Michigan
Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge
Hurdles Titles for Ofili, Michell Wrap Weekend in Tempe
3/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
March 28, 2015
• Complete Results 
| Notes & Quotes
Site: Joe Selleh Track (Tempe, Ariz.)
Event: Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Challenge (Day 2)
U-M Team Result: 4th Place of 6 Teams (90.5 points)
Next U-M Event: Friday, April 3 -- at Stanford Invitational (Palo Alto, Calif.), 9 a.m. PDT
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Junior Cindy Ofili and sophomore Sami Michell each claimed hurdle titles as the University of Michigan women's track and field team earned fourth place today (Saturday, March 28) at the Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Challenge, which was won by the Pac-12 by a score of 372-353. U-M totaled 90.5 points at the head-to-head conference matchup hosted by Arizona State University at Joe Selleh Track.
In the 100-meter hurdles, the weekend's first running event, Ofili dusted the competition for the win. The Ypsilanti, Michigan, native crossed at 13.22 to claim the title, .35 seconds faster than her next closest competitor. Michell set a PR at 13.95 to finish seventh in the event.
Michell also won the 400m hurdles with a PR of more than two seconds, clocking 59.47, with her previous best as a Wolverine at 1:01.70. Senior/junior Dana Carey also set a personal best in the event with her fifth-place finish (1:01.57).
In the 1,500m race, senior co-captain Brook Handler earned a runner-up finish with her time of 4:19.40, a mark that will almost certainly punch her ticket to the NCAA East Regional in Jacksonville, Florida, later this year (May 28-30). Handler was second to ASU's Shelby Houlihan, the defending NCAA Champion in the event, in her heat and overall in a close two-woman battle. Both Houlihan (4:14.35) and Handler broke the previous track record to set a new standard in Tempe.
U-M competitors earned five of the top dozen spots in the 800m race, led by a runner-up finish from junior Danielle Pfeifer at 2:07.51. Sophomore/freshman Jaimie Phelan made her outdoor debut in the event and finished ninth, while senior/junior Chelsey Miller clocked a big improvement on her previous PR (2:16.21) with her 12th-place finish in 2:14.45.
In the 400m race, junior Maya Long took second (54.55), while senior Chinyere Onimo (55.67) placed fifth with both graduates of Huron High School setting PRs in the race.
The Wolverines also claimed third in the 4x400m relay, clocking a time of 3:40.00 from the group of Carey, Onimo, Pfeifer and Long.
Sophomore/freshman Sarah Zieve was the runner-up in the 3,000m steeple chase, crossing at 10:40.18 in her outdoor debut, while sophomore Gina Sereno set a new personal best in the 5K race in 16:51.72.
Now two weeks into the outdoor season, U-M will travel a group of athletes to the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, California, next Friday (April 3), with the majority of the team traveling further north to Berkeley, California, to compete in the Cal/Virginia Tri Meet Saturday (April 4).
N O T E S
• The Pac-12 representatives (Arizona State, UCLA, Arizona) finished second, third and fifth, respectively, outscoring the Big Ten schools (Indiana, Nebraska, U-M) by a total of 373-353.
• U-M earned 11 top-five finishes overall, not including relays, boasting a pair of titles. More than 10 athletes saw their first outdoor action in Maize and Blue this weekend.
• Michigan scored points in 11 different events and one relay.
• For Wolverines Sydney Badger, Claire Borchers, Olivia Brackett, Kayla Deering, Claire Kieffer-Wright, Sophie Linn, Meghan Marias, Jaimie Phelan, Sarah Uhlian and Sarah Zieve, this weekend's meet represented their first outdoor action competing for U-M.
Personal Records
Chelsey Miller -- 2:14.45 (800m)
Gina Sereno -- 16:51.72 (5,000m)
Q U O T E S
Michigan Associate Head Coach Mike McGuire
On the Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Challenge as a whole ... "It was a good meet. It was warmer than it usually is out here; they are getting mid-to-late April weather already, and that made things a little challenging in the two longest running events. For our first foray into the outdoor season, we had some really good marks. Cindy Ofili was outstanding in the hurdles with her early-season mark, and Sami Michell had a PR in the 400 hurdles. Our 800m runners were pretty good; it was especially good to see Jaimie Phelan get going again. Brook (Handler) was solid in the 1,500. Her time will be a regional mark for sure, and Kayla Deering had a good weekend in the throws. It was a good, solid start. It was interesting to combine with our fellow Big Ten institutions as well; on the women's side it was a close meet but the Pac-12 came out on top, and on the men's side it was the opposite."
On competing with some of the nation's top programs early in the outdoor season ... "I think we have transitioned admirably to outdoors. It is more of an issue in some events other than in distance and middle-distance events. For example, in the 100m hurdles, you are now going over 10 hurdles. Some of the skills involved make it a little bit more of a challenge for our athletes to transition from indoor to outdoor, but we live in Michigan so we accept those challenges. This weekend is a good starting point; we did not want to go to a meet that was overwhelming in size, so this was a good-sized meet and it was a great evening of competition in Tempe."
U-M Junior Cindy Ofili
On her win in the 100m hurdles ... "I felt great. It was nice to go over more hurdles and run in a race that I know am better at. It definitely felt nice to open things up this weekend at Arizona State."
On stretching her legs in the outdoor season ... "In terms of my own events, I felt great; with distance changes and more hurdles that can be an adjustment. The event as a whole was great too; the environment was nice and the track was beautiful. I personally like running at night with the lights on, so to see our team all come together to do well and represent the Big Ten was a nice experience."
On competing with elite national athletes early in the outdoor season ... "It is definitely important to compete with that level of athletes early in the season. It's always nice to run against people who are fast and especially early in the season. I am glad we were able to have that opportunity early in the season, because it gives us a lot of confidence moving forward in the outdoor season."
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard (734) 764-4423
Players Mentioned
