Michigan
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Ofili Advances to NCAA Finals; Wade Off to Good Start
6/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Site: Des Moines, Iowa (Drake Stadium)
Event: NCAA Outdoor Championships (Day 3)
U-M Team Standing: No Points After Day 3
Next U-M Event: Saturday, June 14 -- at NCAA Outdoor Championships (Des Moines, Iowa)
DES MOINES, Iowa -- On the third day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships Friday (June 13), junior Tiffany Ofili (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti HS) of the University of Michigan women's track and field team advanced to the 100-meter hurdles finals at Drake Stadium on Jim Duncan Track.
Ofili, looking to win the NCAA 100m hurdles title for the second straight year, posted a time of 12.92 to win the first semifinal with the quickest time of the day. Ofili took control of her heat from the start as she and Shantia Moss of Georgia Tech separated from the pack over the first three hurdles. Ofili maintained her slim lead and edged out Moss (12.99) by 0.07 of a second. Ofili will carry the No. 1 seed into the event final tomorrow (Saturday, June 14) at 3:53 p.m. CDT.
Junior co-captain Bettie Wade (Northville, Mich./Farmington HS) sits in third place with 3,560 points in the heptathlon after the first four events. Wade tallied her points from top-10 finishes in all four events, including 737 points with the third-best shot put performance (43-1 1/2, 13.14m) and 916 with the fourth-best high jump clearance (5-8 3/4, 1.75m). Wade took second in her heat and sixth overall in the 100-meter hurdles with a personal-record time of 13.73, clearing every hurdle against a slight headwind to secure 1,017 points. She led wire to wire to grab first in her heat of 200-meter dash, posting an eighth-place time of 24.97 to secure 890 points. The junior co-captain is 46 points behind three-time national champion Jacquelyn Johnson of Arizona State (3,606) and 21 points back of Big Ten champion Liz Roehrig of Minnesota (3,581) with three event remaining.
Ofili, Wade and the Wolverines' other two finalists will return to action tomorrow (Saturday, June 14) for the final day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Wade will begin with the heptathlon long jump at 11 a.m. CDT, while junior Geena Gall (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) and senior Nicole Edwards (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey) will run in the finals of the 800- and 1,500-meter events, respectively, at 3:19 and 4:12 p.m. The meet will be televised on CBS with live coverage beginning at 3 p.m. CDT.
U-M Results (Day 3)
100-meter Hurdles (Semifinals) Heat 1 1. Tiffany Ofili, U-M 12.92Q Heptathlon (Through Four Events) 1. Jacquelyn Johnson, Arizona St. 3,606 points 3. Bettie Wade, U-M 3,560 100m Hurdles (13.73) 1017 (6) High Jump (5-8 3/4, 1.75m) 916 (4) Shot Put (43-1 1/2, 13.14m) 737 (3) 200m Dash (24.97) 890 (8) Qq qualified for next round
Players Mentioned
