley relay title in the university section for the third straight time, with a time of 11:06.13, just 0.12 seconds shy of the Michigan outdoor record time of 11:06.01 set in 1999. The DMR team was made up of sophomore Alyson Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ontario./St. Patrick's), junior Chanelle Campbell (Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock), senior/junior Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) and sophomore Nicole Edwards (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey).
Erdman and Edwards pulled double duty as they closed out the 4x800m relay (university section), regaining the title Michigan lost to Arkansas last year. The Maize and Blue clocked a first-place time of 8:39.59, which was 6.23 seconds short of the Michigan outdoor record time they posted last year. The only new addition to last year's record-setting relay team was freshman Geena Gall (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc), as she took the baton on the second leg. Fifth-year senior Theresa Feldkamp (Lorain, Ohio/Amherst Steele) ran the first leg, while Edwards and Erdman switched rolls from the DMR squad, running third and fourth, respectively.
Michigan demonstrated its excellence at the Sea Ray Relays (April 15) in the 4x800m with a first place record-setting time of 8:30.65. Harriers Geena Gall, Theresa Feldkamp, Nicole Edwards, and Katie Erdman each led the Wolverines to defeat Villanova by close to four seconds. The 8:30.65 posted by the Maize and Blue is a Michigan school record, shattering the old record (8:33.36; 2005) by more than two seconds.
Also in relay action at the Sea Ray's, Michigan earned two more titles (4x1500m and distance medley relay). In the 4x1500m the Wolverines clocked in at 18:17.27, eclipsing the rest of the six-team field by more than 12 seconds, with Wisconsin coming in at 18:39.63. In the distance medley relay, the Maize and Blue claimed first place with a time of 11:29.59, beating out Knoxville Elite as they crossed with a time of 11:30.16.
Trackwire 25 and Dandy Dozen
Michigan remains at No. 15 with a total of 17 points after claiming two relay titles (distance medley and 4x800m) along with five NCAA regional qualifying marks and a NCAA provisional standard at the Drake Relays (April 29) in Des Moines, Iowa.
In the Dandy Dozen, Michigan is represented by four athletes in the middle distance and distance events. Senior/junior Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) has moved up to being ranked No. 7 in the 800m, while freshman Geena Gall (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) moved down to 11th. Rounding out the middle distance group is sophomore Nicole Edwards (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey) as she remains fourth in the 1,500m. Closing out the Wolverines ranked in the Dandy Dozen is senior/junior Rebecca Walter (Beverly Hills, Mich.Groves) as she remains ranked No. 1 in the 10,000m.
Rank, School Points 1. Texas 61 Miami 61 3. USC 48 4. Nebraska 45 5. Georgia 44 6. Arizona State 36 7. Auburn 35 8. LSU 31 9. South Carolina 29 10. UCLA 26 11. North Carolina 24 12. Stanford 23 13. Oregon 20 14. Florida State 18 15. MICHIGAN 17 16. Tennessee 14 17. Texas A&M 13 18. Colorado 12 19. Villanova 11 Illinois 11 21. Iowa 10 Houston 10 Air Force 10 24. BYU 9 Minnesota 9 Washington State 9 Alabama 9 Penn State 9
NCAA Regional Qualifiers So Far...
Track
800m
Katie Erdman: 2:05.17 at Stanford Invitational (4/1)
Geena Gall: 2:07.01 at Stanford Invitational (4/1)
Nicole Edwards: 2:07.09 at Stanford Invitational (4/1)
1500m
Nicole Edwards: 4:18.98 at Stanford Invitational (4/1)
Katie Erdman: 4:24.78 at Stanford Invitational (4/1)
Theresa Feldkamp: 4:27/12 at Cal Irvine Invitational (3/25)
5,000m
Ana Gjesdal: 16:29.22 at Drake Relays (4/22)
Alyson Kohlmeier: 16:05.45 at Stanford Invitational (4/1)
Rebecca Walter: 16:26.00 at Drake Relays (4/29)
Erin Webster: 16:22.49 at Stanford Invitational (4/1)
3,000m Steeplechase
Arianne Field: 10:16.41 at Stanford Invitational (4/1)
100m Hurdles
Tiffany Ofili: 13.72 at Sea Ray Relays (4/15)
400m Hurdles
Katie LaValley: 59.53 at EMU Twilight (4/22)
10,000m
Rebecca Walter: 33:09.61 at Stanford Invitational (4/1)*
Ana Gjesdal: 34:38.41 at Stanford Invitational (4/1)@
Field
High Jump
Stephanie Linz: 5-8 3/4 at Yellow Jacket Invitational (4/1)
Long Jump
Casey Taylor: 20-0 at EMU Twilight (4/22)
Pole Vault
Kelly Catino: 12-5 1/2 at Spartan Invitational (4/15)
Multi-Events
Heptathlon
Bettie Wade: 5,301 pts. at Drake Relays (4/22)@
* NCAA Automatic Qualifying Standard
@ NCAA Provisional Qualifying Standard
History 101
At the Big Ten Indoor Championships (Feb. 25-26) the University of Michigan women's track and field team set a new precedent within the Big Ten by winning its eighth conference crown. The Wolverines now lead the conference with the most team titles in Big Ten history, with Wisconsin following in second with seven. In the past five indoor championships the Maize and Blue have been crowned victorious four out of five times (2002, '03, '05 and '06), and have won the team title back-to-back. Michigan has also won 11 of the last 13 Big Ten cross country and track and field titles (four straight cross country titles, three of the last four outdoor titles, and four of five indoor titles). Michigan's distance medley relay squad has also won the Big Ten title four out of the last five championships (did not win in 2003). This year, the DMR team beat last year's time of 1:33.88, by 8.38 seconds, both squads set indoor facility records (2005: U-M Indoor Track Building and 2006: Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center). The 2006 team also set a new indoor Big Ten Championship meet record with its winning time of 11:25.50.
Titles, Titles and More Titles
With four individual titles (600- 3,000- and 5,000-meter events and the mile) from the 2006 indoor Big Ten championships the Wolverines now have 30 individual track titles in program history. Combined with U-M's 12 field titles, the Wolverines have a total of 42 individual indoor Big Ten titles. Along with the 42 individual Big Ten titles, the Maize and Blue have won six relay titles (two-mile, 3,2000-meter and four distance medley relays).
Just a Few Big Ten Records
The Wolverines won their Big Ten title in record setting fashion, as they set three new records at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. The first record of the meet came from freshman Tiffany Ofili (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti) when she set a Camp Randall facility record in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.48. The second record came from the DMR team as they set a new facility record as well as a new Big Ten Championships meet record with a time of 11:25.50. The record-setting team consisted of sophomore Alyson Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick's), freshman Amber Hay (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance), freshman Geena Gall (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) and senior/junior Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac).
On the second day, Kohlmeier set a new 5,000m facility record with an NCAA qualifying time of 15:58.61.
2006 Captains
Head coach James Henry selected four captains to lead the 2006 Wolverines. Seniors Shavonne Maclin (University Heights, Ohio/Beaumont School) and Jennifer Williams (Burton, Mich./Atherton) join senior/junior Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) and junior/sophomore Rebecca Walter (Beverly Hills, Mich./Groves) as the leaders for Michigan. Each of the captains are coming off of a strong 2005 outing, with Erdman and Walter assisting the cross country team in winning its seventh Big Ten title and fifth Great Lakes regional title. The two middle distance runners also scored in the Big Ten outdoor track championship, with Erdman taking the 800m title and Walter finishing as the runner-up in the 5,000m. Williams and Maclin were able to produce very important scores for Michigan in the indoor and outdoor Big Ten championships. In the indoor championships Williams took fourth place in the pentathlon and the high jump. For the outdoor championships Williams and Maclin each finished in sixth place in the heptathlon and 400m, respectively.
Up Next
The Wolverines will kick off the outdoor postseason next weekend (May 12-14) at the Big Ten Conference Championships in East Lansing, Mich. Competition is slated to begin at Noon on Friday with the multi-events at the Ralph H. Young Track and Field.
Contact: Joseph Conrad (734)-763-4423
Players Mentioned
