11 Thursday, June 18, 2015 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS Ofili headlines strong NCAA Championship performances By SYLVANNA GROSS Daily Sports Editor When junior hurdler Cindy Ofili sprinted past the finish line, she knew she had done well. Michigan coach James Henry knew she had it in her. But before the race, neither knew just how impressive the finishing time would be. Ofili recorded a 12.60-second result — a full .21 seconds faster than her previous personal record, set just two days before. “When I was running, my goal was purely to win,” Ofili said. “I knew crossing that line that I had given it my all, so to be honest, I wasn’t too surprised that I had broken my personal record. I knew this was in me, I just didn’t know that was in me.” Added Henry: “She works very hard, and as a coach you learn to know the kids and their numbers. I was surprised it was this signifi- cant of an improvement, even if she is at this level where I knew she would improve.” Her record-breaking time earned her a second-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Champion- ships in Eugene, Oregon this past weekend — the best Wolverine finish at the event since 2009. But much more than that, Ofili’s time shattered Michigan’s previous record — set by Ofili’s older sister, Tiffany Ofili-Porter — by .13 seconds. Despite this, Tiffany — a sister before a competitor — congratulat- ed Ofili and showed excitement for Ofili’s future running career. “I am literally in tears right now! I’m over the moon for my sis @ cindyofili!!! I’m soooooooo proud of her!! #Beast,” she tweeted after the race. Ofili’s performance in the 100- meter hurdles would secure her place in history among the program’s elite, but she one-upped herself with a second school record in the 100- meter dash — crossing the finish line in 11.39 seconds. Though the time wasn’t fast enough to advance to the finals, it did warrant an All-Ameri- can honorable mention. Consider- ing that the qualifying 100- meter dash was just under 15 minutes after her 100-meter qualifying hur- dles race, it was an impressive result for Ofili. In total, Ofili completed the season with four school records in the indoor 60-meter and 200- meter events, and the outdoor 100- meter dash and 100-meter hurdles. And she still has one more year to leave her mark on the program. “I definitely want to be a nation- al champion (before I graduate),” Ofili said. “I want to break more personal records. I want to just improve. Even though I executed a really great couple of races, it wasn’t perfect. I definitely have more to give and I want to do that in my final year.” Michigan finished in 19th place with 14 points, the highest they’ve placed since 2009 when they earned seventh place. Three other Wolverines quali- fied: sophomore Erin Finn quali- fied in the 5,000-meter run, and both redshirt junior Shan- non Osika and senior co-captain Brooke Handler received bids in the 1,500-meter race. However, due to a lower-left leg injury, Osika was unable to compete. “(Osika) wanted to run and she wanted to compete and she would have done well,” Henry said. “But this is a perfect example of an athlete doing out- standing in cross country and fan- tastic in winter but wearing out towards the end of the outdoor season. She’s human and she’s not a robot, she needs rest and her body just gave way.” In her last meet donning the maize and blue, Handler represent- ed Michigan in the 1,500-meter race and crossed the finish line at 4:16.19 to place seventh and receive her second-consecutive first team All-American honor. “Handler has always been moti- vated,” said Michigan associate head coach Mike McGuire. “She’s stayed healthy and she’s just grown through training physical- ly and mentally. This is a byprod- uct of what’s she’s put in. It’s a maturity process.” Added Henry: “We bring them in, we mature them, we develop them, and even- tually we have to graduate them.” McGuire— who has worked with Henry since they were teammates in college— has had at least one All-American in the 1,500-meter since 2012. Finn rounded out the middle- distance runners and became the first Wolverine to receive All-American honors in both the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter events. She finished in fifth place with a time of 15:43.97. Finn had sustained an injury earlier this year, leaving her unable to compete for the majority of the season. But according to her team- mates and coaches, it was her com- petitive streak that allowed her to still find suc- cess. This weekend concluded Mich- igan’s 2014-2015 campaign, and Henry was satis- fied with the way his Wolverines wrapped up the season. But that satisfaction won’t turn into complacency. “We ended on such a high note, which is what we wanted,” Henry said. “I always say ‘last meet best meet,’ which was a reality this weekend. We understand that what happens today ends today and tomorrow we start prepping for next year. But only after the kids get a significant rest.” CONNOR BADE/Daily Junior sprinter Cindy Ofili set two school records and took second place in the 100-meter hurdles, beating her sister’s record. “I definitely want to be a national champion.” “We ended on such a high note.”