Michigan
NCAA Outdoor Championships (Day 1)
Erdman, Parker and Walter Advance at NCAA Outdoors
6/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- University of Michigan women's track and field fifth-year senior Andrea Parker (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson), junior/sophomore Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) and junior/sophomore Rebecca Walter (Beverly Hills, Mich./Groves) advanced in running events on day one of the NCAA Outdoor Championships Wednesday (June 8) at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex.
Erdman earned an automatic berth to the semifinals of the 800-meter run with the fastest time in the second heat, while Parker shattered her own school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to qualify for the final. Walter managed the fastest time of a non-automatic qualifiers in the 5,000-meter run to advance to the final. Senior Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame) failed to advance in the 100-meter dash but will compete in the 200-meter dash preliminaries on Thursday (June 9).
Erdman nabbed an automatic qualifer to the 800-meter run semifinals, recording a time of 2:05.79 to win the second preliminary heat. Starting on the outside, Erdman led nearly the entire race after settling into the front of the pack at the break. The Wolverine paced the six-person pack through the opening 400 meters at 1:01.22 and held her advantage down the final stretch as the field strung out behind her. Erdman was challenged around the curb as Oral Robert's Mable Kunihira briefly stole the lead, but the Wolverine retook her position in the final stretch, fighting off opposition from the inside and outside to take the tape in a blanket finish as the top four crossed within 0.25 seconds. Erdman will compete in the 800-meter run semifinals Thursday (June 9) at 6:45 p.m. PDT, attempting to secure a berth into the finals.
Parker obliterated her own school record with a personal-best time of 10:13.88 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to place seventh in the second heat and qualify for Friday's event final. With the performance, Parker lopped 10.37 seconds off her previous best mark and improved her own U-M school record for the third time in her career and the second time this season. The 14-person field got out to a quick 76-second opening pace but eased off in subsequent laps. Parker tucked into the middle of the pack along the inside rail to remain within striking distance of the leaders. As the field began to string out with three laps to go, Parker made her move to the outside lane, using the backstretch to pull into the seventh position. The lead group of six runners accelerated to build a 20-meter gap on the remainder of the field, but Parker held her ground at the front of the chase pack, taking advantage of a strong finishing kick to hold off challengers down the final stretch. Parker becomes the first Wolverine to ever advance to an NCAA final in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She and 13 other athletes compete in the final on Friday (June 10) at 7:05 p.m. PDT.
Walter finished seventh in the first heat of the 5,000-meter run, clocking in at 16:20.31 and qualifying for the event final with the fastest time of any of the non-automatic qualifiers. Walter was the NCAA Mideast Regional champion in the 5,000-meter run, running a personal-best time of 16:15.68. She earned All-America honors at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, placing 12th in the 5,000-meter run.
Walter went straight to the front of the 12-person field from the gun, leading the tight pack through the opening 1,000 meters at 3:17.1. The Wolverine dropped back into the middle for about 400 meters but again moved up among the leaders as the pace picked up during the fifth lap, and the pack came through the 2,000-meter mark at 6:37.6. Walter gradually drifted off the pace as the lead group of five pulled away from the remainder of the field, but she stayed within striking distance in the sixth position with 1,000 meters to go. Santa Barbara's Cosette Smith moved around the Wolverine as they approached the bell lap, but Walter, with a good advantage on the remainder of the field, held her ground in the final 400 meters to claim the seventh spot.
Hauser-Price placed sixth in the fourth and final heat of the 100-meter dash, posting a time of 11.92 to miss qualification for the semifinal round. After a late false-start gun called the runners back to the blocks, Hauser-Price got off quickly but faded in the final 60 meters to finish 0.63 seconds out of the lead. Hauser-Price also qualified for the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and will run in the preliminaries Thursday (June 9) at 5:30 p.m. PDT.
The Wolverines will return for the second day of competition at the NCAA Championships Thursday (June 9) in Sacramento, Calif. Fifth-year senior Lindsey Gallo (Freehold, N.J./Howell) (1,500m), senior/junior Jennifer Williams (Burton, Mich./Atherton) (high jump), Erdman (800m) and Hauser-Price (200m) will competing at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex.
Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 1)
100-meter Dash (Preliminaries) Heat 4 1. Marshevet Hooker, Texas 11.39Q 6. Sierra Hauser-Price, U-M 11.92 800-meter Run (Preliminaries) Heat 2 1. Katie Erdman, U-M 2:05.79Q 3,000-meter Steeplechase (Preliminaries) Heat 2 1. Shannon Wommack, Tenn-Chat. 10:08.52Q 7. Andrea Parker, U-M 10:13.88q! 5,000-meter Run (Preliminaries) Heat 1 1. Sara Bei, Stanford 16:12.57Q 7. Rebecca Walter, U-M 16:20.31q Qq advanced to the next round ! Michigan record
N O T E S
Katie Erdman is the first Wolverine since 1992 to advance past the preliminary round of the 800-meter run at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Michigan has produced just one 800-meter outdoor All-American (Amy Bannister, who finished eighth in 1992).
Andrea Parker shattered her own record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for the second time this season, bettering the previous mark by 10.37 seconds. Parker's time of 10:13.88 is 19.46 seconds faster than the U-M record heading into the 2005 season and marks the fourth time Parker has broken the U-M mark. Prior to Parker's arrival in Ann Arbor, the steeplechase record was 11:47.13 set in 2002 by Anna Jones. No Wolverine has ever qualified for the 3,000-meter steeplechase final or won All-America honors in the event.
Rebecca Walter is seeking her second NCAA outdoor All-America honor in the 5,000-meter run after finishing 12th at the 2003 outdoor championships. Michigan boasts 10 All-America honors in the outdoor 5,000-meter run.
Q U O T E S
Junior/Sophomore Katie Erdman
On her 800-meter race ... "I felt great during the race. I didn't think I'd end up leading the race; I haven't really had to all season. We were out quick at the 200, but that last curb, everyone takes a step off the pace, and I just didn't want to do that. You're just too sluggish to respond after that. I felt good, so I kept going. Today, that put me in the lead, but I doubt that will happen in any of the remaining, hopefully, two races."
On getting challenged in the last stretch ... "When she came up to me, I thought, 'That's fine, I just have to be top three,' but I looked the other way and two girls had come up and panned out to the right. I didn't want to be the one who gets nipped at the line. I just had to add two quick strides, and I was fine. It was really an uninterrupted race, which is why I think I felt good. I didn't have to fight with anyone."
Fifth-Year Senior Andrea Parker
On shaving considerable time from her personal best ... "I had no idea when I was racing what my pace was or what my time was; the only objective was to stay competitive. So, in doing that and trying to be as close to the top five or top eight as I could be, it just kind of carried me to a huge PR, which I was thrilled about."
On having a strong run at the NCAA meet ... "I had a great steeple at Drake, regionals was okay and Big Tens were not good at all. To come back from a couple pretty poor races like that is such a good feeling. All the things are falling into place right now, which is great. At first, I was just excited to make nationals, and then I got over that and really wanted to compete. I wasn't really expecting to make finals, so I couldn't be happier right now. I'm excited to have PR'ed, and my teammates are doing well. I just want to make this a really good run. These are my last few collegiate races, and I want to make them good ones. I'm on the right track."
Junior/Sophomore Rebecca Walter
On her 5,000-meter race ... "The plan going in -- and I was pretty much able to follow accordingly -- was to hit an honest pace throughout the race. I didn't want it to come down to a finishing sprint, so that meant I had to lead to the middle, and that was a bit tiring. I wanted to finish top six to get an automatic qualifier, but I ended up in seventh and got the 12th overall spot. So, everything worked out fine. Now, I just need to rest up for Saturday, where I will hopefully get in the middle and go for a good time."
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
