University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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r-m in bedoya competes in the shot put event on May 5! ' , 2006 during the Len Padd Invitational Bedoya was 4 2 in the event. Michigan Daily photo 140 sports

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f Redshirt sophomore LSA student Lisa Montgomery runs at the EMU Classic on October 20 , 2006. Montgomery raced for first place in the competition. S. Jerome photo Running unattached at the EMU Classic, redshirt sophomore LSA student Mike Poroka tries to pace himself throughout the race. Poroka placed 10 in the race. 5. Jerome photo ft by lisatorsiello he ' j| H ' ross Country team started the season by dominating the Michigan Open in Dexter, Michigan. Sophomore business major Brandon Fellows placed in the 1 0, 000-meter course, immediately followed by LSA sophomore Sean McNamara, and junior cellular and molecular biology major, SethThibodeau. The Open was an encouraging performance for us, as it allowed our young team to see how much work everyone had done over the summer to make us a better team overall, said Thibodeau. The men continued their strong showing with another win at the Spartan Invitational in East Lansing, Michigan. Five of the top ten finishers were Wolverines. Lex Williams, sophomore chemical engineering major, led the pack and took a second place finish. The Invitational allowed us to practice running as a cohesive unit and race against good competition to assess where our training had been taking us. We were able to grow stronger and faster both physically and mentally, said Thibodeau. After securing their fourth consecutive Big Ten Conference title last year, the women ' s Cross Country team was excited to start yet another successful season. Our main objective approaching the season was to win the Big Ten Championship. We also wanted to place higher at Nationals. We finished sixth last year, which was solid, but not reflective of our talent, said Erin Webster, redshirt junior communication studies major. Kicking off the season at the Wolverine Open, junior mathematics major Elisabeth Uible took first place overall after winning the 5,000-meter race. Continuing on the path of consistent successes the team earned another victory at the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle, Washington, led by Webster, who finished first in the 6,000-meter race. As if being the third-ranked women ' s Cross Country team wasn ' t enough, they were also awarded Michigan ' s Leaders and Best Award for the fourth consecutive year. The award was given to the varsity team with the highest grade point average for the year. When asked about balancing academics and athletic competition at such a high level Webster stated, It was certainly a challenge to make time for studying between traveling and training year-round. However, on our team studying was the norm. The fact that our days were so tightly scheduled helped us to manage time effectively. sports|l39

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1 Senior Stephanie Linz clears the high jump in competition on February 2 nd , 2006. Linz was All-Big Ten second team in the high jump for the season. Silverston Michigan Daily photo Senior Adam Kiesler comes up from behind his teammate during the 110 meter hurdles at the Len Paddock Invitational on May 6 lh , 2006. Kiesler achieved his personal best during the meet. Michigan Daily photo by mike marzano ugh many tumultuous hurdles, the University ' s men ' s and women ' s track and field teams got to the finish line. These teams ran the distance. The men ' s team had a fantastic season. During the Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championships, the team tied for fifth. Junior sport management and communication major Jeff Porter took the 1 1 0-meter hurdles crown and led the team into the final day of the Championship. iis performance, Porter said, I got out to a heck of a start. I was running really well, but midway through the race I felt my leg start to cramp up. That ' s when I started to hit more of the hurdles and my competition started to catch up a little bit. Through the race, I just kept thinking, ' I ' m not going to lose, I ' m not going to lose this race. ' When it got to the point where I couldn ' t take it anymore, I just dove at the finish line, and it paid off. I won by one one-hundredth of a second. On the overall team performance, Head Coach Ron Warhurts said, Some guys performed great, but some other guys just didn ' t come to run. Porter did a wonderful job; he really stood out today. Kevin Peterman scored in the vault with a PR. Rondell [Ruff] had a nice PR. All those guys who had personal bests were really on their game. But for the handful that were, we had another handful that weren ' t. It ' s important to perform here and score for your team. We ' ll take what we can, regroup, get a couple weeks of good training, and be ready for regionals. This was one of many examples of the victorious season that these Wolverines accomplished. The women ' s team was no less spectacular in their endeavors. The Maize and Blue had their best finish in the program ' s history, placing 13 th at the NCAA Outdoor Championship. On the team ' s performance for the tournament, head coach James Henry said, I was really pleased with how they ran, and I ' m really excited about what they did. I ' m even more excited about what ' s going to happen to the girls next year, because they ' re all returning to give them another shot. Freshman LSA student Geena Gallearned earned All-American honors in the 800-meter run. She was fh e third Wolverine to earn All- American honors in the outdoor 800m for women ' s track and field. It was no surprise that with the support and helpful aid of their coaches and their own will to make it down that last stretch to success, these Wolverines received all the honor and praise that they deserved. sports 141