Michigan
Drake Relays
Wolverines Win 4x800-Meter Relay at Drake Meet
4/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Battling adverse weather conditions throughout the Drake Relays Thursday through Saturday (April 25-27), the University of Michigan women's track and field team prevailed with the title in the 4x800-meter relay Saturday, setting a season-best time in the process. On the first day of the meet, senior Shalina Rankin (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln HS) and freshman Sharifa Jones (Marietta, Ga./Wheeler HS) set personal bests.
Thunderstorms shut down competition for nearly one hour on Saturday, after Wolverines Stephanie Hirtle (Salmon Arm, B.C./Salmon Arm Senior HS), Tracy Egnatuk (Albion, Mich./Ablion HS), Ursula Taylor (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg HS) and Rachel Sturtz (Traverse, Mich./Traverse HS) took first place by nearly six and a half seconds in the 4x800-meter relay. The team's finishing time of 8:43.07 shattered Michigan's previous season best by over 20 seconds.
Both Rankin and Jones broke their personal records in the 400-meter hurdles despite failing to advance to the finals. Rankin placed fourth in her heat with a time of 1:00.34, surpassing her old mark by half a second. Jones took fifth in the third heat, three-quarters of a second ahead of her previous best.
Running with the Wolverines for only the second time this season, freshman Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame HS) finished sixth in the special 200-meter dash finals with mark of 25.36.
Michigan will head to California next Friday (May 3) to participate in the Cardinal Twilight at Cobb Track and Angell Field on the campus of Stanford University.
Event Winners/U-M Finishers
Thursday Results
400-meter Hurdles (Preliminaries) Heat 2 1. Jennie Wonder, Kansas 1:00.07Q 3. Vera Simms, U-M 1:00.54 Heat 3 1. Lana Jekabsone, Lewis 59.38Q 5. Sharifa Jones, U-M 1:01.18 Heat 5 1. Jamese James, Tulsa 59.32Q 4. Shalina Rankin, U-M 1:00.34
Friday Results
100-meter Hurdles (Preliminaries) Heat 3 1. Jenny Kallur, Illinois 13.82Q 5. Robin Landfair, U-M 14.18 Heat 4 1. Susanna Kallur, Illinois 14.06Q 7. Sharifa Jones, U-M 15.33 100-meter Dash (Preliminaries) Heat 2 1. Sheba Clarke, Iowa State 11.98Q 6. Sierra Hauser-Price, U-M 12.36 4x400-meter Jim Duncan Relay (Preliminaries) Heat 2 1. Baylor 3:35.95Q# 3. Michigan 3:45.74 (Vera Simms, Mora Arnold, Ursula Taylor, Shalina Rankin)
Saturday Results
4x800-meter Relay (Final) 1. Michigan 8:43.07 (Stephanie Hirtle, Tracy Egnatuk, Ursula Taylor, Rachel Sturtz) 200-meter Dash Special Invitational (Final) 1. Brianna Glenn, Arizona 23.96 6. Sierra Hauser-Price, U-M 25.36 @ NCAA automatic mark # NCAA provisional mark Q indicates qualification for next round
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
