Michigan
NCAA Indoor Championships (Day 1)
Wolverines Claim NCAA Distance Medley Relay Crown
3/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Site: Fayetteville, Ark. (Randal Tyson Indoor Track)
Event: at NCAA Indoor Championships (Day 1 of 2)
U-M Team Standing: Tie-7th Place (10 Points) after Day 1
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 12 -- at NCAA Indoor Championships (Fayetteville, Ark.)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The University of Michigan women's track and field team claimed its first NCAA event title since 1998 on Friday (March 11), winning the third distance medley relay crown in school history on the opening day of the NCAA Indoor Championships. The victory, worth 10 team points, puts the Wolverines in a tie for seventh place with seven events scored at Arkansas' Randal Tyson Indoor Track.
Michigan's DMR quartet -- freshman Nicole Edwards (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey SS) on the opening 1,200-meter leg, Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame Prep) running the 400m leg, Theresa Feldkamp (Lorain, Ohio/Amherst Steele HS) on the 800m leg, and fifth-year senior Lindsey Gallo (Freehold, N.J./Howell HS) with the anchoring 1,600m -- clocked a winning time of 11:08.24 to beat out second-place Villanova (11:08.76) and third-place Stanford (11:08.81).
Edwards (from left), Gallo, Feldkamp and Hauser-Price claimed the DMR crown.
Starting the relay in the far outside lane, Edwards found herself at the back of the 11-team field after the two-turn stagger convergence, but she immediately responded by moving up to the middle of the pack through the second lap. As Duke and Villanova shot to the front and the field formed into separate groups, the Wolverine ran at the rear of the lead pack, staying within striking distance of the leaders. Edwards moved into the fourth spot as she entered her final lap of the 1,200-meter leg and picked up another two positions around the final bend as she cut to the outside lane to hand off second with an opening split of 3:25.0. Hauser-Price maintained the Wolverines' position through the next 400 meters, clocking 54.6 to trail only North Carolina at the second exchange.
As the Tar Heels put a huge gap on the rest of the field, Feldkamp led the chase group with Villanova and Stanford glued to her heels through the first three laps of the 800-meter leg. Both runners moved around the Wolverine coming out of the second bend and heading into the final lap, but Feldkamp used a strong kick to regain the ground and catch them at the line, finishing with a 2:11 split.
Gallo sat back in the fourth position, tucking in behind Villanova and Stanford as the threesome worked together to gradually cut the gap between themselves and North Carolina's Cassie King. The trio finally caught the Tar Heel anchor at the bell, and all three moved to the outside to pass her coming out of the first bend. Heading into the final homestretch, Gallo cut to lane three and used her kick to move from third to first and take the lead with 10 meters to go. Gallo's 4:37.50 split over the anchor 1,600-meter leg gave the Wolverines a trio of DMR championships, adding the 2005 hardware to NCAA indoor titles in 1994 -- the first year women ran the event at NCAAs -- and 1998.
Earlier in the evening Gallo, who owns the nation's top mile time this year (4:37.97), posted the fastest time in the mile run preliminaries, clocking in at 4:44.66 to finish first in the second heat and advance to Saturday's finals. Freshman Alyson Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick's) placed eighth in the first heat, recording the 15th fastest time of the prelims (4:59.57), and did not qualify for the finals.
Starting the race in the outside box, Gallo settled in at the back of the eight-person field when the packs converged around the first turn. After gradually moving up into the fourth position through the opening few laps, the Wolverine senior took off as the group entered the halfway mark, sprinting to the front and immediately putting a 10-meter gap on the field. Gallo maintained her advantage heading into the bell lap and stayed well ahead of the chase pack until easing up slightly down the final stretch, allowing Nebraska's Anne Shade and Brigham Young's Heidi Magill to pull nearer at the finish line.
Making her second NCAA Indoors appearance in three years, senior/junior Stephanie Linz (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) tied for 14th in the high jump. Linz cleared the initial height (5-7 3/4) on her first try but missed three straight attempts at 5-9 1/4.
Gallo will be the Wolverines' only competitor Saturday (March 12) on the second and final day of the NCAA Indoor Championships, running in the mile final at 6:15 p.m. CST. She will be trying to give Katie McGregor (1996-99) some company on U-M's list of individual NCAA indoor champions. In 1998 McGregor won the lone individual indoor title in program history, finishing first in the 3,000-meter run after helping the Wolverines to their second DMR title.
Top 10 Teams (After Day 1)
1. Tennessee 21
2. Texas 19
3. Miami (Fla.) 14
4. Stanford 12
5. Florida 11
Brigham Young 11
7. MICHIGAN 10
Northern Arizona 10
North Carolina 10
Southern California 10
Georgia Tech 10
Texas Southern 10
Michigan Results (Day 1)
High Jump (Top 15)
1. Chaunte Howard, Georgia Tech 6-3 1/2 (1.92m)
2. Gaelle Niare, Southern Methodist 6-3 1/2 (1.92m)
3. Sharon Day, Cal Poly-SLO 6-1 1/4 (1.86m)
4. Sheena Gordon, North Carolina 6-1 1/4 (1.86m)
5. Lindsey Metcalf, Brigham Young 6-0 (1.83m)
6. Peaches Roach, Iowa 6-0 (1.83m)
7. Debra Vento, Duke 5-10 3/4 (1.80m)
8. Kaylene Wagner, Cal Poly-SLO 5-10 3/4 (1.80m)
9. Julie Elliott, Portland 5-10 3/4 (1.80m)
10. Natalie Sako, Akron 5-9 1/4 (1.76m)
11. Caroline Wolf, Texas State 5-9 1/4 (1.76m)
Lacy Wilson, Texas Tech 5-9 1/4 (1.76m)
13. Krystle Moss, Florida 5-9 1/4 (1.76m)
14. Stephanie Linz, U-M 5-7 3/4 (1.72m)
Kena Butts, Liberty 5-7 3/4 (1.72m)
Mile Run (Prelims)
Heat 1
1. Erin Donohue, North Carolina 4:45.13Q
2. Arianna Lambie, Stanford 4:45.15Q
3. Shannon Rowbury, Duke 4:45.32Q
4. Mary Kamau, Idaho 4:45.33q
5. Lindsey Egerdahl, Washington 4:46.44q
6. Kathleen Trotter, Stanford 4:46.99
7. Desiraye Osburn, Wichita State 4:53.04
8. Alyson Kohlmeier, U-M 4:59.57
Heat 2
1. Lindsey Gallo, U-M 4:44.66Q
2. Anne Shadle, Nebraska 4:45.03Q
3. Heidi Magill, Brigham Young 4:45.14Q
4. Ioana Parusheva, Villanova 4:45.50q
5. Jemissa Hess, High Point 4:45.87q
6. Jessica Eldridge, Oklahoma 4:46.63
7. Rachel Ellison, Arizona State 4:47.75
8. Jennifer McPherson, Miss. State 5:01.24
Distance Medley Relay
1. MICHIGAN 11:08.24
(Nicole Edwards, Sierra Hauser-Price,
Theresa Feldkamp, Lindsey Gallo)
2. Villanova 11:08.76
3. Stanford 11:08.81
4. North Carolina 11:11.69
5. Georgetown 11:12.40
6. West Virginia 11:13.07
7. Tennessee 11:15.21
8. Arkansas 11:17.11
9. Missouri 11:18.62
10. Duke 11:26.10
11. Arizona State 11:30.69
Qq indicates qualification for final
Players Mentioned
