2005 TFW NCAA Outdoors -- Day 4 Notes & Quotes
6/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
N O T E S
The 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships will be televised via tape delay on CBS from 2:30-4:30 p.m. EDT next Saturday (June 18).
Michigan's tie for 29th spot is the Wolverines' best team finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships since 1999 when Michigan took 20th place thanks to All-America performances from Nicole Forrester (3rd, high jump) and Katie McGregor (3rd, 5,000-meter run). U-M's eight points are also the most at an outdoor championships since 1999 and tie for the seventh-best outdoor result in program history.
Fifth-year senior Lindsey Gallo earned her second straight All-America honor in the 1,500-meter run, finishing fourth at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships and sixth at the 2005 championships. She has six All-America honors in all and one national championship to her credit. Gallo leaves the Wolverines tied for the most All-America honors in Michigan history, equaling Courtney Babcock (1992-96) and Katie McGregor (1996-99).
Gallo is the only Wolverine to earn a pair of All-America honors in the 1,500-meter run. Cathy Schmidt (1985-86) is the only other Wolverine to earn All-America honors in the 1,500-meter run, finishing sixth in 1996.
Junior/sophomore Katie Erdman earned the third All-America honor of her career and her first of the outdoor season, taking fourth place in the 800-meter run. She also equaled the best finish of any Wolverine at the outdoor championships since Nicole Forrester finished third in the high jump at the 1999 meet. Her outdoor finish is also the best by a Wolverine in the 800-meter run. She is just the second Wolverine to earn All-America honors in the outdoor 800-meter run, following Amy Bannister (1989-92), who finished eighth in the event at the 1992 championships.
Erdman is the only Wolverine to earn All-America accolades in the indoor and outdoor 800-meter run. Erdman previously earned All-America accolades in the 800-meter run and distance medley relay at the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships. Erdman sat out the 2005 indoor season.
Junior/sophomore Rebecca Walter has posted a pair of top-13 finishes in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, finishing 12th in 2003 and 13th in 2005. She sat out the majority of the 2005 indoor season.
Michigan's seven competitors at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships were the most since 2003 when seven Wolverines made the trip.
Q U O T E S
U-M Associate Head Coach Mike McGuire
On Michigan's performance ... "I thought we had a good weekend. With Andrea (Parker) and Rebecca (Walter), they put so much energy into the prelims that it wasn't quite the same in the finals. I can't remember a 5k race in all the years I've been coaching that the pace was that slow early, and that just made it difficult. It turned it into a miler's race, and she's not a miler. Andrea gave a great effort. I was proud of her school record in the prelims. Our two that did score, I think Lindsey would have liked to get higher, but sixth in the nation is still a good performance. With Katie, considering the fact that she missed a lot of time in the winter with no training -- that was kind of a patch-work job all year -- for her to get fourth at the nationals and PR on her third race was a testament to the fact that she finished up on a high note. Overall, we had seven athletes here, and they all tasted some success over the weekend. For the ones returning, hopefully it will be a springboard to bigger and better things."
Junior/Sophomore Katie Erdman
On her 800-meter final ... "I'm happy with how the meet went. This was really my first outdoor season, so I was really happy to just make nationals. Today, I didn't feel great. I think that day off just let the soreness settle into my legs. I still ran a PR. I was happy to finish fourth; I would have been happier to finish fourth without that huge fall in front of me, but time-wise, I ran a better race than I have previously."
On having her first success outdoor season ... "I think this definitely gives me confidence for next year. I hadn't really ever double-backed this season, so the three rounds out here kind of proved to me that it wasn't just a fluke. It makes everything seem more legitimate."
Fifth-year Senior Lindsey Gallo
On her 1,500-meter race ... "I actually felt pretty good; I just wasn't very responsive at the end. With 50 meters to go, I realized that I wasn't even kicking; then I caught two girls, and that helped. I just wasn't as responsive as I would have liked to been."
On stumbling in the final lap ... "I had about 300 to go, and it definitely broke my rhythm a little bit. That's not why I got sixth, but I don't think it helped either. It sort of freaked me out; I went outside to make a move, and it sort of stopped that move from happening. It's just unfortunate."
On wrapping up her U-M career ... "Obviously, I would have liked to end it on a higher note, because this is probably my worst performance at NCAAs in a while. I feel like I've come a long way, and I feel good about my career. I wish it could have ended better, but as a body of work as a whole, I'm pretty happy. I have two more weeks to get work in before USAs, so hopefully, I'll be two weeks stronger and I can redeem myself, so that my last race in a Michigan uniform is a good one."
Junior/Sophomore Rebecca Walter
On having to lead the race ... "I wanted to go out and hit around 78s. It was a good day for a fast race, and I thought that's what everyone would want to do. So, I got out and sped things up, but I didn't want to lead it; I just wanted to get things moving. No one would take it. So, I slowed things down, and no one would take it, and I moved out, and no one took it. So, I just figured by then it would come down to a kicker's race, so I just left it at that pace. At that pace, I felt comfortable, like I was just out for a jog. I don't think that made the difference."
On her summer plans ... "I think ending the season well is definitely fuel for summer training. The biggest motivation is how well I was doing in indoor right before I got hurt. I was PR'ing at the beginning of the season, so I'm trying to get back to that. I'll take a break when I think I need a mental break, probably in about few weeks. I'm going to Spain, so I'll train with Katie Erdman over there. Basically, I'll just start getting ready for cross; I want to have a good, solid season in the fall."
Players Mentioned
