Weekly Release #15

4/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field

Upcoming Schedule
Friday, May 2 -- at Cardinal Invitational (Palo Alto, Calif.), 6 p.m. PDT
Fri-Sat., May 2-3 -- at Jesse Owens Classic (Columbus, Ohio), 4 p.m./11 a.m.
Fri-Sat., May 9-10 -- host Len Paddock (Ferry Field), 6:30 p.m./12:30 p.m.

This Week: Could They Be Any Farther Apart ...
The University of Michigan women's track and field team will attempt to divide and conquer, sending distance runners to the Cardinal Twilight Friday (May 2) Palo Alto, Calif., while the rest of the Maize and Blue squad heads to Columbus, Ohio, for the Jesse Owens Classic on Friday and Saturday (May 2-3).  Action begins at the Cardinal Twilight at 6 p.m. PDT on Cobb Track, while the Jesse Owens Classic gets under way at 4 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday in the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
 
Recapping Last Weekend ...
The Wolverines broke into three squads last weekend as they had athletes competing at the Penn Relays (April 24-26), Drake Relays (April 25-26) and the Hillsdale "Gina" Relays (April 25-26). Headlining the weekend's efforts was senior tri-captain April Phillips (Fraser, Mich./Fraser HS), who earned a pair of Drake Relays titles with first-place finishes in the hammer throw and shot put. Phillips achieved the shot put crown with an outdoor school-record throw of 53-11, topping the field by more than a foot.

Freshman Rebecca Walter (Beverly Hills, Mich./Groves HS) led the Wolverines at the Penn Relays as she posted a personal-best time of 9:24.41 to finish runner-up in the 3,000-meter run. In all, Maize and Blue athletes combined for 12 NCAA Regional qualifying marks over the three-day weekend.

Phillips Hammers Shot Put Record ...
Senior tri-captain April Phillips earned two more event titles last weekend when she placed first in the hammer throw and shot put at the prestigious Drake Relays Saturday afternoon (April 26). Phillips began the day on the right foot as she won the shot put with a school-record throw of 53-11. The NCAA Regional qualifying mark shattered her own school record in the event by 10 inches. Phillips previously set the school record at the 2002 Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championships when she posted a mark of 52-1 1/4 to win her first career conference shot put crown. Later in the day Phillips returned to the throwing circle and won the hammer throw with an NCAA Regional qualifying distance of 188-0.

Dancing Queen ...
April Phillips reset her fourth school throwing record last Saturday (April 26) when she marked 53-11 to win the shot put at the Drake Relays. Though the distance set a new Michigan outdoor school record, Phillips' personal best in the event stands at 55-0, which she marked while placing fourth at this year's indoor NCAA Championships. Here is a list of her four school-record throws:

Event	Distance	Date	Meet
Indoor Shot Put	55-0	3/15/03	NCAA Indoor Championships
Weight Throw	63-1 1/4	2/15/03	Sykes-Sabok Challenge Cup
Hammer Throw	193-9	5/17/02	Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Outdoor Shot Put	53-11	4/26/03	Drake Relays

Jump Up, Jump Up and Get Down ...
Junior Vera Simms (Mililani, Hawaii/Mililani HS) posted two 400-meter hurdles NCAA Regional qualifying times last weekend at two different meets as the journeywoman competed at both the Penn and Drake Relays (April 24-25). Simms started her weekend excursion at 10 a.m. Thursday morning in Philadelphia, Pa., when she finished fourth in the 400 hurdles, clocking in at 59.10. Simms then boarded a plane for Des Moines, Iowa, where she placed second in the event Friday afternoon with a time of 58.94.

Two for Two Twice ...
Sophomore Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame HS) and senior/junior Robin Landfair (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) posted two NCAA Regional qualifying times apiece last weekend at the Drake Relays. Hauser-Price qualified twice in the 100-meter dash with times of 11.61 and 11.73 during the prelims and finals, respectively. Landfair, the school record holder in the 100-meter hurdles, qualified for the event's final when he won the second section of the race with a time of 13.77 Friday afternoon. In Saturday's final she placed sixth, crossing the finish line 14.01.

Break It Down ...
As of the 2003 outdoor season, four regional meets will now be held to determine the participants for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Michigan is in the Mideast Region and will compete in its regional May 30-31 at the Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. In order for an athlete to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, she must finish in the top five of an individual event or be a member of a top three relay at the regional championship. The track and field committee will also select a group of at-large athletes to round out the remainder of the Championships field in each event, similar to provisional-qualifying marks in the past.

Big Ten Indoor Champs ...
With their most points (129.5) since winning the Big Ten Indoor Championships in 1998 (133), the Wolverines defended their Big Ten team title with a 14.5-point victory over meet host Indiana in the Hoosiers' Gladstein Fieldhouse (March 1-2). It marked the Wolverines' third straight track and field team championship (2002 indoor and outdoor) and fourth consecutive running team title (2002 cross country). Leading the way for the Maize and Blue were Big Ten individual champions April Phillips, Rachel Sturtz (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) and Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac HS).

Phillips, one of three Michigan captains, got things started for the Wolverines with her first career Big Ten indoor shot put title, with an NCAA provisional mark of 54-2 on Saturday. In Sunday's action, U-M received its second individual title when Sturtz, another tri-captain, ran a Big Ten Championships and school-record time of 2:06.02 for the second indoor 800-meter title of her career. Erdman, the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the year, gave the Wolverines their third event crown, crossing the finish line of the 600-meter run in 1:30.54. During prelims of the event on Saturday, Erdman set the 600-meter school record, clocking in at 1:30.33.

Earning All-Big Ten second team honors with runner-up performances were Stephanie Linz (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS), high jump; Vera Simms, 400-meter dash; Rebecca Walter, 5,000-meter run; and the distance medley relay team of Andrea Parker (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS), Keri Kirk (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS), Sturtz and Chelsea Loomis (Traverse City, Mich./West HS).

Hail to the Victors Valiant ...
With its 2003 Big Ten Indoor title, coupled with the conference crown at the 2002 cross country championships, Michigan has achieved two-thirds of a proper triple crown. Michigan only needs to defend its Big Ten outdoor title to earn the triple crown for the 2002-03 academic year. U-M achieved the triple crown in 1993-94 with all three titles in the same academic year. The only other school to achieve this feat is Wisconsin, which has done so four times, most recently in 1996-97. As it stands now, Michigan has won the last four combined Big Ten titles in track and field and cross country.

Looking Ahead ...
The Wolverines host their first and only outdoor track and field meet of the season next Friday and Saturday (May 9-10), as they welcome teams from around Michigan and Ohio to Ferry Field for the Len Paddock Invitational. Field events kick off both days with competition beginning at 11 a.m., and running events begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.

Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423