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Opponents pose little threat to women's track

When it comes to intra-state rivals Michigan State, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and Central Michigan, the Michigan women's track team shows no mercy.

With a 173-point performance at the Michigan Intercollegiates Friday in Ypsilanti, the Wolverines reaffirmed their dominance over inferior intra-state foes, beating up on second-place finisher Eastern Michigan, which earned 87 points.

"I'm not surprised with our team results," senior Kelly Chard said. "(The win) is a good stepping stone. A lot of people (set personal bests). A lot of people built their confidence going into the next couple of meets."

Chard, who won the 5000-meter run with a time of 17:33.99, was only one of several Michigan seniors turning in impressive performances Friday.

Senior high jumper Monika Black eclipsed her own meet record of 5-foot-8 set last year, by clearing the bar at 6-foot-1/2-inch, qualifying provisionally for the indoor nationals in Indianapolis in March.

All-American Courtney Babcock contributed additional senior leadership, cruising to a 4:52.57 mile en route to her first-place finish. Senior Katy Hollbacher notched a 17:44.44 in the 5000, placing her second only to Chard but nearly a full half minute ahead of the next closest finisher.

In addition, seniors Mayrie Richards and Jayne Greiner gave fine performances in the 3000 and shot put respectively.

But for all the experience the Wolverines' veteran athletes provided, it was the underclassmen who demonstrated that Michigan's track and field excellence will likely continue well into the future.

Sophomore pentathlete Tania Longe led the way with first-place finishes in both the long jump (18-feet-10 1/2 inches) and triple jump (40-feet-1 1/2 inches) shattering the former meet records in both events. And her time of 7.97 seconds also earned her the silver in the 55-meter hurdles, while qualifying her provisionally for NCAAs.

"To me, I'm not satisfied with that yet," Longe said. "I want to automatically qualify (for the NCAAs)."

The NCAA selects its field for the nationals by taking a handful of athletes whose outstanding performances have automatically qualified them for the indoor championships.

The rest are taken from a list of provisional qualifiers. At this point in the season the number of provisional qualifiers who will actually make it to Indianapolis remains undetermined.

"Tania is very intense and competitive, and will continue to improve," Michigan coach James Henry said. "I don't think folks have seen the last of Tania Longe."

And they haven't seen the last of many other young Michigan track and field stars either.

Freshman Stephanie Wigness earned second place in the shot put with her throw of 45-feet-1 1/2 inches. And sophomore Brandy Taylor snagged the bronze in the 400 with her time of 57.77 seconds.

But Henry said, the surprise came from the half-milers.

"The impact they made last week I was really happy with," he said.

The trio of Katie McGregor, Michelle Slater and Angie Stanifer placed second, third and fourth respectively in the half-mile, with McGregor missing the top spot by a mere .21 second.

Freshman Alison Noe recorded a blistering 10:13.96 in the 3000, placing her third behind Richards who clocked a 10:11.72. Freshman Sarah Hamilton grabbed third place in the mile (5:08.11) followed by senior Jenn Stuht (5:16.27).

"Our overall goal is to improve our intensity and improve our efforts," Henry said. "(Today) they obviously responded to those instructions."