Michigan
Harold Silverston Invitational
Wolverines Claims Eight Event Titles in Silverston Invite
2/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan women's track and field team posted 24 season-bests performances as it hosted the Harold Silverston Invitational on Saturday (Feb. 18) at the U-M Indoor Track Building.
The last home meet of the indoor season proved to be more than just a tune-up for the Big Ten Championships, as the Wolverines took home eight first-place finishes. The Maize and Blue was led by freshman Tiffany Ofili (Ypsilanti, Mich./Yspilanti) as she took home two first-place finishes and placed third in the long jump with a personal best of 19-3 1/2. Her titles came in the 60m dash and the 60m hurdles with times of 7.77 and 8.65, respectively.
The Wolverines set five personal bests in the 60m hurdles with freshman Joi Smith (Cleveland, Ohio/Collinwood) taking second place with a personal-best of 8.77. Also setting a personal best was third-place finisher senior Beth Vinckier (Yale, Mich./Yale) with a time of 9.05.
In the 200m, junior Chanelle Campbell (Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock) took first place, as she got off to a great start by taking the lead out of the blocks. Campbell finished with a time of 24.94, just 0.06 seconds shy of her season-best time of 24.88 set at the Meyo Invitational (Feb. 3). Taking fourth place was senior Shavonne Maclin (University Heights, Ohio/Beaumont School) as she posted a time of 25.62.
Sophomore Serita Williams (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monroe) took first place in the 400m in very convincing fashion with a time of 57.13, which was 2.08 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.
Rounding out the sprinting events was freshman Amber Hay (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) as she took first place title in the 600m with a personal-best time of 1:33.53. Sophomore/freshman Linda Montgomery (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) took second as freshman Katie LaValley (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Central) and senior/junior Monica Dunn (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) finished third and seventh, respectively, all with personal-best times.
The only distance event for Michigan was the mile, in which junior/sophomore Elisabeth Uible (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) set the standard with a personal-best time of 5:09.40. Following suit with personal bests and second- and third-place finishes were sophomore/freshman Lisa Canty (Highland, Mich./Milford) and, running unattached, freshman Katie Williams (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington).
In the field events Michigan set a total of 10 season bests, with junior Bridgette Maynard (Clawson, Mich./Bishop Foley) leading the Wolverines with a first-place finish and personal best in the shot put with a distance of 43-0 1/2. Senior/juniors Jamie Barbour (Dearborn, Mich./Edsel Ford) and Kristin Pearson (Escanaba, Mich./Escanaba) placed second in the weight throw and pole vault, respectively, as they both posted personal bests. Barbour improved in the weight throw with a throw of 48-10 3/4, and Pearson improved in the pole vault with a clearance of 12-5 1/2.
The Maize and Blue closed out the meet in style, winning the 4x400m relay with a time of 4:04.60. Smith led the way as she took the first leg with the Dunn twins taking the second and third legs, and sophomore Kiersten Isgrigg (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon) running the last leg.
The Wolverines travel to Madison, Wis., as they look to defend their Big Ten title at the 2006 Big Ten Women's Indoor Championships on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 25-26).
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach James Henry
On the team's top performers ... "There were three people I was extremely happy with: Jennifer Williams, Tiffany Ofili and Amber Hay. Each one of them proved that they could step it up, and it was a good chance for them to do that under less pressured circumstances."
On expectations for the day ... "One expectation that we had was to rest our top-line people, those that have already proven themselves and that need the rest, and we did that. The second expectation was to allow the people that wanted to practice performing under pressure do it on their own, and that also happened"
On team performance for next week ... "It's going to take balance, we're going to have to be a balanced program. If we're not balanced then we won't win, so it's going to take contributions from bottom to top and that is from our kids that are barely going to make the finals, they need to get in, and our top need to show up by example. So we're going to be looking for balance."
Contact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
