USA Track and Field Olympic Trials Preview
6/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
USA TRACK AND FIELD OLYMPIC TRIALS
Friday, June 27-Sunday, July 6
Hayward Field Eugene, Ore.
U-M AT THE USATF OLYMPIC TRIALS
The Wolverines will send a contingent of 13 track and field athletes -- eight former stars and five current athletes -- from the men's and women's programs to vie for spots in the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the USATF Olympic Trials (June 27-July 6) at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Juniors Geena Gall(Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) and Tiffany Ofili(Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti HS), who recently won NCAA titles in the 800-meter run and 100-meter hurdles, respectively, at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, will lead the Maize and Blue contingent, which includes 2007 NCAA 3,000-meter steeplechase champion Anna Willard and 2007 NCAA 60-meter hurdles champion Jeff Porter.
The trials feature 16 Olympic track and field events and two multi-events (heptathlon, decathlon), with the top three finishers in each event punching their ticket to Beijing. All of the events are measured in meters and will be contested at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. With no relays being contested, the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dash events can produce additional qualifiers to fill out the relay rosters.
WHEN TO CATCH THEM
Junior Bettie Wade(Northville, Mich./Farmington HS) will be the first Wolverine off the blocks Friday (June 27) as she competes in the first four events of the heptathlon. The trials begin with the 100-meter hurdles at 1 p.m. PDT.
Events With Wolverine Competitors
| Friday, June 27 | |
| 1:00 p.m. | Heptathlon 100m Hurdles |
| 1:55 p.m. | Heptathlon High Jump |
| 4:20 p.m. | Heptathlon Shot Put |
| 6:00 p.m. | Heptathlon 200m |
| 6:30 p.m. | Women's 400m Hurdles (Quarterfinals) |
| 7:50 p.m. | Women's Discus Throw (Qualifying) |
| 8:00 p.m. | Women's 800m (Quarterfinals) |
| 9:20 p.m. | Women's 10,000m |
| Saturday, June 28 | |
| 2:00 p.m. | Heptathlon Long Jump |
| 3:20 p.m. | Heptathlon Javelin Throw |
| 4:10 p.m. | Women's 400m Hurdles (Semifinals) |
| 4:25 p.m. | Women's 800m (Semifinals) |
| 5:24 p.m. | Heptathlon 800m |
| Sunday, June 29 | |
| 3:15 p.m. | Women's Discus Throw |
| 4:02 p.m. | Women's 400m Hurdles |
| Monday, June 30 | |
| 7:40 p.m. | Women's 3000m Steeplechase (Semifinals) |
| 8:15 p.m. | Women's 800m |
| Thursday, July 3 | |
| 7:30 p.m. | Women's 1500m (Quarterfinals) |
| 8:25 p.m. | Men's 1500m (Quarterfinals) |
| 9:45 p.m. | Women's 3000m Steeplechase |
| Friday, July 4 | |
| 8:05 p.m. | Men's 1500m (Semifinals) |
| 8:25 p.m. | Women's 1500m (Semifinals) |
| Saturday, July 5 | |
| 11:25 a.m. | Men's 110m Hurdles (Qualifying) |
| 1:15 p.m. | Women's 100m Hurdles (Quarterfinals) |
| 1:45 p.m. | Men's 110m Hurdles (Quarterfinals) |
| Sunday, July 6 | |
| 3:15 p.m. | Men's 110m Hurdles (Semifinals) |
| 3:35 p.m. | Women's 100m Hurdles (Semifinals) |
| 4:05 p.m. | Women's 1500m |
| 5:30 p.m. | Men's 110m Hurdles |
| 5:40 p.m. | Women's 100m Hurdles |
| 5:50 p.m. | Men's 1500m |
HOW TO CATCH THE ACTION
Results of the trials will be posted on www.goducks.com and www.usatf.org, the official website of USA Track and Field. Live television coverage will be aired each night on NBC and USA Network. NBC will air the first two nights (June 28-29) at 8 p.m./7 p.m. EDT and the USA Network will broadcast the next three nights (June 30, July 3-4) at 11 p.m. Coverage returns to primetime on NBC July 5-6.
Tickets are sold out. A limited number of single-day, obstructed-view tickets are available by calling 1-800-WEBFOOT.
THE WOLVERINE REPRESENTATIVES (WOMEN)
Melissa Bickett (2001-04) -- Bickett brings a breadth of experience to the discus event. She is the U-M record holder in the event (186-5) and a former U.S. Junior National Team member. Bickett has plenty of discus hardware, collecting a 2003 NCAA Outdoor All-America honor, the 2004 NCAA Mideast Regional championship and a gold medal at the Junior Pan American Games in 2001.
Katie Erdman Waits (2003-06) -- Waits enters the 800-meter run competition with the fourth-fastest qualifying time, the school-record 1:59.35 that earned her second place at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championships. A first team Academic All-American as a senior and an eight-time All-American, Waits was a 2007 NCAA Mideast Regional champion (800m run) and a Big Ten outdoor 800m champion (2005, '07). Waits was also a four-time Big Ten indoor 600m champion (2003, '04, '06, '07) and a member of the NCAA collegiate record-holding 4x800m (8:18.78) and 4x1,500m (17:52.62) relay teams.
Geena Gall -- Gall, a senior-to-be, is the 2008 NCAA 800-meter champion and a three-time outdoor All-American. Gall is the first Wolverine to claim the NCAA outdoor 800-meter run title and the first to claim three consecutive All-America honors in the event. Last summer, she competed in the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador. Gall currently ranks 11th in the 800m with a time of 2:02.24.
Lindsey Gallo (2002-05) -- Gallo was a six-time All-American (tied for most All-America honors in program history) and a six-time Big Ten individual champion. Gallo earned the 2005 USTCA Great Lakes Regional Indoor Athlete of the Year award, Bob Ufer Quarterback Club Senior Athlete Achievement Award and Big Ten Indoor Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Championships honors in her time at U-M. She will compete in the 1,500-meter run at the USATF Olympic Trials. Gallo ranks sixth in the 1,500m with a time of 4:07.26.
Katie LaValley -- LaValley is a 2008 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Region 400-meter hurdler and two-time U-M Athletic Academic Achievement Award winner. LaValley, a senior-to-be, enters the USATF Olympic Trials as the 25th seed in the 400m hurdles with a time of 57.78.
Katie McGregor (1997-2001) -- McGregor was a three-time NCAA champion and a nine-time All American in cross country and track. She recently represented the United States at the 2007 IAAF World Championships. The 3,000m NCAA indoor champion has made the transition from NCAA to consistent, post-collegiate performer. She just missed a 2004 Olympic berth with a fourth-place finish in the 10,000 meters at the Olympic Trials, and responded in 2005 by winning the national title in the 10,000m at the 2005 USA Outdoor Championships. McGregor enters the 2008 USATF Olympic Trials as the fourth seed in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 31:37.82.
Tiffany Ofili -- Ofili is the only athlete in program history to claim consecutive NCAA outdoor titles, winning the 100-meter hurdles crown the last two seasons. The rising senior is also the first Wolverine to win three consecutive national championships (two outdoor, one indoor) in school history. She was most recently crowned U-M Female Athlete of the Year, Detroit Athletic Club Female Athlete of the Year and Great Lakes Region Track Athlete of the Year. Last summer, she competed in the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador. Ofili, the Michigan outdoor record holder in the 100m hurdles (12.73), enters the USATF Olympic Trials as the 11th seed in the event.
Andrea Parker (2002-05) -- Parker is looking to clinch a spot in the 3,000m steeplechase, an event in which she broke the U-M record on four occasions. The 2005 graduate was part of the Wolverines' 2004 Big Ten Indoor champion distance medley relay squad.
Emily Pendleton -- Pendleton claimed the 2008 Big Ten Freshman of the Year for the outdoor season and a Big Ten championship in the discus. The gold medalist in the discus at the 2007 Pan American Junior Games will compete with a ranking of 23rd on a mark of 183-3.
Bettie Wade -- Wade is a three-time NCAA All-American (two outdoor, one indoor) and the first Wolverine to ever claim a Big Ten heptathlon title (2007). The senior-to-be earned the 2008 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the indoor and outdoor seasons and enters the 2008 USATF Olympic Trials as the 10th seed in the heptathlon from 5,738 points recorded at the 2008 NCAA Championships.
Anna Willard (2007) -- Willard will look to continue representing the United States after competiting at the 2007 IAAF World Championships. A 2006 graduate of Brown University, she was a 2007 NCAA outdoor steeplechase champion and three-time Big Ten champion in her one outdoor season at U-M while attending graduate school. In 2007, Willard claimed the Mideast Regional championship in the 3,000m steeplechase and a Big Ten Outdoor championship in the 1,500- and 5,000-meter runs and the 3,000-meter steeplechase. At the 2007 USA Outdoor Championships, Willard finished less than one-tenth of a second out of first place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Her time of 9:34.72 was the second-fastest run by an American in 2007 and makes her the No. 3 seed in the event at the trials.
THE WOLVERINE REPRESENTATIVES (MEN)
Jeff Porter (2004-07) -- Porter, the 2007 NCAA indoor 60-meter hurdles national champion and school record holder in the event (7.64), was a three-time All-American and three-time Big Ten champion. The three-time first team All-Big Ten selection will compete in 110-meter hurdles at the USATF Olympic Trials with a ranking of 22nd (13.47).
Alan Webb (2002) -- Webb, who compted at Michigan as a freshman in 2001-02 and won Big Ten titles in cross country and the outdoor 1,500-meter run, comes into the trials on a roll. He set personal bests in the mile -- establishing a new American record in the process (3:46.91) -- and the 1,500m during 2007 competition. With a USA outdoor title in tow, he will focus all of his attention on getting to his second Olympiad in the 1,500m. His 3:30.54 qualifying time is more than four seconds better than the nearest competition and 5.18 seconds faster than the time he used to clinch a spot at the 2004 Olympic Games. Webb will sit out the 800m race despite boasting the second-fastest time in the world.
Players Mentioned
