4B - Monday, January 22, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Ofihi1
runs to
record
By MIRGIM JUSUFI
Daily Sports Writer
It's the beginning of the season, but forget
about getting the kinks out or getting into a
groove. There's just no time for that.
And if you're one of the runners who lined
up for the 60-meter hurdles Saturday against
Michigan sophomore Tiffany Ofili, you know
there's only About eight seconds or less to get
those kinks out, or you might as well just hang
up the track spikes and startcheering her on.
Ofili, an Ypsilanti native, smashed a Michi-
gan school record Saturday in the 60-meter
hurdles for the second straight week en route
to a first-place finish (8.06). She also earned
an NCAA automatic qualifying time in the
unscored meet.
But who competes in just one event in a long
track meet like the Red Simmons/Jack Harvey
Invitational which takes hours and hours to
end?
Not Ofili, especially when she finishes so
quickly. She found time to set a personal best
of 7.55 seconds in the 60-meter dash, (placing
third), and took first in the long jump with a
leap of 6.07-meters. It was just .02-meters shy
of her personal best she set two weeks ago in
the Michigan Women's Open.
Fans cheeringher on at the UM Indoor Track
Building were excited by her performance,
including Michigan coach James Henry.
"Being a double winner in the hurdles and
long jump and running such a great time in the
60-meter dash was outstanding for her," Henry
said. "I was also happy to see her compete
against a great athlete from USC (Carol Rodri-
guez), alocalgirl. (Ofili) stepped up to the plate
and had an outstanding performance."
Harris, 'M'
enjoy weekend
Sophomore Tiffany Ofili set a school record (8.06) in the 60-meter hurdles and took first in the long jump.
As well as she did, Ofili wasn't surprised by
her marks.
"I feel excited and motivated right now,"
Ofili said. "Every meet I go in hoping to get a
personal best and (Saturday) I had two. I can't
complain with that."
But Ofili wasn't the only Wolverine who
competitors had to worry about. The entire
Michigan's women's indoor track and field
team had a solid showing overall in the eight-
team meet. -
"We had outstanding performances from
an outstanding group of young ladies," Henry
said. "The competition was good for us, and we
were very pleased with the outcome of many
individuals. Sometimes those kids who are
consistently doing great, they don't get noticed
for that. I want to make sure that I notice that
we're pretty balanced from top to bottom."
Junior Nicole Edwards was neck and neck
with Michigan alum Andrea Parker down the
stretch of the mile. But she crossed the line just
.05 seconds behind Parker, finishing second
with a personal best and an NCAA automatic
qualifying time of 4:40.14.
Sophomore Geena Gall finished just behind
Edwards in the mile to take third, but did soin
stunningfashion. She shavedmorethan13 sec-
onds off her previous best, good for an NCAA
provisional qualifying time.
Also earning an NCAA provisional quali-
fying mark was sophomore co-captain Bettie
Wade, who on Friday, scored 3,911points in the
pentathlon.
This was the second straight week the
women's team secured four NCAA qualifying
marks.
The Wolverines will travel to Central Mich-
igan for the Michigan Intercollegiate meet
this Saturday for their first scored meet of the
season. The Wolverines will try to retain their
title against Michigan's major schools.
ByALEX PROSPERI
Daily Sports Writer
This weekend, Adam Harris sprint-
ed faster than any Wolverine has ever
sprinted.
Harris, a sophomore from Wheaton,
Ill., broke the school's 60-meter record
with a time of 6.71 seconds at the non-
scoring Red Simmons/Jack Harvey
Invitational in Ann Arbor. His time
was good enough to earn him an NCAA
provisional mark, giving him a possible
at-large bid to the NCAA Champion-
ships. Harris missed tying the Big Ten
Indoor Championship record - set last
year by Demi Omole of Wisconsin -'by
.01 seconds. "That's a school record,"
coach Ron Warhurst said. "That's just
fantastic. He has to get it in his mind
that he can win races. He has lots of
upside."
Harris's record-breaking perfor-
mance got the crowd sizzling. And they
needed to be ready when Lex Williams
stepped onto the track.
Williams, a sophomore distance
runner, was nearly on pace to run a
sub-eight minute 3,000-meter, a very
difficult feat to accomplish. The crowd
was roaring, and the fans were cheer-
ing at the top of their lungs
During the final laps, the intensity of
the crowd followed Williams at every
turn. As the crowd's encouragement
got bigger and bigger so did Williams's
once slim lead over Eastern Michigan's
Corey Nowitzke.
When Williams turned the final cor-
ner, Nowitzke wasn't even in sight. The
last 50 meters were an all-out sprint
by Williams, who bent over in pure
exhaustion after crossing the finish
line.
Williams, an Ann Arbor native,
didn't break the eight-minute mark,
but still won, and his time of 8:02.36
was nearly four seconds better than the
NCAA provisional mark.
"He can qualify for the NCAA Tour-
nament," Warhust said. "He did this on
his own, we helped him through the
mile, but he took it over at the mile."
Harris and Williams had great races,
but it was the other Wolverines that
made the day a complete success.
Michael Whitehead, a senior cap-
tain, took first place in the triple jump
by leaping15.56 meters in his first triple
jump ofthe season. It was justenough to
give him an NCAA provisional mark.
Paul Sarantos, a fifth-year senior,
had personal bests in the shot put and
weight throw with distances of 17.12
meters and 17.42 meters, respectively.
He took third place inboth events.
In the 400-meter dash, Michigan
had two great performances. Stann
Waithe (48.63) and Andre Barnes
(48.91) took first and second place.
They also teamed with Dan Harmsen
and John D'Arcy, to win the 4 X 400
meter relay.
All in all Warhurst was pleased with
his team's performance.
"There were no injuries," Warhurst
said. "You always have your fingers
crossed when we are sprinting this
early in the season. But we are fine and
in good position."
Warhurst said that when the team
lightens up on its training regimen, he
will be interested to see if Harris can
break the record once again.
BOILERMAKERS
From page 1B
But the run wouldn't have been so
substantial if it weren't for some time-
ly production courtesy of sophomore
Jerret Smith. The Romulus native
played perhaps the best game of his
career, racking up 11 points to go along
with seven assists and six rebounds.
He capped off the surge with a pull-
up jump shot on the fast break giving
Michigan a 53-35 lead that it would
never relinquish.
After shooting just 36 percent from
the field in the first half, the Wolver-
ines were on fire throughout the sec-
ond half The team shot over 68 percent
from the field to finish the game at a St
percent clip.
Along the way, the Wolverines'
renewed defensive intensity held Pur-
due to just over 33 percent shooting for
the game.
"I credit our defense," Amaker said.
"(Purdue) probably missed some shots
that they are normally going to make,
but I'd like to think we did a sound job
defensively. We played hard defensively
and that's the way we've been playing
for most of the year."
This was the second time in seven
days that the Boilermakers and Wolver-
ines faced each other.
Just one week earlier, Purdue (2-4,
13-7) toppled Michigan 67-53 in West
Lafayette.
In that game, the Boilermakers relied
on the fifth-year senior duo of Teague
and forward Carl Landry. Each scored
more than 20 points.
But this time around, the Wolverines
contained Purdue's stars. Each had 15
points, but were consistently denied
the ball or forced to take a tough shot.
Teague shot a woeful 6-of-15 from the
field, while Landry was held to just nine
shot attempts.
Afterward, senior Courtney Sims
was praised for his effort defending
Landry.
"(Courtney) did a great job defend-
ing," Petway said. "He wasn't think-
ing about his offense, which was really
unselfish on his part."
The victory gives Michigan a 4-1
start to Big Ten conference play, leav-
ing it in a tie for second place alongside
Ohio State and Indiana.
Purdue has now lost 29 straight road
games, a streak that spans over three
seasons.
And with road games against Wis-
consin, Indiana and Ohio State looming
in the next two weeks, a win over the
Boilermakers was essential for the Wol-
verines' NCAA Tournament chances.
"The season is going real fast," Har-
ris said. "I think we all realized that we
have to play with a purpose. The main
thing is we're having fun, and anytime a
team is having fun, the results are going
to be better."
BROMWICH
From page 1B
goal
attempts to add 18 points to the cause.
And against Illinois, Horton put the team
on his shoulders and scored 39 points, carry-
ing Michigan to victory.
In all three of these wins, there were two
notable variables that remained consistent.
The Wolverines recorded more turnovers
than assists in each contest.
But outstanding individual performances
enabled Michigan to earn victories in all
three games.
Two constants also appeared in this past
week's convincing wins over Penn State and
Purdue.
In each contest, the Wolverines assisted
on 19 of their 24 field goals.
And each game saw significant offensive
contributions from at least four players.
In the Penn State game, eight players
scored more than seven points, and every
person who played for at least 10 minutes
recorded an assist.
In the Purdue game, four players reached
double figures, and point guards Harris and
sophomore Jerret Smith combined for 12
assists.
For the root of this team-based success,
look back at the loss to Purdue on the road,
which came directlybefore the consecutive
home wins over Penn State and the Boiler-
makers. In the loss, Michigan had just seven
assists against 17 turnovers, and just one
player (Harris) reached double figures.
After the Penn State win, Michigan coach
Tommy Amaker pointed to his team's new-
found willingness to share the ball as the
reason for the victory. Following Saturday's
win over Purdue, senior Brent Petway elabo-
rated.
"We all got on the same page," Petway
said. "We met with each other, as a group,
and talked about it, and we're all on that
same page now. We've basically justbecome
unselfish. I think we were getting a little
bit selfish for a second there, and we've all
calmed down and we're doing what we're
supposed to do."
So it's clear. For the Wolverines to be suc-
cessful this year, they need everyone con-
tributing.
But why is it so different? Why did last
year's team thrive on individual successes,
while this year's squad plays its best when
everyone helps out?
For the answer, simply look at the leader
of each team.
Last year, it was the superstar Horton
who "willed the team to victory," as Amaker
put it after the Illinois game.
This year, it's Petway who Amaker has
referred to repeatedly as "our heart and
soul."
Horton was an individual marvel. He
didn't need anyone to put him in position to
score, the plan was often just "give him the
ball and get out of the way."
But Petway's effectiveness hinges entirely
on his teammates. His incredible dunks
almost always result from a pass from his
teammates. And when he takes a charge
or blocks a shot on the defensive end, he is
often covering for a teammate's mistake, or
helping a teammate out.
"It's all about team," Petway said. "The
alley-oops, the guards always look for me.
We got each other's backs, so when they
give me the alley-oop, and one of their guys
gets past them, I'll try to block the shot
for them. We just help each other out like
that."
The plays Petway makes are the plays the
fans want to see. The exciting dunks and
blocked shots invigorate the crowd. The
fans' excitement is contagious, and players
like Smith and junior Ron Coleman feed off
that energy, and their effectiveness on both
ends of the floor increases. And these are the
players who make Petway better. It's a circle,
unlike last year's team, which was more like
just a collection of points.
This year's squad has evolved into exactly
the team Amaker said they would before the
year. Michigan is a strong defensive team
(third in the conference in scoring defense,
second in field-goal percentage defense and
first in blocks) that doesn't have just one
superstar, but relies on contributions from
everyone.
Both this year's and last year's teams
expected to make the NCAA Tournament
before the season started. Just like last
year's squad, this team appears poised to do
it after 20 games.
But this one is built to do it.
- Bromwich can be reached
at dabromwi@umich.edu.
9 1 1
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