Three members of the Michigan women’s track team are bound for the NCAA Championship meet.
Fifth-year senior Emily Pendleton extended her Wolverine career by another week when she claimed the discus title at the NCAA East Preliminary meet this weekend. The meet, which was held at the University of North Florida, propelled Pendleton to her third-consecutive appearance in the championship meet. Her throw of 55.08 meters, coming on her fourth attempt of the contest, proved to be more than enough for qualification.
Junior Kiley Tobel also advanced quite comfortably, competing in the pole vault. She cleared the first three heights, before clearing 4.05 meters and, finally, 4.10 meters. At that point, the meet was stopped, as the 12 qualifiers for the NCAA Championships had been selected. This year will be Tobel’s second consecutive at the championships. Last season, she finished in 18th place among pole vaulters.
Finally, junior Jillian Smith successfully rounded out the Wolverine contingent for the NCAA Championships. Smith finished second in the 1,500-meter run on Saturday, the final day of competition in Jacksonville, Fla.
She barely missed winning the race outright. Her time of 4:15.08 was a mere .08 seconds off of the winner, Princeton’s Greta Feldman, but it was still a performance worthy of a bid to compete for an individual championship. Junior Rebecca Addison also raced in the 1,500-meter run, but finished in 16th place with a time of 4:23.17 and failed to advance.
Pendleton, Tobel and Smith will now prepare for the NCAA Championships, to be held June 6-9 in Des Moines, Iowa.