Weekly Release #16
5/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sun., May 12-14 -- at Big Ten Outdoor Championships (East Lansing, Mich.)
Fri-Sat., May 26-27 -- at NCAA Mideast Regional (Knoxville, Tenn.)
This Week: Seeking Crown #3
The University of Michigan will travel to East Lansing, Mich., to find their third Big Ten Title of the year (Cross Country and Indoor Track and Field) at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships on Friday-Sunday (May 12-14) at the Ralph H. Young Track and Field. Competition is slated to begin Noon on Friday with the multi-events.
What is a triple crown
A triple crown is when a team wins three team titles throughout the cross country and track and field indoor and outdoor seasons. The Wolverines will be seeking the Big Ten Triple Crown, due to the fact that they've won the Big Ten Cross Country and Indoor Track and Field Titles.
Triple Crown History
The Maize and Blue have claimed three triple crowns (1994, 2002 and '03), which is second most behind Wisconsin (1984, '85, '86, and '97). Wisconsin and Michigan are the only two schools to win a triple crown in the Big Ten, with each school winning at least two in a row. The only other school to come close to winning a triple crown was Illinois, in 1989, with a Big Ten title in the Indoor and Outdoor track season, but finishing seventh in the cross country Big Ten Championships.
Fabulous Freshmen
This past weekend at the Len Paddock Invitational (May 5-6) the Wolverines were led by a handful of freshmen as they earned 3-of the-5 NCAA regional qualifying standards (400m hurdles and 100m hurdles) along with winning 7-of the-10 first place titles. Kathleen LaValley (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Central) earned the first regional qualifying standard of the weekend (400m hurdles) as well as the first event title (400m hurdles). Also in the 400m hurdles Amber Hay (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) earned a regional qualifying standard with a personal-best time of 1:00.70.
Tiffany Ofili (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti) made a huge contribution by taking three first place finishes (100m hurdles, 100m dash and 4x100m relay) along with tying for second in the long jump (18-5 1/4). In the 100m hurdles Ofili set a new personal-best regional qualifying time of 13.58, along with taking first place in her first collegiate 100m dash (12.11).
Casey Taylor (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic) ran the second-leg of the first place 4x100m relay, giving Michigan a lead that would not be relequinshed. Taylor also took first place in the long jump with a jump of 18-8. While Bettie Wade (Northville, Mich./Farmington) tied with Ofili for second place in the long jump, took fourth in 100m hurdles and set a personal-best in the shot put (38-6 3/4) taking fifth place.
Trackwire 25 and Dandy Dozen
Michigan remains at No. 15 with a total of 15 points after claiming ten first place finishes along with five NCAA regional qualifying marks at the Len Paddock Invitational (May 6) in Ann Arbor, Mich.
In the Dandy Dozen, Michigan remains represented by four athletes in the middle distance and distance events. Senior/junior Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) remains being ranked No. 7 in the 800m, while freshman Geena Gall (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) also stays at No. 11th. Rounding out the middle distance group is sophomore Nicole Edwards (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey) as she drops from fourth to sixth 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 63 2. Miami 59 3. USC 47 4. Nebraska 43 Georgia 43 6. Arizona State 35 7. Auburn 34 8. LSU 31 9. South Carolina 29 10. UCLA 25 11. North Carolina 22 Stanford 22 13. Oregon 20 14. Florida State 18 15. MICHIGAN 15 16. Tennessee 14 17. Texas A&M 13 18. Colorado 11 Illinois 11 20. Villanova 10 Iowa 10 Houston 10 Air Force 10 Minnesota 10 Penn State 10 Brown 10
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: 13.58 at Len Paddock Invitational (5/6)
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
Elizabeth Boyle: 12-5 1/2 at Len Paddock Invitational (5/6)
Kelly Catino: 12-5 1/2 at Len Paddock Ivitational (5/6)
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 continue the outdoor postseason next weekend (May 26-27) at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in Knoxville, Tenn., on Tom Black Track.
Contact: Joseph Conrad (734)-763-4423
Players Mentioned
