Michigan
Simmons-Harvey Quad
Simmons-Harvey Quad Features Rivals and National Powers
1/17/2018 5:21:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
» The Wolverines will square off with rivals Michigan State and Ohio State as well as perennial power Arkansas, in the first-ever scored competition at the new U-M Indoor Track Building.
» Michigan ranks No. 22 in the Track and Field News Dual Meet Rankings, with Ohio State entering at No. 3, Arkansas at No. 14 and Michigan State unranked.
» Bolstering the U-M attack will be All-American weight throwers Grant Cartwright and Joe Ellis, who are set to make their season debuts on Saturday.
» Two-time Olympic medalist Nick Willis will once again go for a sub-four-minute mile in an elite race, looking to better his 3:57.99 from last Saturday.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, Jan. 20 -- Simmons-Harvey Quad (Ann Arbor, Mich. / New U-M Indoor Track Building) 11 a.m.
• Home Meet Information | Live Results | Meet Schedule
• Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- With the first meet in the new University of Michigan Indoor Track Building in the books, the University of Michigan men's track and field team will defend its new home turf in scored competition for the first time on Saturday (Jan. 20) as traditional rivals and a national power converge on Ann Arbor for the Simmons-Harvey Quad.
Michigan will square off against Big Ten foes Ohio State and Michigan State, as well as national contender Arkansas, for the honor of becoming the first team crowned victor in the Wolverines' new facility, located on South State Street. The Wolverines (No. 22), Buckeyes (No. 3) and Razorbacks (No. 14) are all rated among the best dual-meet teams in the country by Track and Field News.
Dual meets are defined as competitions with four or fewer teams, with slightly different scoring rules than traditional invitationals and championship meets. Eight athletes will score per individual event, with only two athletes per team eligible to earn points per event.
Event winners will score nine points for their teams, with a diminishing number of points accrued for each of the seven places thereafter (9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1). The team with the most points at the end of the meet will be crowned the victor.
Meet entries are not finalized until Wednesday night, but the season debuts of All-Americans Grant Cartwright and Joe Ellis -- who combined to form one of the top weight throw duos in collegiate history -- are expected. Cartwright was the national runner-up in 2017, while Ellis was seventh nationally.
Fans turned out in droves for the facility's opening competition this past weekend, and another capacity crowd in the 2,000-spectator bleachers is expected for Saturday with Michigan's two biggest rivals in the field. Parking for spectators is available in the lots directly north and south of the new facility (2540 South State Street), and doors will open to the public at 10 a.m.
Those in attendance also will be treated to two-time Olympic medalist Nick Willis and several other elite-level men making a run at the 3:57.99 facility record the former Wolverine great achieved on last Saturday. The field will be looking to make the race the first of any mile run on Michigan soil to produce three or more sub-four-minute miles, and never before in the state of Michigan have there been sub-four miles run on consecutive weekends.
In addition to Willis, the race will also feature fellow New Zealand Olympian Hamish Carson, former Wolverine NCAA steeplechase champion Mason Ferlic, former USATF 12K road-race champion Brian Shrader and former multiple-time NCAA Division III 800-meter national champion Mitchell Black.
Michigan track and field fans both in attendance and following remotely can keep up with the meet as it is happening with live results from Delta Timing, as well as through updates on the programs' Twitter and Instagram accounts. The elite men's mile will be streamed on Facebook Live.
The meet is named in honor of the late Kenneth "Red" Simmons and Jack Harvey. Simmons, who died in 2012 at the age of 102, was the first head coach of the U-M women's track and field program 40 years ago in 1978 until his retirement in 1981. Harvey was Michigan men's head coach for 25 years from 1975-1999 as he led the Wolverines to five NCAA top-10 finishes and 10 Big Ten team titles.
News and Notes
• The Wolverines will be looking to continue a pattern of dominance over Michigan State in dual-meet competition that spans decades. Over the last 40 years, the Wolverines and Spartans have met in dual settings 15 times; Michigan has emerged victorious each time. In the two most recent competitions, U-M topped MSU by a score of 85-76 in 2015 and by a score of 88-74 in 2013.
• Michigan is aiming to snap a streak of four consecutive losses to Ohio State, all suffered in a four-season stretch from 2009-12 during the bitter rivals' most recent string of duals. The Wolverines fell by double-digits in three of the four meets, with a 85-77 outcome in 2009 being the closest they came. Michigan won convincingly in 2008, outscoring the Buckeyes, 90-71.
• Only once has Michigan simultaneously opposed both MSU and OSU over the past 40 years, coming in a dramatic 51-50 win over Ohio State in 1992. Michigan State took fourth with 27 points, also finishing behind Penn State.
• Michigan has never met Arkansas in dual meet competition.
• Freshman 400-meter sprinter Jadon Briscoe and Israeli triple-jumping transfer Daniel Butael made immediate impacts on the Wolverines in their NCAA debuts this past weekend, as both checked in at No. 5 among freshmen and No. 21 overall nationally. Butael's mark of 15.22m (49 feet, 11.75 inches) ranks seventh in Michigan history, while Briscoe checks in at No. 11, just .04 away from the top-10.
• Cartwright and Ellis will look to pick up where they left off last year in the weight throw. Heaving the 35-pound implement distances of 23.31m (76-5.75) and 22.49m (73-9.25) at the Big Ten Championships, respectively, they became the fourth-best duo in collegiate history by combined distance. In their sights this year are even better NCAA finishes and the distinction of becoming the first teammates to both throw 23 meters at the NCAA Championships.
• While both Cartwright and Ellis are expected to shoot to the top of the Big Ten standings in the weight throw after this weekend, several other Wolverines excelled at the conference level at the season-opening Wolverine Invitational on Saturday:
| Name | Event | Rank |
| Khoury Crenshaw | 60m | 8 |
| Desmond Nicholas | 200m | 9 |
| Jandon Briscoe | 400m | 3 |
| Desmond Melson | 400m | 7 |
| Chase Barnett | Mile | 8 |
| Anthony Berry | Mile | 9 |
| Jacob Lee | 3000m | 6 |
| 4 x 400m Relay | 6 | |
| Brandon Piwinski | High Jump | 10 |
| Daniel Butael | Triple Jump | 4 |
• Cartwright and Ellis will look to reach the top of the national leaderboards in their first competition this weekend, joining several Wolverines who logged top-50 performances among the full NCAA Division I ranks:
| Name | Event | Rank |
| Jandon Briscoe | 400m | 21 |
| Chase Barnett | Mile | 28 |
| Anthony Berry | Mile | 40 |
| Jack Aho | Mile | 45 |
| Micah Beller | Mile | 48 |
| Jacob Lee | 3000m | 43 |
| 4 x 400m Relay | 44 | |
| Daniel Butael | Triple Jump | 21 |
Players Mentioned
