Michigan
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Ofili, Willard Win Event Titles at NCAA Championships
6/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sophomore Tiffany Ofili (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti HS) and graduate/senior Anna Willard (Greenwood, Maine/Telstar Regional HS) of the University of Michigan women's track and field earned national championship titles Friday (June 8) on the third day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex. Ofili claimed her first national crown in the 100m hurdles, while Willard took her first national title in the 3,000m steeplechase.
With one more day left in the meet, Michigan sits in fifth place in the team standings with a total of 22 points.
In the 100m hurdles, Ofili clocked fastest time in her career, a 12.80, to reset her own U-M Outdoor Track record. Ofili put herself in excellent position to claim the title with a strong start out of the blocks and finished the race with a successful clear over the 10th hurdle. Ofili shaved 0.19 seconds from her previous best and was 0.10 seconds faster than second-place finisher Candice Davis of USC, who is also a native of Ann Arbor.
In her final race as a Wolverine, Willard claimed her first-ever national title, taking first place in the 3,000m steeplechase with a career-best, NCAA collegiate record time of 9:38.08. Willard's time shaved 6.80 seconds from her previous-best, which was a U-M Outdoor Track record. Willard led in the first lap but eventually dropped back as Lindsey Anderson of Weber State took the lead. Drafting off Anderson, Willard maintained a comfortable pace and took the lead with 500m left in the race. In the final 500m, Willard opened a eight second lead, finishing strong to take the title.
Sophomore co-captain Bettie Wade (Northville, Mich./Farmington HS) closed out competition in the heptathlon, tallying a career-best 5,724 points to take seventh place. Wade earned her first-ever NCAA Outdoor All-America citation with the performance. The last Wolverine to earn All-America honors in the heptathlon was Tania Longe, who accomplished the feat in 1996 and 1998.
In her final collegiate track race, senior Erin Webster (Dearborn, Mich./Divine Child HS) finished in 11th place in the 5,000m run with a time of 16:11.48. Throughout the race, Webster was able to stay within scoring position, but could not maintain her position in the final 600m of the race and came up 8.26 seconds shy of All-America honors.
The Wolverines continues action on Saturday (June 9) at 11:30 a.m. with the heptathlon long jump at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex.
Top 5 Teams (After Day 3)
1. Arizona State 38 2. Southern California 27 3. LSU 26 4. Texas Tech 23 5. MICHIGAN 22
Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day 3)
100-Meter Hurdles (Final) 1. TIFFANY OFILI, U-M 12.80% 2. Candice Davis, Southern California 12.90 3. Nickiesha Wilson, LSU 12.93 4. Fatmata Fofanah, Georgia Tech 12.96 5. Queen Harrison, Virginia Tech 12.98 6. Ashley Lodree, Washington 12.99 7. Jessica Ohanaja, LSU 13.01 8. Yvette Lewis, Hampton 13.07 9. Kristi Castlin, Virginia Tech 13.11 3,000-Meter Steeplechase (Final) 1. ANNA WILLARD, UM 9:38.08%$ 2. Lindsey Anderson, WEB 9:46.48 3. Barbara Parker, FLST 9:48.82 4. Liz Wort, DUKE 9:51.76 5. Kassi Andersen, BYU 9:52.10 6. Nichole Bush, MIST 9:56.68 7. Jennifer Barringer, UCO 9:59.81 8. Sariah Long, WEB 10:05.22 9. A. Havahla Haynes, UWI 10:07.09 10. Emily Brown, UMN 10:07.40 11. Catherine Parker, UNH 10:08.16 12. Bridget Franek, PSU 10:11.68 13. Amy Fowler, BYU 10:22.75 -- Lindsay Allen, STAN DNF 5,000-Meter Run (Final) 1. Michelle Sikes, WAKE 15:16.76 2. Sally Kipyego, TXT 15:24.22 3. Molly Huddle, ND 15:37.65 4. Julia Lucas, NCST 15:52.08 5. Madeline McKeever, DUKE 15:52.83 6. Teresa McWalters, STAN 15:53.89 7. Alex Becker, TULS 16:00.34 8. Irene Kimaiyo, TXT 16:03.08 9. Lauren Blankenship, SAM 16:03.22 10. Catha Mullen, PRIN 16:04.75 11. ERIN WEBSTER, UM 16:11.48 12. Danette Doetzel, PROV 16:27.67 13. Kathleen Turchin, UTNC 16:34.39 14. Toni-Lynn Salucci, CORN 16:36.04 15. Nicole Blood, UOR 16:50.00 16. Jenna Kingma, AZST 16:55.25
Heptathlon (Final) 1. Jacquelyn Johnson, Arizona State 5,984 Pts. 2. Julie Pickler, Washington State 5,831 3. Jillian Drouin, Syracuse 5,822 4. Gaelle Niare, Southern Methodist 5,797 5. Ashley Selig, Nebraska 5,794 6. Ryanne Dupree, Texas-San Antonio 5,773 7. BETTIE WADE, U-M 5,724 (100m H: 14.00, HJ: 5-10 (1.78m) SP: 42-0 1/2 (12.81m), 200m: 24.62 LJ: 19-7 1/2 (5.98m) JT: 102-7 1/2 (31.25m) 800m: 2:20.76) 8. Gayle Hunter, Penn State 5,711 9. Annett Wichmann, Hawaii-Manoa 5,649 10. Shevell Quinley, Arizona 5,633 11. Ashley Wilhelm, Cincinnati 5,592 12. Etienne Chaplin, Arkansas 5,587 13. Shana Woods, Southern California 5,507 14. Lauren Collins, Irvine 5,505 15. Buky Bamigboye, Georgetown 5,475 16. Bonnie Meekins, William & Mary 5,444 17. Abbie Stechschulte, West Virginia 5,436 18. Sarah Gretzmacher, Georgia 5,306 19. Ashley Reyer, Southern Mississippi 5,283 20. Casie Witte, Nebraska 5,240 21. Amanda Feigt, Utah 5,223 22. Tammilee Kerr, Iowa 5,204 23. Dani Stipe, Northern Iowa 4,987 24. Diana Pickler, Washington State 4,926 -- Nia Ali, Tennessee DNF -- Liane Weber, Clemson DNF -- Melissa Talbot, Wisconsin DNF $ NCAA Collegiate Record % U-M Outdoor Track Record Qq qualified for the next round
Contact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
