Okenwa Qualifies in 200 at Michigan Intercollegiate

Saturday, February 10

Ypsilanti, Mich.

Michigan

Michigan Intercollegiate

2/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team finished runner-up to host school Eastern Michigan at the Michigan Intercollegiate on Saturday (Feb. 10). Helped by four individual victories and one relay win on the day, the Wolverines accumulated 123.50 points, good for second place ahead of Western Michigan (113) in the six-team event.

Junior Ike Okenwa (San Diego, Calif./Morse HS) got things started off with a bang as he came in second in the 60-meter dash and later added an NCAA provisional qualifying time (21.19) with his victory in the 200. The track was kind to Michigan most of the day, especially in the 600, where Jeremy Schneider (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Andover HS) and Ravi Smith (Southfield, Mich./Lathrup HS) finished one-two. Philip Stead (Dearborn, Mich./Divine Child HS) also ran well in the 800, posting another Wolverine runner-up finish.

In the longer distances, Michigan maintained its competitiveness, thanks to freshman Brian Turner (Omaha, Neb./Millard North HS). Turner posted two second-place finishes, in the mile and 3,000 meters. In addition, senior Steve Lawrence (Consecon, Ontario/East Northumberland SS) came in third in the 5,000.

Michigan's relay teams also had a good day on the track. The distance medley relay combo took the title, while the 1,600-meter team finished second, just over a half second from another title.

In the field events, the Wolverines were led by their pole vault duo. Big Ten champion Charles DeWildt (Wyoming, Mich./Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) won his first individual title of the season, with teammate Brent Sheffer (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) taking third.

Michigan's other first-place finish came from Ryan Stevenson (Harrison, Ohio/St. Xavier HS), who won the heptathlon with 4,914 points.

The Wolverines will be back in action next Saturday (Feb. 17), hosting the Harold Silverston Invitational at the U-M Track Building beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Final Team Scores

 1. Eastern Michigan 211 2. MICHIGAN 123.50 3. Western Michigan 113 4. Central Michigan 78.50 5. Detroit 21 6. Michigan State 7

Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day 2)

60-Meter Dash 1. Gerald Rasool, EMU 6.72# 2. Ike Okenwa, U-M 6.81 200-Meter Dash 1. Ike Okenwa, U-M 21.19# 400-Meter Dash 1. Nduka Awazie, EMU 47.80 4. Josh Sellers, U-M 48.81 6. Kevin Lamb, U-M 49.04 7. Chris Yee, U-M 49.50 600-Meter Run 1. Jeremy Schneider, U-M 1:19.91 2. Ravi Smith, U-M 1:21.35 6. Dan Cooke, U-M 1:23.43 8. Andrew Ochs, U-M 1:23.73 800-Meter Run 1. Ian Searcy, CMU 1:54.61 2. Philip Stead, U-M 1:55.00 6. Kevin Rogan, U-M 1:56.56 13. Terrance Rindler, U-M 2:01.16 15. Tom Greenless, U-M 2:02.84 Mile Run 1. Neil Kirk, EMU 4:13.14 2. Brian Turner, U-M 4:15.02 8. Tom Caughlan, U-M 4:28.13 3,000-Meter Run 1. Aaron Bartee, EMU 8:26.51 2. Brian Turner, U-M 8:32.40 11. Mark Pilja, U-M 8:47.22 5,000-Meter Run 1. Aaron Bartee, EMU 14:47.73 3. Steve Lawrence, U-M 14:53.70 12. Ryan Hesselink, U-M 15:37.93 60-Meter High Hurdles 1. Jalilu Mayo, EMU 7.98 1,600-Meter Relay 1. Eastern Michigan 3:18.43 2. Michigan 3:19.06 Distance Medley Relay 1. Michigan 10:07.41 High Jump 1. Ronnie Zatkoff, CMU 6-9 3/4 6. Robert Arnold, U-M 6-4 10. Brad Benninghoff, U-M 6-2 Pole Vault 1. Charles DeWildt, U-M 16-10 3/4 3. Brent Sheffer, U-M 16-0 3/4 7. Ryan Stevenson, U-M 14-7 1/4 Long Jump 1. Gary Stanford, EMU 23-2 1/2 9. Oded Padan, U-M 21-2 1/2 Triple Jump 1. Jeka Luhahi, WMU 49-7 3/4 5. Oded Padan, U-M 47-5 Shot Put 1. Okechukwu Eziuka, EMU 59-2 3/4# 4. Nick Rogers, U-M 52-3 1/4 8. Jason Hoyner, U-M 48-2 Weight Throw 1. Dale Cowper, WMU 64-8# Heptathlon 1. Ryan Stevenson, U-M 4,914 pts. @ NCAA automatic mark # NCAA provisional mark