Michigan
NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Walter, Allen-Young Help U-M Take Second at Regional
11/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The No. 7 University of Michigan women's cross country team earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships as the Wolverines placed five harriers in the top 25 for a second-place team finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships Saturday afternoon (Nov. 15) on the 6,000-meter LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
Sophomore Rebecca Walter (Beverly Hills, Mich./Groves HS) led the Wolverines across the finish line for the third consecutive meet, placing third as she finished with a personal-best time of 20:38.6. Notre Dame's Molly Huddle claimed the individual title with a clocking of 20:14.17, helping her team to the team crown with a low score of 43 points.
It marked the third straight meet Walter has set a new career best over 6,000 meters. At the NCAA Pre-National meet Oct. 18 in Waterloo, Iowa, she finished in 20:42.4, then two weeks (Nov. 2) ago en route to her first career Big Ten individual crown, she posted a time of 20:40.5.
Graduate/senior Jessie Allen-Young (Loveland, Colo./Thompson Valley HS) closed hard to finish fourth as the 2003 All-Big Ten first team member crossed in 20:42.7. Senior Lindsey Gallo (Freehold, N.J./Howell HS) was the next Michigan harrier to finish, crossing ninth overall in 20:58.3.
Junior Sarah Pizzo (Golden, Colo./Mullen HS) and sophomore Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac HS) rounded out Michigan's scoring five, as Pizzo finished 18th and Erdman posted a 24th-place showing, clocking in at 21:21.5 and 21:31.0, respectively.
Just missing out of the top 25 was senior/junior captain Andrea Parker (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS), who posted a time of 21:42.0 to finish 26th. Chelsea Loomis (Traverse City, Mich./West HS) was the final Wolverine to cross the finish line, finishing 73rd at 22:36.2.
With the second-place finish, the Wolverines earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships, which will be held Monday, Nov. 24, in Waterloo, Iowa. The 6,000-meter women's race is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. CST. It marks the second consecutive year and sixth time in the last seven season that the Wolverines will participate in the NCAA Championships.
Top 10 Teams
1. Notre Dame 43 2. MICHIGAN 58 3. Michigan State 96 4. Indiana 150 5. Marquette 159 6. Wisconsin 203 7. Toledo 206 8. Ball State 298 9. Butler 313 10. Purdue 328
Top 10 Individuals
1. Molly Huddle, Notre Dame 20:14.7 2. Michelle Carson, MSU 20:26.7 3. Rebecca Walter, U-M 20:38.6 4. Jesse Allen-Young, U-M 20:42.7 5. Jamie Krzyminski, MSU 20:45.1 6. Andrea Kremer, Miami (Ohio) 20:46.7 7. Lauren King, Notre Dame 20:48.7 8. Kerry Meagher, Notre Dame 20:56.0 9. Lindsey Gallo, U-M 20:58.3 10. Megan Guiney, Wisconsin 21:04.4
Other Michigan Individuals
18. Sarah Pizzo 21:21.5 24. Katie Erdman 21:31.0 26. Andrea Parker 21:42.0 73. Chelsea Loomis 22:36.2
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Mike McGuire
On the race ... "I think we put together a very solid race. I talked to Notre Dame's coach after the race and he said that his kids ran even better than they did at the Pre-Nationals. That tells us a lot about our team, because we were right there with them for the team title. We proved that we can compete with a Top 5 team."
On the team's confidence heading into the NCAA Championships ... "I think we have put three consecutive very good races together. We ran well at the NCAA Pre-Nationals and then defended our Big Ten team title two weeks ago, and here we proved that we can run well against the nation's best. Rebecca (Walter) did what we expected of her and Jessie (Allen-Young) showed that she is a true fighter. She had to dig deep to finish where she did. Down the stretch she was seventh and had to pass three kids with the finish line in sight."
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
