Michigan
NCAA Outdoor Championships (Day 1)
Bickett, Walter Advance to Finals at NCAA Outdoor Meet
6/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The University of Michigan women's track and field team had a pair of athletes qualify for their respective event final today (Wednesday, June 11) on the first day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Sacramento State's A.G. Spanos Sports Complex. U-M junior Melissa Bickett (Akron, Ohio/Revere HS) and freshman Rebecca Walter (Beverly Hills, Mich./Groves HS) earned trips to the final of the discus and 5,000-meter run, respectively, each turning in a season-best performance.
| | Bickett | | Walter |
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It marks the second consecutive year Bickett will place in the top 12 of the discus at the NCAA meet. In 2001 she finished 11th with a distance of 169-1.
Walter used as much clock as she possibly could, posting a time of 16:36.96 for eighth place in the first section of the 5,000-meter prelims. To qualify for the event's final, one must finish in the top five of her heat or have one of the next six fastest times overall.
Because Walter did not finish in the top five, her only chance to make the final was on her time. She needed to wait and see what would take place in heat two of the event and await her fate of making finals. Walter's time held up, and although eight runners did surpass her clocking, the freshman qualified as the 16th of 16th runners for Saturday night's (June 14) final.
Michigan's two other competitors looking to elongate their action at the NCAAs on the first day of action were senior tri-captain Rachel Sturtz (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) and senior/junior Robin Landfair (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS).
Sturtz was the first of the duo on the track, running in the fourth section of the 800-meter preliminaries. As the gun went off to start the race, the other six participants in the race darted off the line leaving Sturtz in eighth place after the first 150 as she did not go out as fast.
The 2003 Big Ten Conference indoor and outdoor 800-meter champion moved up one spot in the race as the group exited the second turn. As the bell rang to signify the final lap, Sturtz began her charge for the leaders. She moved into the inside of lane three and passed two more runners, moving her into fourth with 300 meters remaining in the race.
Though she finished with a hard kick she was running low on energy and fell to fifth, crossing the line in 2:06.36. Though her time did not qualify her for Thursday's (June 11) semifinal, she finished 18th overall in the 28-member field. It marked the second fastest outdoor run of her four-year career. Sturtz ran her personal-best outdoor time at the Big Ten Championships (May 17), when she won the league title in 2:06.17.
Landfair finished the sixth in her seven-member field of the 100-meter hurdles preliminaries, clocking in at 13.82 in a head wind of 1.1 miles an hour. Running in lane two, the U-M record holder in the event had trouble out of the blocks but was able to get back into the race, crossing the first hurdle on the heels of the 2003 NCAA indoor 60-meter hurdles champion Lolo Jones of LSU. Jones was the eventual race winner, posting a time of 13.39. Landfair did not make the semifinals and finished 24th overall.
The Wolverines return to action Thursday (June 12) with sophomore Stephanie Linz (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) leading off Michigan's competition as the seventh jumper in the flight one of the high jump that gets under way at 4 p.m. PDT. Also in action on the second day of the NCAAs are senior tri-captain April Phillips (Fraser, Mich./Fraser HS) and Bickett in the hammer throw prelims and junior/sophomore Lindsey Gallo (Freehold, N.J./Howell HS) in the 1,500-meter run prelims.
Wednesday's Results
800-meter Run (Preliminaries) Section 4 1. Kenia Sinclair, Seton Hall 2:04.95Q 5. Rachel Sturtz, U-M 2:06.36 5,000-meter Run (Preliminaries) Section 1 1. Lauren Fleshman, Stanford 16:18.98Q 8. Rebecca Walter, U-M 16:36.96q 100-meter Hurdles (Preliminaries) Section 1 1. Lolo Jones, LSU 13.39Q 6. Robin Landfair, U-M 13.82 Discus (Preliminaries) Flight 2 1. Melissa Bickett, U-M 181-7Q Qq indicates qualification for next round
N O T E S
Rachel Sturtz ends her career at Michigan as the winningest 800-meter runner in Wolverine women's history. In her four years with the Maize and Blue, she captured five Big Ten crowns. Sturtz won her first of five at the 2001 indoor league meet. She made it two straight in 2001, winning the outdoor title as well. Though she placed second at the 2002 indoor meet, she defended her outdoor crown and then ended her Big Ten career in style as she claimed both the indoor and outdoor 800-meter titles this season.
Melissa Bickett came within five feet of her personal-best mark in the discus as she marked a season-best 181-7. Bickett's personal best in the event set the Michigan school record as she marked 186-5 at the Penn Relays on April 26, 2002.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
