Tracking the Wolverines at NCAAs: Monday
6/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
The Wolverines got off to an extremely early morning. While the rest of Ann Arbor was resting in their cozy beds, the University of Michigan womens track and field team was traveling to sunny Sacramento, Calif. The team met at the indoor track at 5 a.m., to make it to their 7 a.m. flight from Detroit Metro Airport. The flight had an hour layover in Las Vegas, with the team arriving to Sacramento at 11:30 a.m. PDT. After such a long flight, which included some studying by some of the girls (Geena Gall, who had to write a six-page paper for Communications) and some much needed rest from the others (Tiffany Ofili, who attempted to read her word anology book but decided on some sleep), the Wolverines headed off to lunch as they waited for the hotel (Courtyard Marriot, which is three miles from the track) rooms to be prepared. With the team splitting into groups and eating at the local mall, associate head coach Mike McGuire, Anna Willard, Katie Erdman, Arianne Field and Nicole Edwards ate at California Pizza Kitchen, while Ofili, Gall and Bettie Wade ate at the mall foodcourt. Deciding to have an early lunch, head coach James Henry skipped the opportunity of heading to the mall and decided to sit in the car and catch up on some Denzel Washington movies (for those needing gift ideas, he likes thriller movies). After a hearty meal, the team proceeded to the track.
With more than ideal running conditions (74 degrees, with a cool breeze), McGuires middle-distance and distance crew tallied three to five miles on both the practice and competition tracks. Ofili and Wade worked on hurdles, practicing coming out of the blocks and doing some stretching. Along with the hurdles, Wade got a chance to get a rhythm on the high jump, ran down the runway on the long jump, took starts on the 200m and did some shot put exercises. Head coach James Henry stated that the focus for practice was to get loose from such a long plane ride, as well as to get acclimated with the weather and time changes. Assistant coach Anne Takacs added that they were able to get into the rhythm of the meet, "with all the different schools, doing their thing and 'fluff their feathers' at each other."
With the evening winding down, Henry made a run to Sam's Club, purchasing some extremely important nutritious snacks (water, gatorade, powerade along with some sweet stuff to keep the girls excited). After such a long and early day, Henry stated the curfew will be natural, as they will fall asleep within an hour after dinner.
Players Mentioned
