Michigan
Tyson Invitational
Ofili Remains Perfect as Michigan Concludes at Tyson Invitational
2/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Event: Tyson Invitational
U-M Team Finish: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 21 -- host Silverston Invitational (U-M Indoor Track Building), 10 a.m.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Senior Tiffany Ofili(Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti) of the No. 4-ranked University of Michigan women's track and field team remained perfect this season in the 60-meter hurdles with a victory on Saturday (Feb. 14) at the Tyson Invitational at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Ofili finished in an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 8.14 seconds to improve to five-for-five in 60-meter hurdles races this season. Ofili earned the victory in the 60 hurdles by four one-hundredths of a second over Celriece Law of Tennessee.
In the shot put, sophomore Allison Liske(Zeeland, Mich./Zeeland East) posted a personal-best throw of 15.44m (50-8), eclipsing the NCAA provisional standard to earn third place. Liske achieved her top mark on her first attempt of the day.
In the championship division race of the 5,000 meters, senior/junior Kelly Sampson (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) took third with a season-best time of 16:58.60. Meanwhile in the college division 5,000-meter run, sophomore Kaitlyn Peale(Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) was victorious with a season-best 17:14.10 effort. Peale took top honors by nearly 10 seconds over Joslyn Dalton of Nebraska (17:24.00).
In the college division high jump, senior/junior Olivia Both(Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) earned a second-place finish with a season-best mark of 1.67m. Both actually tied first-place Shaquita Young of Georgia in height but missed out on the top spot via tiebreaker.
Senior Katie LaValley(Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Central) had a strong performance in the 800-meter run, coming in fourth with a season-best time of 2:10.09. Mississippi's Sofie Persson took top honors in 2:05.74
On Friday, senior Geena Gall(Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) participated in the invitational division of the one mile run, competing against top professionals and collegiate runners and finishing ninth with an NCAA provisional time of 4:43.22. Former Wolverine Anna Willard (2007) won the invitational division in the mile in 4:30.69. Sophomore Danielle Tauro (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) also met the NCAA provisional mark in the mile, competing in the Olympic Development division race. Tauro ran a season-best 4:44.27, finishing second behind Heidi Dahl of East Tennessee State.
Ofili also met the NCAA provisional standard in the long jump on Friday. Ofili recorded a top leap of 6.22m to finish fifth in the championship division.
The Wolverines will return to Ann Arbor, Mich., next Saturday (Feb. 21) when they host the Silverston Invitational. The meet is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the U-M Indoor Track Building.
Event Winners/U-M Finishes
400-meter Dash 1. Joanna Atkins, Auburn 53.22 11. Shana Vinson, U-M 55.13 26. Meshawn Graham, U-M 56.63 31. Jennifer Neville, U-M 56.98 35. Brittani Williams, U-M 57.23 40. Alexandria Williams, U-M 57.84 One Mile Run 1. Carolina Jepleting, New Mexico JC 4:55.07 22. Kourtney Moody, U-M 5:22.12 60-meter Hurdles Prelims 1. Tiffany Ofili, U-M 8.05 19. Julian Purvis, U-M 8.55 33. Bettie Wade, U-M 9.12 Long Jump 1. Annakay Campbell, Lincoln 6.03m 16. Tofunmi Akeredolu, U-M 5.43m Weight Throw 1. Kristal Yush, NYAC 21.49m 6. Emily Pendleton, U-M 17.31m 13. Ashley Greer, U-M 15.85m 21. Melissa Gurchinoff, U-M 14.71m Long Jump, Championship Division 1. Shara Proctor, Florida 6.33m 5. Tiffany Ofili, U-M 6.22m# 6. Casey Taylor, U-M 6.06m 12. Bettie Wade, U-M 5.69m One Mile Run, Olympic Development Division 1. Heidi Dahl, East Tenn. State 4:41.90 2. Danielle Tauro, U-M 4:44.27# One Mile Run, Invitational 1. Anna Willard, Nike 4:30.69 9. Geena Gall, U-M 4:43.22# 3,000-meter Run 1. Beatrice Biwott, South Carolina 10:02.74 6. Mary Grace Pellegrini, U-M 10:14.80 5,000-meter Run 1. Kaitlyn Peale, U-M 17:14.10 800-meter Run 1. Sofie Persson, Mississippi 2:05.74 4. Katie LaValley, U-M 2:10.09 10. Amber Hay, U-M 2:11.48 21. Alexandria Williams, U-M 2:14.76 22. Brittani Williams, U-M 2:14.78 23. Linda Montgomery, U-M 2:17.60 200-meter Dash 1. Samantha Henry, LSU 23.61 43. Meshawn Graham, U-M 25.14 52. Shana Vinson, U-M 25.54 58. Jennifer Neville, U-M 25.70 5,000-meter Run, Championship Division 1. Wendi Robinson, Indiana 16:37.55 3. Kelly Sampson, U-M 16:58.60 60-meter Hurdles 1. Tiffany Ofili, U-M 8.14* 3,000-meter Run, Championship Division 1. Amber Riley, Auburn 9:40.80 9. Jennifer Morgan, U-M 10:06.06 4x400-meter Relay 1. Auburn 3:37.75 9. MICHIGAN 3:43.41 (Katie LaValley, Jennifer Neville, Shane Vinson, Geena Gall) 12. MICHIGAN 'B' 3:46.13 (Alexandria Williams, Meshawn Graham, Brittani Williams, Amber Hay)
High Jump 1. Shaquita Young, Georgia 1.67m t2. Olivia Both, U-M 1.67m 10. Tofunmi Akeredolu, U-M 1.57m Shot Put 1. Annie Alexander, Tennessee 16.52m 3. Allison Liske, U-M 15.44m# 12. Emily Pendleton, U-M 13.42m Triple Jump, Championship Division 1. Crystal Manning, unattached 13.72m 4. Casey Taylor, U-M 12.90m# High Jump, Championship Division 1. Raevan Harris, Auburn 1.87m t6. Bettie Wade, U-M 1.72m 9. Christina Solomon, U-M 1.72m * denotes NCAA automatic qualifying mark # denotes NCAA provisional qualifying mark
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach James Henry
On the standout performances of the weekend... "Katie LaValley had a very good performance in the 800 meters, as did Geena Gall and Danielle Tauro in the mile. Tiffany Ofili didn't run the time she wanted to, but she managed to stay undefeated in her (60-meter) hurdle race. In the field events, Allison Liske had a personal best in the shot put, that was a good improvement for her and we are pleased with that and (Emily) Pendleton did well in the weight throw. Also, Casey Taylor performed well in a competitive triple jump field."
On competing on a banked track... "It's a double-edged sword; if you run it correctly and you get a feel for it you will run faster. At the same time, if you are not used to it, it can propel you forward and that can be somewhat intimidating. We have a mixed bag, some of our kids used the bank to get good motion, but others backed off a bit and didn't run as well as they might have wanted to. It was good experience because we will be on a banked track at Indiana (for the Big Ten Championships); it is not as banked, but hopefully we will have more confidence when we get on the Indiana track."
Contact: Jeremy Reid (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
