Weekly Release #13
4/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Upcoming Schedule
Thu-Sat., April 10-12 -- at Sea Ray Relays (Knoxville, Tenn.), 6:30 p.m./9 a.m./9:15 a.m.
Thu-Sat., April 24-26 -- at Penn Relays (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Thu-Sat., April 24-26 -- at Drake Relays (Des Moines, Iowa)
This Week: On the Road Again ...
The University of Michigan women's track and field team travels to Knoxville, Tenn., this weekend for the three-day, non-scoring Sea Ray Relays (April 10-12) hosted by the University of Tennessee. Thursday's action begins at 6:30 p.m. with the 3,000-meter run, while competition is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. on Friday and 9:15 a.m. Saturday at the Tom Black Track. This marks Michigan's first appearance at the Sea Ray Relays since 2000.
Last Meet Recap (Yellow Jacket Invitational) ...
Last Saturday (April 5) at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta, Ga., freshman Elizabeth Boyle (Northbrook, Ill./New Trier HS) reset her own school record in the outdoor pole vault when she cleared an NCAA Regional qualifying height of 12-10 for second place in the event at the George C Griffin Track and Field Facility. Fifteen other Wolverines posted NCAA Regional qualifying marks, led by junior Melissa Bickett's (Akron, Ohio/Revere HS) three performances in the discus (174-8), hammer throw (171-7) and the shot put (47-1). Senior tri-captain April Phillips (Fraser, Mich./Fraser HS) posted a pair of individual titles, winning the hammer throw and shot put with NCAA Regional qualifying distances of 181-4 and 50-9 1/4, respectively.
Georgia On My Mind ...
Freshman Elizabeth Boyle reset her own Michigan outdoor pole vault record last Saturday (April 5) when she cleared an NCAA Regional qualifying height of 12-10 at the Yellow Jacket Invitational. Boyle's mark, second place overall in the event, was four inches higher than her height of 12-6 set at the Florida State Relays (March 21). Boyle holds the U-M indoor pole vault record with a personal-best height of 12-11 3/4 at the Sykes-Sabok Challenge Cup (Feb. 14).
Just an Old Sweet Song ...
Senior tri-captain April Phillips earned a pair of individual event titles at the Yellow Jacket Invitational (April 5), as she won the hammer throw and shot put during the one-day meet. Phillips claimed the top spot in the hammer throw with an NCAA Regional qualifying toss of 181-4, while her NCAA Regional qualifying and outdoor season-best mark of 50-9 1/4 placed her on the top podium spot in the shot put.
Sweet Georgia Brown ...
Melissa Bickett posted three NCAA Regional qualifying marks in throwing events at the Yellow Jacket Invitational. The junior earned regional qualifying status in the discus, hammer throw and shot put. She won the discus with a season-best distance of 174-8, placed second in the hammer throw at 171-7 and was fifth in the shot put with a throw of 47-1.
You Were Always on My Mind ...
Junior/sophomore Andrea Parker (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) and sophomore Chelsea Loomis (Traverse City, Mich./West HS) finished 1-2 in the 3,000-meter run at the Yellow Jacket Invitational (April 5) as the two Wolverines clocked in at 9:49.85 and 9:54.27, respectively.
Start Over Georgia ...
In her first action of the 2003 track and field season, sophomore Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame HS) ran a personal-best time of 23.93 over 200 meters at the Yellow Jacket Invitational. The time earned her NCAA Regional qualifying status and bettered her previous best by 0.03 seconds. Hauser-Price's old clocking of 23.96 was set last year at the Jessie Owens Classic (5/4/02).
This Ain't No Thinking Thing ...
Junior/sophomore Lindsey Gallo (Freehold, N.J./Howell HS) lowered her personal best in the 1,500-meter run last Saturday (April 5) when she clocked in with an NCAA Regional qualifying time of 4:24.32 at the Yellow Jacket Invitational. Gallo's time bettered her time of 4:29.25 set earlier this season at the Florida State Relays (March 21) by nearly four seconds. Entering the 2003 outdoor season she had a career-best clocking of 4:29.50, ran at the Miami Invitational (4/13/02).
Maize and Blue Skies Smiling on Me ...
The Wolverines posted 16 NCAA Regional qualifying marks last Saturday (April 5) at the Yellow Jacket Invitational. Here is a list of those marks:
| Name | Event | Qualifying |
| Melissa Bickett | Discus | 174-8 |
| | Hammer Throw | 171-7 |
| | Shot Put | 47-1 |
| Elizabeth Boyle | Pole Vault | 12-10 |
| Theresa Feldkamp | 800-meter Run | 2:08.47 |
| Anna Fisher | Pole Vault | 12-0 |
| Lindsey Gallo | 1,500-meter Run | 4:24.32 |
| Sierra Hauser-Price | 200-meter Dash | 23.93 |
| Jennifer Kulchar | High Jump | 5-8 3/4 |
| Stephanie Linz | High Jump | 5-8 3/4 |
| April Phillips | Hammer Throw | 181-4 |
| | Shot Put | 50-9 1/4 |
| Vera Simms | 400-meter Hurdles | 59.17 |
| Teyonna Simpson | Triple Jump | 40-0 |
| Rachel Sturtz | 800-meter Run | 2:08.15 |
| Michigan | 1,600-meter Relay | 3:44.78 |
Regional Breakdown ...
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 and Katie Erdman.
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, high jump; Vera Simms, 400-meter dash; Rebecca Walter (Beverly Hills, Mich./Groves HS), 5,000-meter run; and the distance medley relay team of Andrea Parker, 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.
In the Polls
Michigan is ranked No. 20 in the first Trackwire 25 poll of the outdoor season, released April 8. The Trackwire 25 projects a hypothetical score for the NCAA meet, factoring in top performances and other variables supplied by coaches and NCAA-qualifying meets around the nation.
Rank, Team Points 1. Auburn 50 2. LSU 48 3. Arkansas 46 4. Mississippi State 44 5. USC 39 6. Nebraska 37 7. Tennessee 32 8. South Carolina 30 9. SMU 25 10. Eastern Michigan 24 11. Oregon 23 12. Stanford 20 Georgia 20 14. Texas 19 15. Minnesota 17 16. UTEP 16 17. TCU 14 Florida 14 Texas Tech 14 20. MICHIGAN 13 21. Indiana 12 Missouri 12 North Carolina 12 Iona 12 25. Seton Hall 11 Purdue 11 Colorado State 11 Pennsylvania 11
Looking Ahead ...
The Wolverines have a week off from competition before they split into two squads for the Penn Relays and Drake Relays during the weekend of April 24-26. The Penn Relays will be held in Philadelphia, Pa., while the Drake Relays take place in Des Moines Iowa.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
