Defending a Big Ten conference championship is never easy. It becomes an even greater challenge when the defense starts less than a month after the title is won.

But that is the task that the Michigan women’s track and field team faces this outdoor season. It began its quest to defend its indoor season title this weekend at the Florida State Relays in Tallahassee, Fla.

The team came away with some very satisfying results in the nonscoring meet. It finished with wins in the 4x800-meter relay and the 4x1,500-meter relay, the 1,500-meter and 800-meter runs, the discus and hammer throws and the pole vault.

But the most impressive performance may have come from high-jumper Jennifer Williams. The junior cleared an NCAA regional-qualifying height of 5-8 3/4 on the second day of competition.

“This was really a pleasant surprise for her,” Michigan coach James Henry said. “We really didn’t expect her to do so well. That was definitely the performance of the weekend.”

Freshman Kalli Williams led off the 4x1,500-meter relay team. Junior Ana Gjesdal followed her, with sophomore Laura Brosius running the third leg and sophomore Erin Webster finishing off the relay with the anchor leg. The team dominated the race, finishing with a time of 19:03.17 — a decisive 17 seconds faster than second-place Auburn. The winning 4x800-meter relay team was equally impressive, with sophomore sisters Melissa and Monica Dunn competing alongside senior Anna Jones and freshman Laura Glynn.

Jones added a second-place finish in the Gold section of the 800-meter run and a third-place finish in the Garnet section of the 1,500-meter run.

“Anna Jones was one of the runners who really stood out for us this weekend,” Henry said. “She ran really well, and, hopefully, she can keep it up the rest of this season.”

Henry described this meet — the first of the outdoor season — as a chance for the runners to get a good start and to begin working toward the end of their year. The outdoor season is the third athletic leg of the year for many runners who also compete in the cross-country and indoor track seasons during the fall and winter.

A good start was especially important for junior Katie Erdman. Erdman — the Michigan and Big Ten 600-meter indoor record holder and a 2004 NCAA Indoor All-American — sat out the indoor track season with a stress fracture in her foot. But she came back strong on Friday, winning the Garnet section of the 800-meter run with a time of 2:12.98.

“Katie just wanted to get her feet wet this weekend,” Henry said. “She ran very conservatively, but she should get stronger and more aggressive soon.”

Senior Andrea Parker and sophomore Jackie Gaydos finished right behind Erdman in the 800-meter run as Michigan swept the race.

“Right now, we are on an emotional and physical high after winning the Big Ten and (after) our national championship in the distance medley relay,” Henry said. “It’s important for us to keep our focus and finish the year with another strong season.”

The team was missing the runners that participated in the NCAA championships, but they should rejoin the team this weekend in Gainesville for the Florida relays.