Michigan
Big Ten Indoor Championships (Day 2)
Feldkamp, Erdman Lead Michigan to Second in Big Ten
2/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
IOWA CITY, Ind. -- Despite a pair of individual event titles on the final day of action (Sunday, Feb. 29) at the Big Ten Conference Women's Indoor Championships, the University of Michigan women's track and field team finished second with 98 1/3 points at the University of Iowa's Recreation Building. Penn State snapped Michigan's streak of six straight cross country/track and field Big Ten team titles, as the Nittany Lions took home the indoor trophy with a meet-high 115 points.
Headlining the Maize and Blue efforts were junior Theresa Feldkamp (Lorain, Ohio/Amherst Steele HS) and sophomore Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac HS), who won the 800- and 600-meter runs, respectively. The win for Feldkamp was the first of her career, while it marked the second consecutive year Erdman posted the top time in the 600-meter run.
Feldkamp earned her first-career Big Ten Conference title with a season-best clocking of 2:09.96 to win the 800-meter run. The junior's time was 0.76 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, Iowa's Michelle Lahann, who posted a time of 2:10.72. Anna Jones (Omaha, Neb./Marian HS) finished third in the race with a time of 2:11.01.
With the win Feldkamp continued the dominance by Michigan runners in the event as the Wolverines have on won 11 times (five indoor and six outdoor) since the 1998 indoor meet. It also marked the fourth consecutive Big Ten Championships a Wolverine has won the event. Former captain Rachel Sturtz (2000-03) won twice last year and earned the outdoor title in 2002.
Erdman followed Feldkamp's first title with an event victory of her own in the 600-meter run. The sophomore made a statement that the 600 was her event as she finished the six-lap race 2.09 seconds in front of the field. Leading the pack right out of the gates, Erdman continued to dominate the field, eventually crossing the finish line with a school record time of 1:29.57. The bettered her own previous mark of 1:29.70 set earlier this year at the Sykes-Sabok Challenge Cup (Feb. 14). Mora Arnold (Gregory, Mich./Chelsea HS) finished eighth in 1:33.91.
In the 60-meter hurdles, senior Robin Landfair (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) improved her personal best in the event as she turned in an NCAA provisional quailfying time of 8.42 to finish second in the race. Landfair's time was just 0.01 seconds shy of Tania Longe's (1995-98) 1998 school-record time of 8.41. The time was 0.02 seconds better than Landfair's personal-best clocking of 8.44 set at the 2003 Big Ten Championships (3/2/03).
Senior/junior Lindsey Gallo (Freehold, N.J./Howell HS) helped Michigan's second-day surge up the standings when she clocked in with a runner-up showing of 4:47.67 in the mile. Gallo's mark was an NCAA provisional qualifying mark, coming in 1.33 seconds below the NCAA "B" standard mark of 4:49.00. Joining Gallo in the scoring column was freshman Jackie Gaydos (Allen Park, Mich./Allen Park HS), who finished seventh in the race with a personal-best time of 4:55.71.
Senior quad-captain Carly Knazze (Southfield, Mich./Southfield HS) turned in a season-best time of 55.57 to win the second section of the timed final of the 400-meter dash. Though Knazze won her section, there were two runners in the first section of the timed final who finished with better times, so Knazze placed third overall in the race. Knazze later returned to the track and finished eighth in the 200-meter dash in 25.10.
On the infield, junior Jennifer Kulchar (Burton, Mich./Atherton HS) shared runner-up honors in the high jump with a leap of 5-8. It marks the highest finish in Big Ten competition in the event for Kulchar, who had a previous best finish of third at both the 2003 indoor and outdoor championships.
The Wolverines head to South Bend, Ind., for their final tuneup before the NCAA Championships when they compete at the two-day, non-scoring Alex Wilson Invitational (March 5-6) on the campus of Notre Dame. Friday night's competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., while Saturday's action gets underway at 1 p.m.
Final Team Standings
1. Penn State 115 2. MICHIGAN 98.33 3. Iowa 89 4. Ohio State 88.83 5. Indiana 68 6. Michigan State 65 7 Wisconsin 63.33 8. Illinois 50 9. Minnesota 38 10 Purdue 26.50
Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day 2)
60-meter Dash 1. Consuella Moore, Penn State 7.27*! 60-meter Hurdles 1. Yvonne Mensah, Illinois 8.32#! 2. Robin Landfair, U-M 8.42# 200-meter Dash 1. Consuella Moore, Penn State 23.44*%! 8. Carly Knazze, U-M 25.10 400-meter Dash 1. Shellene Williams, Iowa 54.17#! 3. Carly Knazze, U-M 55.57 600-meter Run 1. Katie Erdman, U-M 1:29.57 8. Mora Arnold, U-M 1:33.91 800-meter Run 1. Theresa Feldkamp, U-M 2:09.96 3. Anna Jones, U-M 2:11.01 Mile Run 1. Hillary Edmondson, Wisconsin 4:45.05#! 2. Lindsey Gallo, U-M 4:47.67# 7. Jackie Gaydos, U-M 4:55.71 5,000-meter Run 1. Jamie Krzyminski, MSU 17:02.61 6. Andrea Parker, U-M 17:44.87 7. Sarah Pizzo, U-M 17:53.40 1,600-meter Relay 1. Indiana 3:41.80 2. Michigan 3:42.40 (Shavonne Maclin, Mora Arnold, Katie Erdman, Vera Simms) High Jump 1. Peaches Roach, Iowa 5-11 1/4# (1.81m) 2. Jennifer Kulchar, U-M 5-8 (1.73m) 11. Porsha Ellis, U-M 5-6 1/2 (1.69m) Triple Jump 1. Rosalind Goodwin, OSU 43-6 1/2#! (13.27m) 12. Candice Wilkey, U-M 37-5 1/4 (11.41m) Weight Throw 1. Keturah Lofton, OSU 65-7 3/4*! (20.01m) 11. Ashley Eckel, U-M 54-3 1/4 (16.55m) 16. Jamie Barbour, U-M 48-3 1/4 (14.71m) % Big Ten meet record $ Michigan school record * NCAA automatic qualifier # NCAA provisional qualifier ! Track record
Day 1 Results
N O T E S
Katie Erdman's victory in the 600-meter run marks the third consecutive year in which a Wolverine has won the race. Erdman captured the crown last year, while Ursula Taylor (2000, '02) started the streak with a win in the event at the 2002 Big Ten Indoor Championships.
Theresa Feldkamp's victory in the 800-meter run marks the fourth consecutive Big Ten meet in which a Wolverine has won the race. Rachel Sturtz (2000, '02) captured the last three Big Ten event championships with wins at the 2003 indoor and outdoor and 2002 outdoor championships.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
