Michigan
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Wolverines Finish Second at Big Ten Outdoor Championships
5/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Site: Columbus, Ohio (Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium)
Event: Big Ten Outdoor Championships (Day Three)
U-M Team Standing: 2nd of 10 Teams(138.75 points)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sat., May 29-30 -- at NCAA Mideast Regional Championships (Louisville, Ky.), 11 a.m.
Photo Gallery
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan women's track and field team won five events in Sunday's (May 17) final day of the Big Ten Outdoor Championships at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, but was edged out for the team title by Penn State, 139-138.75. It marked the smallest margin of victory in a conference championship meet. Senior co-captain Geena Gall(Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) won a pair of events for the Wolverines, senior co-captain Tiffany Ofili(Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti) and sophomore Emily Pendleton(Lindsay, Ohio/Woodmore) each won a single event while the Maize and Blue took top honors in the 4x100-meter relay.
U-M entered the final event of the meet, the 4x400-meter relay, leading Penn State, 133.75-133. Michigan's foursome of senior/junior Shana Vinson(Detroit, Mich./Mumford), sophomore Jennifer Neville(Dearborn, Mich./Divine Child), senior Amber Hay(Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) and Gall finished in fourth, for five team points, in 3:40.45. Meanwhile, Penn State took third place in the relay, scoring six points, with a time of 3:38.84, to give the Nittany Lions the team championship.
Gall continued U-M's dominance in the 1,500-meter run by collecting the event title in a season-best time of 4:15.09. Gall's victory gives the Maize and Blue sixth consecutive wins in the event at the conference championship. Her win came by a comfortable margin of nearly two seconds of second-place Angela Bizzarri of Illinois (4:16.95). Sophomore Danielle Tauro(Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) also picked up five points for the Wolverines with a fourth-place finish in the 1,500 meters, crossing the line in a time of 4:20.40.
Later, Gall earned her second conference championship of the day as she was first across the line in the 800-meter run (2:04.06). The victory was Gall's second career title in the 800-meter run; she also won the event as a freshman in 2006. Behind Gall was a pack of four Minnesota runners, including Heather Dorniden, the 2008 conference champion, finishing in second place (2:04.41).
Pendleton collected her second-straight Big Ten championship in the discus, winning the competition by seven feet. Pendleton's second throw of the competition travelled 170-2 (51.88m) and would hold up as the top throw of the meet, bettering second-place Emma Schmeltzer of Penn State's best effort of 163-2 (49.74m).
In the 100-meter hurdles, Ofili collected her third career Big Ten championship with a winning time of 13.05 seconds. Ofili, who also won the title in 2006 and '07, dominated the race from the beginning, winning by nearly fourth-tenths of a second ahead of Letecia Wright of Ohio State (13.43). Earlier in the day, Ofili ran the leadoff leg of U-M's 4x100-meter relay that captured the school's first title in the event since 1982. The Wolverine quartet of Ofili, Vinson, junior Alisha Cole(Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) and senior co-captain Casey Taylor(Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic) clocked in with a time of 45.53 seconds, equaling the time the same four Wolverines ran in Saturday's trials. Taylor, running the anchor leg, crossed the line nine one-hundredths of a second in front of second-place Penn State.
Taylor also scored points in a trio of other events on Sunday. She was second in the triple jump with a top leap of 43-1 1/2 (13.14m); Iowa's Renee White won the triple jump with a Big Ten Championship record of 43-10 3/4 (13.38m). Taylor was sixth in the 200-meter dash (24.20), while Shavon Greaves of Penn State won the 200 in 23.35. Taylor and Ofili both scored in the 100-meter dash for the Wolverines. Ofili finished second with a regional-qualifying, season-best time of 11.70 seconds while Taylor was fifth in a time of 11.86 seconds. Penn State's Greaves won the 100-meter dash in 11.49 seconds.
A trio of Wolverines scored points in the high jump. Senior co-captain Bettie Wade (Northville, Mich./Farmington) was the top-finishing U-M competitor, clearing 5-8 3/4 (1.75m) to tie Purdue's Emily Breslin for second place. Senior/junior Christina Solomon(Belleville, Mich./Belleville) and senior/junior Olivia Both(Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) each cleared 5-7 (1.70m). Solomon met the mark on her first attempt, putting her in a tie for sixth while Both achieved the height on her second attempt, placing her in a four-way tie for eighth after the tiebreaker.
U-M also received scoring efforts in the 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles. Vinson earned fifth place in the 400-meter dash, clocking in with a season-best, regional-qualifying time of 54.30. Melissa Bates of Illinois won the 400 dash in 53.39. In the 400-meter hurdles, both Hay and freshman Alex Williams(Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) scored points for the Wolverines. Hay took fourth place with a regional-qualifying time of 59.10 seconds and Williams picked up eighth place, crossing the line in 1:01.40. Illinois' Deserea Brown was first in the 400 hurdles in 57.31 seconds.
The Maize and Blue will return to action on Friday and Saturday, May 29-30, at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championship in Louisville, Ky., hosted by the University of Louisville. Competition begins at 11 a.m. on both days at Cardinal Park.
Final Team Standings
1. Penn State 139 2. Michigan 138.75 3. Minnesota 131.25 4. Illinois 100 5. Indiana 74.25 6. Purdue 64 7. Michigan State 57.25 8. Ohio State 45 9. Wisconsin 38.25 10. Iowa 31
Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 3)
Triple Jump 1. Renee White, Iowa 43-10 3/4 (13.38m) % 2. Casey Taylor, U-M 43-1 1/2 (13.14m) Discus 1. Emily Pendleton, U-M 170-2 (51.88m) # 12. Danica Haight, U-M 137-4 (41.87m) High Jump 1. Ashley Rhoades, Indiana 5-10 (1.78m) # 2t. Bettie Wade, U-M 5-8 3/4 (1.75m) # 6t. Christina Solomon, U-M 5-7 (1.70m) 8t. Olivia Both, U-M 5-7 (1.70m) 17t. Brittany Petty, U-M 5-3 (1.60m) 4x100-meter relay (finals) 1. Michigan 45.53 # (Tiffany Ofili, Shana Vinson, Alisha Cole, Casey Taylor) 2. Penn State 45.62 # 1,500-meter run (finals) 1. Geena Gall, U-M 4:15.09 # 4. Danielle Tauro, U-M 4:20.40 # 100-meter hurdles (finals) 1. Tiffany Ofili, U-M 13.05 2. Letecia Wright, Ohio State 13.43 400-meter dash (finals) 1. Melissa Bates, Illinois 53.39 # 5. Shana Vinson, U-M 54.30 # 100-meter dash (finals) 1. Shavon Greaves, Penn State 11.49 # 2. Tiffany Ofili, U-M 11.70 # 5. Casey Taylor, U-M 11.86 800-meter run (finals) 1. Geena Gall, U-M 2:04.06 # 9. Danielle Tauro, U-M 2:16.38 400-meter hurdles (finals) 1. Deserea Brown, Illinois 57.31 # 4. Amber Hay, U-M 59.10 # 8. Alex Williams, U-M 1:01.40 # 200-meter dash (finals) 1. Shavon Greaves, Penn State 23.35 6. Casey Taylor, U-M 24.20 5,000-meter run 1. Angela Bizzarri, Illinois 15:54.86 #$% 22. Kelly Sampson, U-M 17:29.16 25. Katie Williams, U-M 17:46.80 28. Lisa Montgomery, U-M 17:53.89 4x400-meter relay 1. Ohio State 3:38.33 # 4. Michigan 3:40.45 # (Shana Vinson, Jennifer Neville, Amber Hay, Geena Gall)
# Denotes NCAA regional qualifying mark $ Denotes Jesse Owens Stadium record % Denotes Big Ten Championship record
Previous Results: Day 1 | Day 2
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach James Henry
On the meet..."I thought that we had a good first couple of days. A good first day and a very good second day, it was just the luck of the sport that put us in that position to lose a heartbreaker. It was the closest finish that I have ever had in my coaching experience. I feel for the girls because it was a successful meet. Sometimes you can have success and not win and I am very proud of this team."
N O T E S
Tiffany Ofili's Big Ten championship in the long jump on Saturday is the fourth in U-M history. Ofili joins Tania Longe (1995, '98) and Brandi Bentley (1999) as the other Wolverines to win the long jump at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
Emily Pendleton earned her second straight conference crown in the discus throw and the fifth in school history. Along with Pendleton's victories in 2008 and '09, Penny Neer also won the event in 1980 and '81 while Melissa Bickett won the event in 2004.
Michigan's victory in the 4x100-meter relay was its second in school history. The Wolverines also won the 4x100 relay in 1982.
Geena Gall earned U-M its seventh overall victory in the 1,500-meter run and the sixth consecutive for the Maize and Blue. Michigan's first win in the event came in 1983 by Sue Fredrick Forster. Lindsey Gallo began the current run with victories in 2004 and '05, Nicole Edwards collected the crown in 2006, Anna Willard was victorious in 2007 and Edwards won again in 2008.
Tiffany Ofili's victory in the 100-meter hurdles is the third Big Ten outdoor title of her career. She also won the event as a freshman (2006) and a sophomore (2007). As a junior in 2008, Ofili took second in the event. Ofili is the only Wolverine to ever win the 100-meter hurdles at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
Geena Gall's victory in the 800-meter run is the second of her career and the 10th in school history in the event. Michigan's first nine victories in the 800 meters came in nine consecutive years: Angie Stanifer (1999), Sarah Hamilton (2000), Rachel Sturtz (2001, '02, '03), Lindsey Gallo (2004), Katie Erdman (2005), Gall (2006) and Erdman (2007).
Contact: Jeremy Reid (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
