Gallo wins 1,500 at her final Big 10 meet

BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Lindsey Gallo is going out in style.The University of Michigan fifth-year senior, competing in the final Big 10 championship meet of her career, won her second consecutive outdoor 1,500-meter championship on May 15 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at Ohio State University, Columbus.

Gallo, a state champion and All-American during her scholastic career at Howell High School, turned in the fastest championship performance of her career in defending her Big 10 title in Columbus. Her 4:21.48 was three seconds clear of the field.

“It was a great feeling,” Gallo said after winning her second straight 1,500 title. “I won this event last year, and to win back-to-back championships is something I am very proud of. Now my focus is going to the NCAAs and challenging for a national championship.”

Earlier in meet, the former Rebel was fifth in the 5,000 meters, running 16:44.75.

U-M, looking for its fourth straight outdoor Big 10 championship, had to settle for third this year behind champion Illinois (135) and Penn State (112.5). The Wolverines scored 110 points.

This weekend, Gallo will be defending her 1,500 title at the Mideast Regional at the University of Indiana in Bloomington. The Regional serves as the NCAA qualifier. Gallo won the Mideast Region last year in 4:11.27 and beat eventual NCAA champion Tiffany McWilliams of Mississippi State. At the NCAA’s Gallo finished fourth, the highest placing in the event for any Wolverine in school history.

The 2005 NCAA championships are June 8-11 in Sacramento, Calif.

Gallo enjoyed a Big 10 championship career to remember. She ran on three outdoor and indoor Big 10 championship teams (not to mention the three cross country tittles won by U-M). This year alone, she accounted for four individual conference titles. That is going out big.

Indoors, she won the one-mile (4:42.42), 3,000 meters (9:27.26) and 5,000 (16:28.51) at the Big 10 championships. She was named the 2005 Big 10 Athlete of the Year and won the Big 10 Athlete of the Championships award for her triple win.

At the NCAA championships, Gallo won her first national championship, anchoring U-M’s distance medley team to a come-from-behind win. She ran third in the mile run (4:41.52).

Gallo’s Big 10 championships breakthrough was last spring when she became the first Wolverine and only the fourth runner ever to win both the 800 and 1,500-meters at the same championships. Gallo holds U-M school records for the 1,500 outdoors (4:09.94), the one-mile indoors (4:37.97) and the 800 meters outdoors (2:06.85). She was a member of the Wolverine 4x800-relay team that ran a school record 8:33.36 earlier this year at the Drake Relays.