Michigan
NCAA Mideast Regional
Taylor Long Jumps to Second Place at Mideast Regional
5/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Site: Fayetteville, Ark. (John McDonnell Field)
Event: NCAA Mideast Regional Championships (Day 1)
U-M Team Standing: Tie-10th Place (8 Points) After Day 1
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 31 -- at NCAA Mideast Regional Championships (Fayetteville, Ark.)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Junior Casey Taylor (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic) placed second in the long jump and six University of Michigan women's track and field athletes qualified for event finals Friday (May 30) at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships at Arkansas' John McDonnell Field.
Taylor leaped a personal-record 21-1 1/2 to earn eight points for the Wolverines, and her top-five finish automatically qualified her for the event at the NCAA Championships.
Individuals who qualified for event finals included junior Geena Gall (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) in the 800-meter run, senior co-captain Nicole Edwards (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey) in the 1,500-meter run, junior co-captain Tiffany Ofili (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti) and sophomore Charnee Lumbus (Cleveland, Ohio/Collinwood) in the 100-meter hurdles, and juniors Katie LaValley (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Central) and Amber Hay (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) in the 400-meter hurdles.
Gall and Ofili each punched her finals ticket by winning a heat with the second-fastest prelims time of her respective event. Gall clocked 2:05.80 in the 800-meter run prelims, while Ofili posted a time of 12.90 to take her 100-meter hurdles heat. Ofili also just missed adding points to the Wolverines' score with a ninth-place finish of 20-5 1/4 in the long jump. Lumbus was second in her heat of the 100-meter hurdles with a personal-record 13.19 and earned the last of eight spots in Saturday's final.
Running in the slower of the two 1,500-meter heats, Edwards automatically qualified for the final with a top-four finish. The top three runners crossed the line nearly simultaneously, with Edwards (4:27.74) following Wisconsin's Ann Detmer (4:27.45) and Tennessee's Sarah Bowman (4:27.58).
LaValley and Hay each placed second in her 400-meter hurdles heat but advanced as the sixth and eighth seeds, respectively. LaValley earned a personal-best 57.78, and Hay ran a 58.85.
The Wolverines will compete in the second and final day of the NCAA Mideast Regional Saturday (May 31). Action begins at 11 a.m. CDT.
Top 10 Teams (After Day 1)
1. Purdue 20
2. Southern Illinois 19
3. Akron 14
4. Notre Dame 11
5. Wisconsin 10
Indiana State 10
Illinois 10
Mississippi 10
Tennessee 10
10. MICHIGAN 8
Louisville 8
Belmont 8
Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day 1)
4x100-meter Relay (Prelims)
1. Louisiana State 43.51Q
16. Michigan 46.46
(Charnee Lumbus, Casey Taylor,
Alisha Cole, Jennifer Neville)
1,500-meter Run (Prelims)
1. Dacia Barr, Arkansas 4:24.99Q
6. Nicole Edwards, U-M 4:27.74Q
19. Danielle Tauro, U-M 4:49.44
100-meter Hurdles (Prelims)
1. Nikiesha Wilson, LSU 12.78Q
2. Tiffany Ofili, U-M 12.90Q
8. Charnee Lumbus, U-M 13.19q
32. Bettie Wade, U-M 13.98
Pole Vault (Final)
1. Kylie Hutson, Indiana State 13-11 3/4 (4.26m)
17. Jennifer Mehl, U-M 12-6 (3.81m)
Long Jump (Final)
1. Brittany Reese, Mississippi 21-10 3/4
2. Casey Taylor, U-M 21-1 1/2
9. Tiffany Ofili, U-M 20-5 1/4
23. Bettie Wade, U-M 18-10
Discus (Final)
1. Annie Alexander, Tennessee 183-10 (56.03m)
11. Emily Pendleton, U-M 160-0 (48.78)
400-meter Dash (Prelims)
1. Jenna Griffin, Ohio State 52.50Q
17. Serita Williams, U-M 54.50
800-meter Run (Prelims)
1. Becky Horn, Western Mich. 2:05.32Q
2. Geena Gall, U-M 2:05.80Q
400-meter Hurdles (Prelims)
1. Nickiesha Wilson, LSU 55.82Q
6. Katie LaValley, U-M 57.78q
8. Amber Hay, U-M 58.85q
5,000-meter Run (Final)
1. Angela Bizzarri, Illinois 16:24.38
18. Kaitlyn Peale, U-M 17:50.07
Qq Qualification to final round
Players Mentioned
