Michigan
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Repeat Champs! Ofili, Gall Capture National Crowns Again
6/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 4)
U-M Team Standing: 7th of 74 Teams (28 points)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
Results | Notes & Quotes | Photo Gallery
Video Reports: Tiffany Ofili | Geena Gall
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Senior co-captains Geena Gall(Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) and Tiffany Ofili(Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti) captured individual national championships to lead the No. 11-ranked University of Michigan women's track and field team to a seventh-place team finish on Saturday (June 13) at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, held at John McDonnell Field. Gall claimed her second consecutive crown in the 800-meter run and Ofili won her third straight title in the 100-meter hurdles.
Sophomores Emily Pendleton(Lindsey, Ohio/Woodmore) and Danielle Tauro(Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) also competed in event finals for U-M; Pendleton took ninth in the discus and Tauro finished 12th in the 1,500-meter run.
Gall took home her second straight national title in the 800-meter run with a career-best time of 2:00.80, the fastest collegiate time in the nation this season. Gall went to the front early and was in control of the pace from the start. She continued to run in the front of the field throughout before coming around the final turn and creating a gap between her and the rest of the competition. Gall claimed the victory by 0.57 seconds over Laura Hermanson of North Dakota State.
In addition to being her second consecutive national championship in the 800 meters outdoors, Gall also claimed the 10th All-America honor of her extraordinary career in Maize and Blue.
Ofili followed that up with her third straight 100-meter hurdle national championship with a winning time of 12.96 seconds in the final. Ofili was locked in a tight battle early with Moriam-Seun Adigun of Houston but began to pull away from Adigun, and the field, as she was the cleanest competitor over each of the hurdles. Kristi Castlin of Virginia Tech claimed second place with a time of 13.15 seconds.
The victory for Ofili not only gave her three consecutive 100-meter hurdle national titles but also gives her five total national championships in her illustrious career at U-M. Ofili also won the last two indoor 60-meter hurdle national championships.
Meanwhile, Pendleton claimed ninth place in the discus throw with a top throw of 160-11 (49.06m). Her best throw of competition was recorded with her fourth of six attempts in the finals. Pendleton bettered her performance from last season's NCAA Championships when she finished 14th. D'Andra Carter of Texas Tech won the discus with a throw of 182-6 (55.62m).
In the final of the 1,500-meter run, Tauro, running in her first NCAA individual event final, finished 12th in a time of 4:24.30. Florida State's Susan Kuijken won the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:13.05.
Michigan's seventh-place team finish is the third consecutive top-10 finish for the program at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Maize and Blue finished seventh last season and had a program-best third-place finish in 2007.
Final Team Standings
1. Texas A&M 50 2. Oregon 43 3. Arizona State 41 4. Florida State 40 5. Texas 36 6. LSU 29.5 7. MICHIGAN 28 8. Southern California 24 9. Florida 23 10. Baylor 21 Tennessee 21
Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day 4)
Discus Throw (Finals) 1. D'Andra Carter, Texas Tech 182-6 (55.62m) 9. Emily Pendleton, U-M 160-11 (49.06m) 800-meter Run (Finals) 1. Geena Gall, U-M 2:00.80 2. Laura Hermanson, North Dakota State 2:01.37 100-meter Hurdles (Finals) 1. Tiffany Ofili, U-M 12.96 2. Kristi Castlin, Virginia Tech 13.15 1,500-meter Run (Finals) 1. Susan Kuijken, Florida State 4:13.05 12. Danielle Tauro, U-M 4:24.30
Previous Results: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
N O T E S
Geena Gall's victory in the 800-meter run earns her the 10th All-America citation of her career. She earned All-America honors in the outdoor 800 meters and indoor distance medley relay in each of her four seasons at U-M (2006-09) and earned All-America honors in the indoor 800 meters in 2008 and '09.
Geena Gall's 800-meter victory makes her just the second U-M athlete to ever win back-to-back national championships, joining classmate Tiffany Ofili. Ofili earned back-to-back crowns in the indoor 60-meter hurdles (2008 and '09) and became the first U-M athlete to three-peat with her national title in the 100-meter hurdles (2007-09) today.
Tiffany Ofili has won five national championships in her U-M career. She has won the last three 100-meter hurdles crowns outdoors (2007-09) and the last two 60-meter hurdle titles indoors (2008-09). Ofili is also a five-time All-American.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach James Henry
On Tiffany Ofili's performance in the 100-meter hurdles... "She pulled an Ofili' on them, which is she competed extremely competitively and she competed to win when it counts, and in most cases she comes out with the victory."
On Ofili's career... "She's probably my best athlete ever in terms of where she started and where she ended up. We have been so honored by her accomplishments that we have named a team award in her honor, called the Tiffany Ofili Award. It is an honor that will go to any athlete that wins an individual (national) title, since that happens very rarely at the University of Michigan. The only person currently to win that award is her roommate, Geena Gall, so that is how much we respect what she has accomplished and how much she has improved."
On Ofili dealing with the expectations of being the two-time defending champion... "That's probably why she didn't run the time that many people are used to her running when it didn't count (in the semifinals). The pressure is on you when the light is on you (in the final) and everyone knew that she was ranked number one (collegiately), ranked in the top five or six in the world and that she was the person to beat; that makes it harder. When you are just one of the crowd and you don't stand out, you can naturally perform well. But when you are the target and everyone is saying that you are the one that is going to win, and then everyone is saying that they are going to beat you, sometimes favorites can't come through because of the pressure, but Tiffany showed that she is world-class because she was able to perform when the pressure was on."
On the season and this senior class... "It's been a helluva ride. When you do something that you enjoy doing, that is coaching, and you develop kids the way that my coaching staff and I have developed kids, then it is like going to an amusement park, getting on your favorite ride and riding it over and over again. I've enjoyed this moment, this last ride, because I knew it was the last ride. I've had the best time I could possibly have had and I'm very thankful to have the coaching staff to develop the type of kids that we have. We are off this ride, I enjoyed it, but I know that my coaching staff and I have to think about where we can find another class like this. This was the best class I have ever had."
Michigan Associate Head Coach Mike McGuire
On Geena Gall's performance in the 800-meter run... "She had a great week, she had a great three rounds culminated by her best performance ever -- it was a lifetime best by about a second-and-a-half. She showed a lot of courage out there, we committed to a race plan, and she was basically in control of it wire to wire."
On Gall's final race... "The field broke quick in the first 200 (meters), there was a potential where she almost got pinched a little bit, but she worked her way through a narrow passage to the lead. From 200 meters on she ran in the lead, on the poll in lane one and I think that had a lot to do with her coming out on top. I felt she could run it from the front. It was something we talked about, and it wasn't a situation where she feared committing to that. At times there were some challenges, but there was never a real serious challenge. In all three rounds she had an extra gear in the last straightaway; she just ran a great race."
On dealing with expectations as the defending champion... "I think it was a two-fold thing. When you have been on the mountaintop you know how to navigate your way there, but at the same time there are anxieties involved with possibly being knocked off the mountaintop. My thing was just for her to go out and race the best that she could and see where she would end up. There is always a little degree of apprehension, for example she didn't win the regional meet, but it was really a non-issue to me. There were things that I saw in training and then in the first two rounds that made me say, okay, she's ready,' and I think she felt ready."
On Gall's career... "Her body of work and her accomplishments, she's the most accomplished middle distance runner in our program and that is a pretty lofty status when you consider the likes of Katie (Erdman) and Nicole (Edwards) most recently. She had a lot to do with their successes and they had a lot to do with her successes. She's the last of a line from that group and she has had a great, great career, and it is really just getting started. She is going to continue to get better at the next level."
U-M Senior Geena Gall
On the feeling of winning her second national title... "It was breathtaking, it was my dream come true. I won it last year and I was amazed, but this year is even better, going out on top as a senior. I wanted this all year long. I've been working hard, doing everything that I could to prepare for this moment, and I am just so happy that I won. "
On the value of experience in winning this year's title... "I've been in the finals every year I've been at Michigan but winning last year definitely helped me a lot. Going through the rounds you have to be mentally prepared and ready because it can be nerve-wracking. It gave me courage and confidence this year going in. I feel like I've been running well this season, but I lost at regionals, so that put me back a little and was motivation going into nationals to defend my title."
On setting the tone by going to the front early... "I wanted to take it out hard in the semi to get a feel for what it would be like in the final. I knew the final would be more aggressive and faster-paced than the previous rounds, so I wanted to know what it felt like, and I had a confidence to run from the lead. I just trusted in my training and it just so happened that in final I saw an opening in the first 150 meters of the race. I didn't want to deal with traffic or getting bumped around, because I've been there and it's not fun, so I was able to avoid all of that and just go straight to the front."
On her career at Michigan... "I knew that if I came here (to Michigan) I would have a great coach in Mike McGuire and a great group of training partners. This has been the best time of my life, I've accomplished a lot and I know that it's not over yet. I'm very excited for my future, but my time here has been amazing."
U-M Senior Tiffany Ofili
On winning her third national title in a row (fifth overall)... "It was a feeling beyond words. This was by far my most emotional win and I was the most pleased with it because it was my last one. I am just so happy. I am on cloud nine right now, especially after yesterday and the semifinals not going as well as I would have liked. To be able to come out here and claim the title when it matters the most, that is what made it the most special."
On the feeling going into today after finishing second in the semifinal... "Yesterday, after it happened I was disappointed. I would be lying if I said I wasn't. It's no fun to lose, especially when you are capable of so much more, so I was a little frustrated after yesterday. But I had to regain my composure because yesterday was really only about qualifying and it could have been a lot worse. I just brushed myself off and got ready for the final because that is where champions are made."
On if there is a benefit from experience competing for national championships... "Absolutely, because I don't know if I would have been in the same mental state if this would have been two years ago. It's not fun losing, but being that I have been to quite a few nationals and other big meets I felt that in the semis the main point is to just advance, if you have the best time that is great, but the main objective is to qualify. I just had to put everything in perspective and remember that today was the most important day. I can definitely say that my experience as a track athlete helped me keep my cool going into today."
On her career at Michigan... "It has been one of the best experiences of my life. Having the honor of being a Michigan student-athlete has been an experience that I wouldn't trade for the world. To have the success that I have had, both in the classroom and on the track, socially, with my friends, my coaching staff and my teammates, I couldn't ask for more. It's emotional, thinking that this was the last time that I will wear a Michigan uniform."
Contact: Jeremy Reid (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
