Weekly Release #11

Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sat., March 29-30 -- at Stanford Invitational (Palo Alto, Calif.)
Saturday, April 13 -- at Miami Invitational (Oxford, Ohio)

This Week: Stanford Invitational
The University of Michigan women's track and field team heads to the west coast this week (March 29-30) for the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto Calif., on the campus of Stanford University. Competition begins Friday (March 29) at 1 p.m. PST with finals of the 400-meter hurdles and the elite section of the long jump while Saturday's field events start at 9 a.m. PST with running events scheduled for 12:15 p.m. PST on the Cobb Track and Angell Field.

Last Year at the Stanford Invitational
Following two days of action at lasts year's Stanford Invitational, the Wolverines returned to Ann Arbor with four first-place finishes and three runner-up performances. Leading the way for the Maize and Blue was Shalina Rankin (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln HS), who posted victories each day with wins in the 400-meter hurdles (1:02.91) on opening day and the final day's morning section of the 400-meter dash (57.56). Michigan had another of its runners win the afternoon section of the 400-meter dash as Carly Knazze (Southfield, Mich./Southfield HS) crossed the line at 54.64. U-M's final event champion was Katie Jazwinski (Grand Rapids, Mich./West Catholic HS), who ran a first-place time of 2:08.38 in the 800-meter run.

Last Week: FSU Relays
The Maize and Blue traveled to Tallahassee, Fla., last weekend (March 21-23) for the Florida State Relays and claimed five first-place finishes on the Mike Long Track. Vera Simms (Mililani, Hawaii/Mililani HS) led the Wolverines with a pair of victories as she won the Garnet section of the long jump with a leap of 18-7 1/4 on Friday (March 22) than won the Gold Championship section of the 400-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 59.58. Stephanie Hirtle (Salmon Arm, B.C./Salmon Arm Senior HS) posted her first career victory in the 800 meters when she crossed the line in 2:14.92. Michigan's two other victories came in relay competition as the 4x800- and 4x1,500-meter relay teams finished with first-place times of 9:03.00 and 9:40.65, respectively.

Simms' City
Vera Simms took advantage of the warm weather in Tallahassee, Fla., last weekend as she claimed victories in both track and field events at the Florida State Relays (March 21-23). Simms, who competed in four races during the three-day event, won her first individual crown on Friday (March 22) when she marked 18-7 1/4 in the Garnet section of the long jump, 15 inches farther than second-place Justina Williams of the College of Wooster (17-4 1/2). Simms' second event title came on Saturday (March 23) as she posted a personal-best time of 59.58 to win the Gold Championship section of the 400-meter hurdles. It was Simms' first sub-minute time in the event as she bettered her previous time of 1:00.76 set last year at the Duke Invitational (April 7, 2001).

Hirtle Takes 800-Meter Crown
Stephanie Hirtle won her first career title in the 800 meters last Saturday (March 23) when she crossed the line in 2:14.92 to win the Garnet section race. Hirtle's previous best finish in the event was a fourth-place finish at the George Mason Patriot Games (Feb. 1-2) when she crossed the finish line with a time of 2:10.28.

Leaders and Best
Led by Athlete of the Meet Katie Jazwinski, the U-M women's track and field team claimed its third Big Ten Conference indoor title in five years, posting three event victories and four second-place finishes to outpoint runner-up Indiana 116-114.5 on Feb. 23-24 in State College, Pa. It was the closest finish in Big Ten indoor meet's 21-year history. Jazwinski earned Athlete of the Meet honors with her 26-point performance that included a victory in the mile run and runner-up showings in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.

The Wolverines also earned titles from Ursula Taylor (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg HS), who was crowned Big Ten champion in the 600 meters, while the team of Jane Martineau (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant HS), Vera Simms (Mililani, Hawaii/Mililani HS), Stephanie Hirtle (Salmon Arm, B.C./Salmon Arm HS) and Katie Ryan (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS) took first place in the distance medley relay. Following the championships, Michigan head coach James Henry was named Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his 18-year career with Wolverines.

With the Wolverines' fifth Big Ten indoor team title, the Maize and Blue move into a second-place tie with Illinois for the most team titles won since the inception of the indoor championship in 1982. Wisconsin leads the Big Ten with seven team titles in the championship's 21-year history.

Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423