12 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, June 13, 2005
Harriers disappointed J f
with national showing 7P!91j1
0
By Ian Robinson
Daily Sports Writer
In the 22-year history of the women's NCAA Outdoor
Track and Field Championships, no Michigan athlete has
"won an individual event title. Individual titles continued to
elude the Wolverines at this past weekend's championships
in Sacramento.
The squad earned eight points en route to a tie for
32nd place, the team's highest finish since 1999, when
it finished 20th.
"We competed well in the prelims, and for some reason
or another we didn't get it done in the finals," coach Mike
McGuire said. "We used a lot of energy in the prelims."
Sophomore Katie Erdman and senior Lindsey Gallo
highlighted the Wolverines' effort by garnering All-
America honors in the 800 and 1,500-meter runs,
respectively. Erdman became the first Michigan athlete
to earn All-America honors in both indoor and outdoor
track. Gallo received the sixth All-America honor of her
career, tying her with former Michigan athletes Court-
ney Babcock and Katie McGregor for the most in Michi-
gan history.
In the 800-meter run, Erdman finished in fourth place
with a personal best time of 2:03.86 - just .06 seconds
shy of a school record.
As Erdman came around the final turn in sixth position,
two runners ahead of her collided and fell to the track.
After evading the fallen competitors, Erdman moved into
fourth position.
But Erdman felt the effects of running two preliminary
races before Saturday's final.
"Today, I didn't feel great," Erdman said. "I think that
day off just let the soreness settle into my legs."
- Gallo contributed three points to the team total with a
sixth-place time of 4:15.83.
"I would have liked to end it on a higher note, because
this is probably my worst performance at NCAAs in a
while," Gallo said.
After focusing her energy on winning the distance med-
ley relay during the indoor championships, Gallo said her
goal for the outdoor season would be capturing the nation-
al championship in the 1,500. She appeared on track to
accomplish her goal with victories at the Big Ten champi-
onships and the NCAA Mideast Regional.
Gallo entered the bell lap on Saturday in sixth position
at the back of the lead pack. After stumbling slightly at the
beginning of the backstretch, Gallo was able to maintain
her balance and hold her position. She shifted into her
kick along the backstretch but was still unable to pick up
any position.
"I just wasn't very responsive at the end," Gallo said.
Senior Andrea Parker and sophomore Rebecca Walter
qualified for event finals but failed to earn points by finish-
ing outside of the top eight.
Although Parker finished 13th in the steeplechase
final with a time of 10:35.85, the highlight of her meet
occurred in the preliminary heat, where she cut 10.37
seconds off her school-record time with a seventh-place
time of 10:13.88.
"The only objective was to stay competitive," Parker
said. "So in doing that and trying to be as close to the top
five or top eight as I could be, it just kind of carried me to a
huge personal record, which I was thrilled about."
Said McGuire: "It was great reward for five years of service."
In the finals of the 5,000-meter run, Walter finished the
race with a 13th-place time of 17:07.54, 45 seconds slower
than the time she posted to qualify for the national meet.
Even though Walker led the first half of the 5,000-meter
run, the pace increased dramatically and she could not stay
with the leaders.
"A recreational jogger could have kept up with the pack,"
McGuire said. "There was such a dramatic shift of gear. It
turned it into a miler's race, and she's not a miler."
On the whole, McGuire said he is very proud of how the
Wolverines competed this past weekend.
"Overall, we had seven athletes here, and they all tasted
some success over the weekend," McGuire said. "For the
ones returning, hopefully it will be a springboard to bigger
and better things."
4
I
4
Sophomore Rebecca Walter finished 13th in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA
Championships last weekend, struggling to keep up with the leaders in the final stretch.
4
I
4