Michigan
NCAA Indoor Championships (Day 1)
DMR Seventh in NCAA; Erdman, Gallo Qualify for Finals
3/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Behind an All-America effort from its distance medley relay team, the University of Michigan women's track and field team finished day one of the NCAA Indoor Championships (Friday, March 12) tied for 26th place with two points in Arkansas' Randal Tyson Track Center.
The foursome of sophomore Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac HS), fifth-year quad-captain Carly Knazze (Southfield, Mich./Southfield HS), junior Theresa Feldkamp (Lorain, Ohio/Amherst Steele HS) and senior/junior Lindsey Gallo (Freehold, N.J./Howell HS) combined for a seventh-place finish of 11:13.30 in the DMR, the final race of the day.
Erdman and Gallo ran double duty and qualified for the individual event finals, in the 800-meter run and the mile, respectively. It marks the first trip to the finals of a national championship race for both U-M competitors.
Following a school-record run in the 800 earlier in the day, Erdman opened the DMR with a great split in the 1,200-meter run. The sophomore positioned herself in fifth place following the first 200 meters, running much of the lap in lane two and three. She was able to move into second on the next lap, trailing the Tennessee leadoff leg. Villanova made a move to the head of the pack at the 800 mark of the race, but Erdman pushed back to second on the back straightaway on the ensuing lap, and on her final 200 of the evening she opened up her strides and pulled away from the pack. Coming out of the final turn, the sophomore had gained a 10-meter cushion on the 10-team field when she handed the golden baton to Knazze.
Knazze kept U-M at the front of the pack for the first 100 meters of her 400-meter leg, but Tennessee then took a lead it would never relinquish. However, Knazze held her position with a spilt of 54 seconds to give the baton to Feldkamp with Michigan in second place after two legs of the race.
Feldkamp fell to third out of the first turn of her first lap but shortly recaptured second from Stanford along the back stretch. Stanford and UCLA kept close watch on Feldkamp's back for the next lap, until UCLA pulled ahead with 10 meters to go. Feldkamp held tight and eventually was running stride for stride with the Cardinal's third runner, and with just 50 meters to go Michigan's junior moved U-M back to second as she passed the baton for the final time in the race.
Gallo quickly found herself in a battle with Stanford, Villanova, UCLA and Brigham Young. The five teams alternated positions for the first two laps, but Stanford and Villanova pushed Gallo to fourth with six laps to go. Gallo continued to run a gritty race, but UCLA, Georgetown, West Virginia and Brigham Young moved ahead of the Michigan junior in the final two laps. With one lap remaining, Gallo was in eighth place. As the bell sounded she began to move, however, and quickly moved past Georgetown and was able to hold off the Hoya anchor to finish seventh, clocking in at 11:13.30.
In the first race of the day for U-M, Erdman showcased her skills against individual competition as she lowered her school record in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:04.77. Erdman's clocking lowered her own school record by 0.61 seconds. Her previous best in the race was 2:05.38, set at the Meyo Invitational (Feb. 7). Erdman qualified for the eight-person final with the second fastest time among non-automatic qualifiers (the top two in each heat).
The performance put her fourth in the first heat of the event, just 0.74 seconds behind heat winner Nicole Cook of Tennessee (2:04.03). Coming off the line in lane one, Erdman was forced to the outside early and continued to run the entire first lap of the outside of North Carolina's Alice Schmidt. Erdman battled in the lead pack the entire race, as the leaders kept a fast pace, pulling away from the rest of the field. Erdman was able to keep the pace and never broke stride, but she never opened up into a sprint knowing she had to return to the track later in the day for the distance medley relay.
Gallo earned Michigan's other trip to an event final as she automatically qualified for the final of the mile with a third-place finish in the second heat of the event in 4:41.10. Gallo's mark was only 0.19 seconds behind her personal-best clocking of 4:40.91 set earlier this season at the Meyo Invitational (Feb. 7).
Gallo started things off on the right foot as she was able to jump out to second place after the first lap, a position she would hold for all but the final lap. With heat leader Tiffany McWilliams of Mississippi State pulling away from the pack, Gallo fended off the competition until the 1,400-meter mark when she fell to fourth. Gallo made up the ground in the final 50 meters as she moved into third to automatically qualify for the finals of the event.
Erdman and Gallo will join teammate Jennifer Kulchar (Burton, Mich./Atherton HS) on the second and final day of action at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Kulchar will get things started Saturday (March 13) when she competes in the high jump at 4:35 p.m. CST. Gallo will take to the track for the final of the mile at 6:15 p.m., while Erdman will be the final Wolverine competitor when she runs in the final of the 800-meter run at 6:35 p.m.
Team Standings (After Day 1)
1. UCLA 29 Florida 29 3. Georgia 26 4. Nebraska 23.50 5. Louisiana State 16 Stanford 16 7. Tennessee 14 8. Miami (Fla.) 10 Texas 10 Arkansas 10 Providence 10 ------------------------------- 26. MICHIGAN 2 South Florida 2 Princeton 2
Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day 1)
800-meter Run (Prelims) Heat 1 1. Nicole Cook, Tennessee 2:04.03Q 4. Katie Erdman, U-M 2:04.77$q Mile Run (Prelims) Heat 2 1. Tiffany McWilliams, Miss. St. 4:39.58Q 3. Lindsey Gallo, U-M 4:47.67Q Distance Medley Relay 1. Tennessee 11:06.07 7. Michigan 11:13.30 (Katie Erdman, Carly Knazze, Theresa Feldkamp, Lindsey Gallo) Qq qualified for finals $ Michigan school record
N O T E S
Katie Erdman is the first Wolverine to make the finals of the 800-meter run since Amy Bannister finished eighth in the event at the 1992 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Katie Erdman set the school record in the 800-meter run for the second time this season when she finished with a time of 2:04.77. With the time, Erdman became the first Michigan runner to break the 2:05 barrier in the event.
Lindsey Gallo became the first Wolverine to make the finals of the mile since Karen Harvey finished eighth at the 1994 NCAA Indoor Championships.
With both Katie Erdman and Lindsey Gallo qualifying for event finals on the track, it marks the first in school history the Wolverines pushed two individuals through the preliminary round and into the finals at an NCAA Championships.
Katie Erdman, Carly Knazze, Theresa Feldkamp and Lindsey Gallo became the U-M's first distance medley foursome since 1999 to earn All-America honors.
It also marks the first time Michigan has had at least four athletes earn All-America status at a single NCAA meet since the 1999 indoor season, when the Wolverines had five athletes garner the the honor.
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
