Michigan
Kentucky Invitational
Women Tracksters Set Records at Kentucky Invitational
1/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The University of Michigan women's track and field team posted four NCAA qualifying times (two provisional and two automatic) and three event wins as it dominated the middle-distance and distance races Saturday (Jan. 13) on the final day of the two-day Kentucky Invitational.
On the first day of the meet, the Maize and Blue competed in the pole vault and weight throw, with three Wolverines finishing in the top five in the pole vault taking second third and fourth. Fifth-year senior co-captain Kristin Pearson (Escanaba, Mich./Escanaba HS) finished in second place in the pole vault clearing 11-11 3/4 on her first attempt. Junior/sophomore Jennifer Mehl (Novi, Mich./Novi HS) took third, while sophomore/freshman Sarah Conkle (Bellaire, Mich./Bellaire HS) finished in fourth as they both cleared 11-5 3/4. Mehl cleared the mark on her first attempt to break the tie and capture third place.
The first U-M winner on the second day came in the mile as fifth-year senior co-captain Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac HS) took first place with a personal-best, NCAA automatic qualifying time of 4:39.37. Erdman's time was 2.60 seconds short of Lindsey Gallo's Michigan Indoor Record time set in 2005. Fifth-year senior co-captain Arianne Field (Kalamazoo, Mich./Hackett HS), senior/junior Laura Glynn (Farmington Hills, Mich./Harrison HS) and freshman Jennie Biewald (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS) rounded out the top 10 going fourth, sixth and eighth, respectively.
Wolverine sophomores Geena Gall (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) and Amber Hay (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance HS) finished first and fifth, respectively, in the 800m run. Gall claimed first place with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2:06.15, while Hay crossed the line at 2:12.37, 1.05 seconds shy of her personal-best.
Led by senior Erin Webster (Dearborn, Mich./Divine Child HS), Michigan continued to show its strength in the distance events taking four of the top 15 in the 3,000 meter run. The senior reset the facility record she owns by more than five seconds finishing in 9:13.42, a NCAA automatic qualifying time. In her first 3,000m run, junior Nicole Edwards (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey HS) came in second with a personal-best NCAA provisional qualifying time of 9:31.30. Freshman Alysha Valencia (Lawrence, Kan./Free State HS) and junior/sophomore Natasha Luppov (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) rounded out the top 15 taking eighth and 13th place, respectively.
Sophomore Tiffany Ofili (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti HS) reset her own Michigan Indoor Record time in the 60m hurdles with a third place NCAA provisional time of 8.24 breaking the previous record by 0.06 seconds. Freshman Charne Lumbus (Cleveland, Ohio/Collinwood HS) finished seventh in the 60m hurdles with a personal-best of 8.68, shaving off 0.38 seconds from her previous best of 9.06. Rounding out the short sprints, Ofili set a new personal-record time of 7.56 in the 60m dash taking seventh place.
In the long sprints, junior Serita Williams (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee HS) posted a time of 56.97 in the 400m claiming sixth place. In the 200m, Ofili clocked in at 24.55 to take eighth place. Ofili was just 0.01 seconds short of tying her personal-best.
Ofili and sophomore co-captain Bettie Wade (Northville, Mich./Farmington HS) led Michigan in the jumps taking second and seventh place in long jump and high jump, respectively. Ofili jumped a distance of 19-1 1/2, while Wade cleared 5-4 1/2 in the high jump.
The Maize and Blue closed out the evening with a second finish in the 4x400m relay with as the Michigan 'A' relay team clocked in at 3:43.96, coming in 0.11 seconds behind Georgia Tech. The U-M 'B' relay team finished eighth in the relay with a time of 3:53.72.
Michigan will host the Red Simmons/Jack Harvey Invitational on Friday-Saturday (Jan. 19-20) at the U-M Indoor Track Building.
Event Winners/U-M Finishers
Friday, Jan. 12
Pole Vault 1. Elizabeth Boyle, Arkansas St. 12-5 1/2 (3.80m) 2. Kristin Pearson, U-M 11-11 3/4 (3.65m) 3. Jennifer Mehl, U-M 11-5 3/4 (3.50m) 4. Sarah Conkle, U-M 11-05 3/4 (3.50m) 13. Kelly Catino, U-M 10-11 3/4 (3.35m) 17. Lisa Sonntag, U-M 10-0 (3.05m) Weight Throw 1. Veronica Jatsek, Ohio State 64-3 1/4# (19.59m) 20. Bridgette Maynard, U-M 49-8 1/2 (15.15m) 27. Anna Wilson, U-M 44-2 1/2 (13.47m)
Saturday, Jan. 13
High Jump 1. Kelly Bowman, Unatt. 5-10# (1.78m) 7. Bettie Wade, U-M 5-4 1/4 (1.63m) 9. Olivia Both, U-M 5-4 1/4 (1.63m) -- Christina Solomon, U-M NH Shot Put 1. Ashley Muffet, Kentucky 55-3 1/2# (16.85m) 16. Bridgette Maynard, U-M 41-8 3/4 (12.72m) 23. Anna Wilson, U-M 36-11 (11.25m) Long Jump 1. Liane Weber, Clemson 19-2 1/2 (5.85m) 2. Tiffany Ofili, U-M 19-1 1/2 (5.83m) 13. Casey Taylor, U-M 17-4 3/4 (5.30m) 27. Samantha Smith, U-M 1-6 1/2 (0.47m) 60-Meter Hurdles 1. Shantia Moss, Georgia Tech 8.17# 3. Tiffany Ofili, U-M 8.24#* 7. Charnee Lumbus, U-M 8.68 11. Joi Smith, U-M 8.85 13. Samantha Smith, U-M 8.92 15. Bettie Wade, U-M 8.94 60-Meter Dash 1. Courtney Champion, Tennessee 7.26@ 7. Tiffany Ofili, U-M 7.56 Mile Run 1. Katie Erdman, U-M 4:39.37@
4. Arianne Field, U-M 4:50.67 6. Laura Glynn, U-M 4:52.04 8. Jennie Biewald, U-M 4:54.39 400-Meter Dash 1. Ashlee Kidd, Georgia Tech 53.47# 6. Serita Williams, U-M 56.97 8. Chanelle Campbell, U-M 57.48 13. Shana Vinson, U-M 58.24 17. Kiana Stringfield, U-M 58.58 18. Joi Smith, U-M 59.35 800-Meter Run 1. Geena Gall, U-M 2:06.15# 5. Amber Hay, U-M 2:12.37 13. Linda Montgomery, U-M 2:19.53 200-Meter Dash 1. Courtney Champion, Tennessee 23.61# 8. Tiffany Ofili, U-M 24.55 34. Shana Vinson, U-M 26.37 35. Samantha Smith, U-M 26.38 40. Charnee Lumbus, U-M 26.58 3,000-Meter Run 1. Erin Webster, U-M 9:13.42@! 2. Nicole Edwards, U-M 9:31.30# 8. Alysha Valencia, U-M 9:49.22 13. Natsha Luppov, U-M 9:57.43 21. Rachel Severin, U-M 10:12.31 4x400 Meter Relay 1. Georgia Tech 'A' 3:43.88 2. Michigan 'A' 3:43.96 8. Michigan 'B' 3:53.72 @ NCAA Automatic Qualifying Standard # NCAA Provisional Qualifying Standard ! Nutter Fieldhouse Record * Michigan Indoor Record
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach James Henry
On the team's performances at the Kentucky Invitational ... "It was a good chance to get away from home and compete on the road. I think our first meet was a start and I think this second meet was a good start. We were away for the first weekend of the season, it was a good start for us and there were some outstanding performances. The biggest question for us will be, can we improve from here"
On what the team wants to improve on ... "As always, it's good for everybody to improve. Some people had an excellent start and some people didn't run as well as they wanted to run. So we'll evaluate the individual performances and hope to continue to improve."
On what the Wolverines should take from the Kentucky Invitational ... "I think they should take from it that we've trained hard and good results are coming that. They also need to take from it that this is just the beginning and if we want to be a very, very good team or an outstanding team, we need to get back to work with the thought that improvement is the objective."
Contact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
