U-M's McGuire, Erdman, Wade Claim USTFCCA Honors
6/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For the third straight year, University of Michigan women's track and field associate head coach Mike McGuire has been named NCAA Mideast Regional Assistant Coach of the Year (women's distance), while fifth-year senior co-captain Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac HS) and sophomore co-captain Bettie Wade (Northville, Mich./Farmington HS) were named Great Lakes NCAA Division I District Athletes of the Year, as selected by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA).
"Its an honor to be recognized by your peers," commented McGuire. "Ill pass the credit to a great group of athletes that put me in position to earn this honor."
During the outdoor season, McGuire and the Wolverine coaching staff helped lead Michigan to six individual crowns and a tie for the team title at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. U-M set three different records in two events (3,000m steeplechase and 1,500m) at the Big Ten meet. At the NCAA Mideast Regional, the Wolverines placed third with a program-high 63 points and automatically qualified seven athletes for nationals in eight events along with claiming three individual titles.
Erdman, who was named the Great Lakes NCAA Division I District Track Athlete of the Year, ran a collegiate-leading, career-best, U-M Outdoor record time of 2:01.25 in the 800m prelims of the Mideast Regional. She followed with a 2:01.99 to win the final. The Cadillac, Mich., native also won the 800m at the Big Ten Championships and placed second in the 1,500. Erdman also ran the first leg on Michigans 4 x 1,500m relay that set an NCAA collegiate record (17:15.62) at the Penn Relays. The fifth-year senior co-captain also anchored the Maize and Blue to an NCAA collegiate record in the 4 x 800m relay (8:18.78) also at the Penn Relays.
Wade, who earned the Great Lakes NCAA Division I District Field Athlete of the Year, claimed the Big Ten Conference heptathlon title with a career-best score of 5,722 points and was also named Big Ten Women's Field Athlete of the Year and of the Championships. The sophomore co-captain finished second in the Big Ten high jump with a personal-best clearance of 6-0, which gave the Wolverines a tie for first place. Wade currently has the sixth-best heptathlon score on this years collegiate list. The Northville, Mich., native finished fifth in the pentathlon at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships to earn All-America honors for the first-time in her career.
Erdman and Wade are the first-ever Wolverines to be named Great Lakes NCAA Division I District Athletes of the Year.
The Wolverines are currently in Sacramento, Calif., to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Championships Wednesday through Saturday, June 6-9, at Sacramento State University's Hornet Stadium.
Contact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423
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