Running Mates: Quartet Ready for U.S. Olympic Trials
6/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field, Features, Olympics
By Richard Retyi
Four promising current and former distance runners from the University of Michigan women's track and field program will vie for a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team at the U.S. Olympic Trials June 27-July 6 in Eugene, Ore.
They span from former Wolverines to one current student-athlete, from 26-year-old former All-American Lindsey Gallo to current Wolverine junior and 800-meter run national champion Geena Gall. This group includes 2007 NCAA national champion Anna Willard and U-M outdoor 800-meter run record-holder Katie (Erdman) Waits.
The foursome have trained together under Mike McGuire, U-M's associate head coach for track and field and head coach for cross country, creating an atmosphere of excellence in their bid to secure a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in 2008.
THE PROFESSIONAL
As a U-M junior four years ago, Gallo stood at the starting line for the 1,500-meter run final at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, the only collegian among the 14 competitors. She found herself among some of the best athletes in the world -- women with professional contracts whose occupation it was to run. Fast. Though Gallo had broken Michigan's 1,500m record two days previous in the event semifinals, it was hard not to feel some intimidation in this setting and among these competitors.
"It wasn't something I ever thought I could do," says Gallo four years later as she readies herself for a second U.S. Olympic Trials. "The trials can be intimidating because it's a very large meet. I thought it was going to be like NCAAs, but it's much bigger. Everyone around you is incredibly talented and you're surrounded by people you've seen on TV. It was a good experience that has allowed me to be ready four years later and focused on competing, not on the experience of the meet."
Gallo is now signed with Reebok and has been running professionally since 2006, which gives her a different perspective on competition and the big meets. Now Lindsey is one of those women whose job it is to run. Fast.
THE NEWEST ARRIVAL
Willard is another former Wolverine who has a professional contract that helps her focus on running. She is signed with Nike through 2012 and has a good chance of making the U.S. Olympic team this year in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Willard had the opportunity to turn pro after her senior season at Brown University, but she chose to enroll at Michigan as a graduate student, using up her final year of eligibility to train and compete with the Wolverines.
"I wanted to go professional after Brown but I didn't feel I was quite ready," says Willard. "I hadn't had the opportunity to train with elite athletes. Coming to Michigan was a nice transition for me, and getting to compete with a high-level program was great."
Willard was already a force on the track, but her year in Ann Arbor with the Wolverines and McGuire reaped immediate benefits. By the end of her collegiate career, Willard had made significant improvements in all of her personal bests, shaving nearly 30 seconds off her PR in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Now, adequately seasoned and in a position to train with some of the nation's elite on a daily basis, Willard hopes to be ready to take on the rest of the nation at the U.S. Trials and then face off against the world.
Gallo (left) and Willard
THE QUIET STORM
At the conclusion of the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, then fifth-year senior Erdman had the world by the tail. Already with a degree on the wall and Academic All-America status imminent, Erdman became the first Wolverine to break the two-minute mark in the 800-meter run, finishing just 0.06 seconds shy of first place in one of the most exciting 800-meter contests in NCAA Outdoor Championships history. Thanks to her runner-up finish (and a fifth-place finish from Gall, then a sophomore) Michigan posted its best-ever finish at nationals, tying for third place.
But Erdman's happiness was not limited to the track. Her wedding to former Wolverine track star Seth Waits was to take place just weeks after nationals. The nuptials were scheduled well in advance of the championships, but due to her remarkable performance at NCAAs, Katie was faced with a decision. She was now qualified to race at the U.S. Nationals, but the meet overlapped with her wedding date. Postpone the wedding and race, or put track on hold and marry the man of her dreams as per the original plan? For Katie, it wasn't really a decision.
"My fiance was in med school, and the only weekend he had off in the summer, that we could follow with a honeymoon of any length, overlapped with the U.S. Nationals," says the new Mrs. Waits. "It was kind of do or die and it was a decision that we made. I didn't compete at U.S. Nationals last year, but I don't regret it for a second."
After her record-breaking performance at the NCAAs, the former Katie Erdman signed with Reebok through 2012, but an injury in the indoor season kept the new Mrs. Waits out of the limelight for an even longer period of time. The name Katie Erdman has not appeared on a heat sheet since the 2007 NCAA Championships, putting Katie under the radar among casual track and field fans. Leading up the U.S. Olympic Trials, she is quietly putting up some of the fastest times of her career and looking to make a name for Katie Waits this time around.
THE YOUNG GUN
After being a three-time national champion in high school, Gall won her first NCAA national title three seasons into her collegiate career, taking the 800-meter crown at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Gall had finished fifth behind teammate Erdman at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championships, but with one more year of seasoning, bested the field in Des Moines. For the junior, it is not quite mission accomplished.
"I did what I had to do at nationals and I won," said Gall after returning to Ann Arbor. "I was happy about the title and it was a dream come true, but I'm on to the next step, which is the U.S. Olympic Trials. I have a clean slate going in and I need to get mentally prepared in the next few weeks. It's going to be an intense experience."
Like Gallo before her, Gall will be an amateur among professionals. With limited experience racing against athletes of the caliber that she will face at the trials, it will be a challenge for the athlete who has always succeeded to rise up and become the best yet again.
"It can be intimidating," says Gallo about her Olympic Trials experience. "The rounds are so much more intense and you're facing professionals instead of collegiate athletes."
Gall seems unfazed. Like Gallo before, she hopes to control the jitters and focus on the task at hand. With a national title under her belt and limitless confidence, maybe the professionals should be worried about Gall this time around.
Waits (left) and GallPREPARING FOR THE U.S. TRIALS
It all began with Gallo and McGuire in the summer of 2005. Fresh off the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and a U-M record-tying sixth All-America honor of her career, Lindsey signed a contract with Reebok and began training at Michigan with McGuire. The partnership was a logical extension of the relationship the coach and athlete had through five years at Michigan, and it allowed Lindsey to stay in the city she called home for so many years.
"Michigan is an amazing place to train, and you don't need to go to one of the Olympic training centers to get top-notch facilities," says Gallo. "I can stay where it's comfortable and where it feels like home to me."
The partnership paid off immediately with Gallo putting up record times and succeeding on the international stage. A European Grand Prix title and a second-place finish at U.S. Nationals in 2006 stamped Gallo's name on the map. She got a chance to taste true international competition at the Pan-American Games in Brazil as one of two U.S. competitors in the 1,500-meter run.
Gallo's success with her Michigan and McGuire connection made an impact on other Wolverine hopefuls who had designs on professional careers after their Maize and Blue days were done. Much like head men's track and field head coach Ron Warhurst and his success over the decade with Michigan athletes turned professionals, McGuire and Gallo began to build a reputation of professional excellence for Michigan on the women's side. Word began to spread outside of the University of Michigan program as well.
Willard chose Michigan, in part, because of the chance to train with McGuire and Gallo and realize all of her NCAA and, eventually, professional dreams. Gallo's teammate for three years, Erdman, also leaned toward training with Gallo and Willard as a way to better herself and utilize the expertise of her All-America teammates after graduation.
"Michigan is a powerhouse program and Mike is a fantastic coach," says Willard. "It's been very helpful for me to stay here and work with him, plus we have a good group of post-collegians now with Lindsey and Katie. It's a perfect year for me to transition from being a pretty good collegiate runner to being the tops, and this core has helped me a lot."
McGuire and his group of all-stars also drew former four-time All-American Morgan Uceny to Ann Arbor following her stellar collegiate career at Cornell University. Uceny, under contract with Reebok, came to Michigan to train with McGuire, Gallo, Willard and Waits in the 800-meter run.
"I've just focused on training since I graduated," says Waits. "I live in Toledo but I train at Michigan quite a bit. We have a great core group here. I get the team atmosphere here, which was my bread and butter for five years, and have a good group of professional girls here too. In our little group we can really get a lot of work done."
"Last year Katie and Anna were on the team, so it feels normal to train with them," says Gall. "It's just like another day with them. I get to train a lot with Nicole Edwards during the season but it's amazing to have professional athletes to train with, especially going into an Olympic year. We're all focused on that one goal, and it helps keep me on track."
Gallo benefits from what she's started as well. "I work out a lot with Anna and Katie and it's been great," says Gallo. "I feel like I've been training with Katie forever. We feed off each other very well, and having worked out with someone for so long, you know their strengths and they know yours."
"I'm bringing five athletes to the trials, including four Wolverines," says McGuire, "and any of them have a legitimate shot of making the U.S. Team."
2007 Penn Relays 4x800m record-setters (from left): Erdman, Willard, Nicole Edwards, Gall
TO THE TRIALS AND BEYOND
Willard's plan is to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, which is just one of her many strong events. She holds the Olympic 'A' standard in the event, so she does not necessarily have to finish among the top two at the trials to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team.
"I think I'm more suited for the 1,500 meters," says Willard, "but I can be a lot more competitive internationally in the steeplechase because it's a relatively new event on the world scene. Maybe in four years after I develop more I'll be better in the 1,500. For now, if I want to make the Olympic final and look for that medal stand, I have to stick to the 3,000-meter steeplechase."
Waits looks to show the rest of the country that she can still turn it on like she did at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She has trained hard for a spot on the Olympic team, and her focus is laser-like. She has the Olympic 'A' standard in the 800 meters, which means, like Willard, she does not have to finish among the top two to make the Olympic team.
"Right now, all I'm thinking about is this next couple of weeks," says Waits. "The 2012 Olympics seems a long way away. I won't rule it out, but for now I have a great opportunity for this year. I have the Olympic 'A' standard, and I just need to get the job done at the trials."
For collegian Gall, the trials will be the icing on the cake for a wildly successful NCAA outdoor season. She will race against teammate Waits in the 800-meter event and try to best the amateurs and pros who will line up against her. Two things Gall has in spades are talent and confidence.
"I've always wanted to go to the Olympics since watching the 1996 Atlanta Games," says Gall. "I am still in college and I am still focused on Michigan, but now that my season is over with it's a different story. My plan is to go through these trials and into 2012 and see what I can accomplish."
Gallo's career arc will take her back to the place where she found herself four years ago, this time to Eugene for the U.S. Olympic Trials. She may need to finish among the top two competitors with the Olympic 'A' standard in the 1,500 meters to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team.
"My plan is to run through 2012," says Gallo. "I think I'm young enough that it's a reality. The nice thing about running is that it's not a bunch of 18-year-olds and then you have to retire. People run great well into their 30s, and I think you only get better and more seasoned as you go on. I'm looking forward to having a long career after this."
"This will not be like the 2004 Trials," says Gallo. "It was a lot scarier then. For those women, it was their job to run. It's my job to run now."
Players Mentioned
