Gallo, Walter Headline Group of Four NCAA Qualifiers

Saturday, May 28

Bloomington, Ind.

Michigan

NCAA Mideast Regional (Day 2)

5/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The University of Michigan women's track and field team punched four tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the NCAA Mideast Regional Saturday (May 28), sending fifth-year senior Lindsey Gallo (Freehold, N.J./Howell), senior Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame), freshman Nicole Edwards (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey) and senior/junior Rebecca Walter (Beverly Hills, Mich./Groves) to Sacramento in two weeks.

Gallo won her second straight NCAA Mideast Regional 1,500-meter run title, clocking in with a season-best 4:18.40 to lead the 13-person field. Edwards crossed in a career-best 4:22.72 for third place to earn a berth in her first NCAA Outdoor Championships. Walter won the 5,000-meter run, while Hauser-Price placed fourth in the 200-meter dash to earn her first trip to outdoor nationals.

Michigan took third in the regional with 42.5 points behind regional champion Tennessee (82) and runner-up LSU (61). The Wolverines claim third place for the second year in a row after finishing in third spot with 53 points in 2004.

Gallo sprinted into the lead as the pack came through the bend at the 800-meter mark, clocking in at 2:23.6. She continued to pick up the pace down the backstretch to string out the 13-person field. Gallo and Missouri's Amanda Bales pulled away from the chase pack, while Edwards responded to the accelerated pace to pull into fifth place at the bell. Gallo dropped the Tiger runner entering the final backstretch and Edwards moved into the third spot as both Wolverines maintained their positions to the finish line. Senior/junior Theresa Feldkamp (Lorain, Ohio/Amherst Steele) was tripped up late in the race and took the 11th spot in 4:35.36.

In the 5,000-meter run, Walter settled into the middle of the pack as the 22-person field stayed bunched together through the opening 3,000 meters at a 9:46 pace. Walter positioned herself at the rear of a lead pack of seven runners as the field began to string out. She stayed within 10 meters of the frontrunner entering the bell, moving among the top four runners and cutting to the outside lane to cruise into the lead down the final backstretch. With Southwest Missouri State's Casey Owens chasing her on the final turn, Walter kicked into another gear to pull away in the straightaway and win the race by 60 meters. Walter earned her second ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships; she finished 12th at NCAAs in the 5,000-meter run as a freshman in 2003.

Hauser-Price narrowly missed out on advancing to the NCAA Championships in the 100-meter dash with a sixth-place finish, clocking in at 11.76. An hour and a half later, Hauser-Price punched her ticket to Sacramento in the 200-meter dash with a fourth-place showing, crossing in 23.42 for her first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

In the second flight of the 3,000-meter steeplechase, fifth-year senior Andrea Parker (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) missed out on advancing to her first NCAA Championships with a sixth-place finish, clocking in at 10:26.88, while senior/junior Ana Gjesdal (LaCrescenta, Calif./Crescenta Valley) took 14th in the second flight and 23rd overall in 10:55.34. Junior/sophomore Arianne Field (Kalamazoo, Mich./Hackett) led from start to finish in the first flight, clocking in at 10:40.26 for a 10th-place overall finish.

Junior Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) took sixth in the 800-meter run in a time of 2:06.32, settling along the rail at the back of the field at the break but using the homestretch to climb into the top four as the pack came through the 400-meter mark at 1:29. She continued to close on the leaders in the backstretch but was boxed in around the curb and faded into sixth place down. Erdman's time is expected to earn her an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships.

In the high jump, senior/junior Jennifer Williams (Burton, Mich./Atherton) narrowly missed advancing to the NCAA Championships, falling just short in a jump-off competition and earning a share of sixth place. She posted a mark of 5-9 1/4, clearing her second bar on the second attempt. With only four individuals hitting the mark on the first attempt, Williams was thrown into extra innings to determine the fifth and final qualifier. Williams advanced through four rounds of the jump-off as the field narrowed to her and Notre Dame's Stacey Cowan. As the head-to-head competition moved up to 5-11 1/4 for the second time, Cowan cleared to take the advantage, while Williams jumped high enough but clipped the bar with her leg, handing the jump-off to Cowan. Senior/junior Stephanie Linz (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) was unable to clear the opening height of 5-7 1/4.

The Wolverines have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, scheduled for June 8-11 in Sacramento, Calif.

Final Team Standings (Top 10)

 1. Tennessee 82 2. Louisiana State 61 3. MICHIGAN 42.50 4. Ohio State 41.33 5. Arkansas 40 6. Auburn 39 7. Alabama 38 8. Louisiana Tech 36 9. Kent State 33 10. Illinois 32

Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 2)

100-Meter Dash 1. Kelly Baptiste, LSU 11.26* 6. Sierra Hauser-Price, U-M 11.76 200-Meter Dash 1. Cleo Tyson, Tennessee 22.91* 4. Sierra Hauser-Price, U-M 23.42* 800-Meter Run 1. Aneita Denton, Arkansas 2:04.75* 6. Katie Erdman, U-M 2:06.32 1,500-Meter Run 1. Lindsey Gallo, U-M 4:18.40* 3. Nicole Edwards, U-M 4:22.72* 11. Theresa Feldkamp, U-M 4:35.46 3,000-Meter Steeplechase 1. Cassie Hunt, Illinois 10:07.29* 6. Andrea Parker, U-M 10:26.88 10. Arianne Field, U-M 10:40.26 23. Ana Gjesdal, U-M 10:55.34 5,000-Meter Run 1. Rebecca Walter, U-M 16:15.68* High Jump 1. Krista Miller, Southern Miss. 5-11 1/4#* (1.81m) T6. Jennifer Williams, U-M 5-9 1/4 (1.76m) -- Stephanie Linz, U-M NH Discus 1. Beth Mallory, Alabama 189-7#* (57.80m) 11. Bridgette Maynard, U-M 147-11 (45.09m) Shot Put 1. Megan Cenkush, Southern Ill. 50-0 1/2 (15.25m) 11. Ashley Eckel, U-M 44-9 3/4 (13.66m) * Qualified for NCAA Championships # NCAA Mideast Regional record