The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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didn't have as fortuitous a path to the top of their respective sports as Peszek. Gall, a middle-distance runner, and helping me become an elite middle- distance runner." Houchin, a swimmer who specializes in the freestyle stroke, were both re- cruited to join the varsity teams in Ann Arbor, where they learned the tenacity and relentlessness necessary to reach the Olympic level. "I had coaches and opportuni- pic Trials in 2004, trying to earn a spot in the Athens Games at the age of 15. Ever since then, his goal of making the Games has seemed just in reach. "The most pressure-packed part of RISING TO THE OCCASION Houchin competed in his first Olym- Team Canada rower Janine Hanson's eight- member boat won a silver medal. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS amount of time, energy and sheer de- termination it takes to earn a trip to the Olympic Games. One thing is for sure, though: each former Wolverine credits his or her time in Ann Arbor as a major catalyst in making their eventual trip to London. If it wasn't for the University of It is impossible to quantify the FOR AN OLYMPICS RUN HOW MICHIGAN HELPED PREPARE Michigan, Peszek may never have even tried rowing. The Maize And Blue's men's rowing program is at the club- varsity level, and as such, the team has to get creative in filling out its roster. Every fall, the Wolverines will head to campus with flyers advertising the team. They'll look out for tall, lean, athletic-looking individuals that will be intrigued enough to show up for a team meeting. And that's how Peszek, who ties there that I would not have had anywhere else," Houchin said. "The training group that we had my fresh- man and sophomore years [2006-07] is something that will probably never be seen again in the sport of swim- ming. We had a half-dozen Olympi- ans, including Michael Phelps, on deck every day, and we had [then-Michi- gan coach] Bob Bowman and Jon Ur- banchek, two of the best coaches in the world. "It set me up for the future. I was presented with the opportunity to be tested regularly in front of the greatest people in the world, and I think that was a launching pad for my career." Gall added, "The four years I was at the whole thing is just being at trials and getting on the team," Houchin said. "When I made the relay team in the 200-meter freestyle, there was cer- tainly a burden lifted off of me. It was such a release. And from that point on, the whole experience was really just fun for four weeks." He said it was, at times, difficult to focus on the race while in London, but he did his best to "block out all the superfluous stuff in order to execute in the moment." And he certainly did. Houchin along with fellow Michi- Michigan really elevated me, to help me get to that professional level that you need to be at in order to make Olympic teams. I can't thank my col- lege coach, Mike McGuire, enough for Rk. School TOP 20: MEDAL COUNT FOR U.S. COLLEGES 1. Southern Cal 12 2. Florida 3. California 4. Stanford 5. Texas 9. Georgia 6. Washington 7. Tennessee 8. UCLA had never before attempted the sport, got started on his path to London — receiving a flyer from a stranger on the Diag. "I had no clue that I was going to row when I came to Michigan," Peszek said. "I signed up, because I just thought it would be a great way to stay in shape and have some fun. It took over my life from there. I certainly never saw all this coming." Most of the Michigan athletes 11. Connecticut Michigan Auburn Princeton 14. Arizona 17. Texas A&M Minnesota Harvard LSU Nebraska Notre Dame Penn State 11 12 6 2 5 6 3 1 6 4 2 3 1 0 3 2 2 2 1 9 3 6 5 2 2 3 4 1 3 4 0 1 3 0 4 1 1 0 1 2 2 Gold Silver Bronze Total 9 6 1 2 5 6 1 1 1 2 0 1 1 2 0 4 0 2 1 0 1 24 21 17 16 13 11 10 8 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 * Only former student-athletes from the school are counted (i.e. Michael Phelps' medals were not credited to- ward U-M); data compiled by www.CollegeSports360.com 86 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2012 gan alumnus Davis Tarwater, was part of the 4x200-meter freestyle re- lay team that took first-place (7:06.75) in the heats, giving the finals team of Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer and Rickey Berens the best lane in their gold medal-winning performance of 6:59.7. In the last few years of competi- tion, Gall has gained more and more strength and confidence in herself — and, back in January, she could tell that 2012 would be her year. "I knew that I was a force to be reckoned with this year," she said. "I was really excited for the trials. All I had to do was stay healthy this whole year and continue training as hard as I have been the past couple years. As the season progressed, I was running faster times and personal bests." She earned a spot on Team USA's 800-meter squad in one of the most hotly contested events of the year. Six of the eight 800-meter runners qualified with A-Standard times. Gall was not 100 percent healthy for the Olympics, though she did not elaborate on her injury. But she was still happy with her times and her eighth-place showing in the semifinals (2:05.76). "I just feel blessed that I got to race," she said. "It was the greatest feeling in the world." Peszek, a Farmington Hills, Mich., native, graduated from