ANNA WILLARD - Michigan's Unsung Hero

Given her results so far, here is no doubt that she is going to run an unbelieveable steeple this year. Does any other steepler have her range?

What does this magnificent improvement in just a few months of training at Michigan do to the luster of Craig Lake her former coach?

Steeple!! wrote:

Given her results so far, here is no doubt that she is going to run an unbelieveable steeple this year. Does any other steepler have her range?

What year is she? Never heard of her. She's pretty fast, but perhaps she should stick to the flat races because Fergie will hand it to her in the steeple. She the former 2k national record holder and she's lookin for some redemption.

we love anna willard and whoever started this thread.

http://www.directathletics.com/athletes/track/80686.html

how about the progression from her early days at brown?

GO ANNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At Brown Willard was a miler who could not break 5 minutes before Craig Lake got there and ended up a two time All- American, a 2:06 800m runner, 4:18 1500m, and 10:06 steepler at the end of the year. Not bad for her luster.

Steeple!! wrote:

Given her results so far, here is no doubt that she is going to run an unbelieveable steeple this year. Does any other steepler have her range?

Collegiate wrote:

What year is she? Never heard of her. She's pretty fast, but perhaps she should stick to the flat races because Fergie will hand it to her in the steeple. She the former 2k national record holder and she's lookin for some redemption.

No offense to Lindsey Ferguson but her first goal should be qualifying for the NCAA meet at all. I don't really see her running down someone who has a 5K PR that has to be at least a minute faster than hers unless the girl can't hurdle at all which I doubt because with the range she has I doubt she'd opt to steeple if she was so horrible at it and good at other things.

Anna began her big breakthrough in her senior year at Brown, which was Lake's first year as the head coach. She's been rolling ever since. Michigan has provided the environment/coaching to help Anna continue with the success she had with Lake and further climb to the top ranks of NCAA track, etc....Both McGuire and Lake are very knowledgable and respectable coaches. Honestly though, the girl would've/will succeed anywhere she ends up. She has a phenomenal attitude about her training/racing and just down right loves what she is doing. Ya can't beat that.

Way to go Willard! Keep it rolling!

Anna is friggin' stacked yo!

But she is listed as running for the Greater Boston Track Club in the USATF meet in CA last summer? She graduated from Brown? What's with Michigan?

No offense to you, but Lindsay Ferguson is on a mission. Our coach said so. She used to be interested in fashion design but now she wants to become a professional runner. She'll do it, I know she will. She won't let her coaches down.

GO BIG BLUE!

Willard's 4.13 split was the 6th fastest 1500 split ever at the Penn Relays.

You tell 'em Craig! You did a fine job with her. cal64@columbia.edu

well, that's tip top for lindsey ferguson the former fashion designer, but a freshman is doing extremely well to even qualify for ncaa's, let alone beat a 5th year ncaa competitor. willard was 6th at ncaa's last year and is already running faster than she ever has. ferguson's got a ways to go before she needs to be worrying about becoming a professional runner.

If she was a senior at Brown last year, how is she now competing for Michigan?

the directathletics link shows no times from outdoor 2004. no racing for a whole season = injury/redshirt ... she entered brown in fall of 2002.... so she's still on the five year clock and finshing up as a michigan grad student (since you can't use post-grads in the ivies). right?

yet no one has mentions how hot she is too.....

ha.. wrote:

well, that's tip top for lindsey ferguson the former fashion designer, but a freshman is doing extremely well to even qualify for ncaa's, let alone beat a 5th year ncaa competitor. willard was 6th at ncaa's last year and is already running faster than she ever has. ferguson's got a ways to go before she needs to be worrying about becoming a professional runner.

tell that to jenny barringer!

The Ivy League, of which Brown is a member, only allow athletes to compete for four years from the first day they start classes(matriculate). There are no scholarships and there is no redshirting in the Ancient Eight. So a lot of Ivy athletes graduate with a year of eligilibity remaining (by NCAA standards, which normally allows five years to fit in four seasons of competing for the school), often because of injury or study abroad.

So Anna Willard is a graduate student at Michigan now, and is using her final year of eligibility at this time.

Michigan also got pretty Katie Gwyther from Quinnipiac, who was 12th in NCAA finals in cross country in her senior year at Quinnipiac. Not Ivy League, but she is another graduate student with a year of eligibility left, so the Wolverines scored twice.

Duke Graduate Student Emily McCabe, who graduated from Cornell, is Running for the Blue Devils in essentially the same situation as Anna Willard.

So Go Anna! Also a big hug for Aly Kohlmeier. Get well soon.

i'm sure better pictures will surface post-penn