Weekly Release #13
4/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Friday, April 19 -- at Eastern Michigan Invitational (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 6 p.m.
Fri-Sun., April 19-21 -- at Mt. SAC Relays (Walnut, Calif.)
Thu-Sat., April 25-27 -- at Penn Relays (Philadelphia, Pa.)
This Week
The University of Michigan men's track and field team will split into two groups as one will head to Walnut, Calif., from Friday through Sunday (April 19-21), for the Mt. SAC Relays, while the other will head east on Washtenaw Ave. to compete at the Eastern Michigan Invitational on Friday (April 19) in Ypsilanti, Mich. Competition for the Mt. SAC Relays will be held at Hilmer Lodge Stadium with the collegiate start times varying each day, while the Eastern Michigan Invitational will be held at Olds-Marshall Field beginning at 6 p.m.
Schedule for Mt. SAC Relays
| Friday, April 19 | Begins at 4 p.m. PDT |
| Saturday, April 20 | Begins at 6 p.m. PDT |
| Sunday, April 21 | Begins at 9:50 a.m. PDT |
A complete schedule can be found at the Mt. SAC Relays Website.
Webb to Make Debut
Freshman Alan Webb (Reston, Va./South Lakes HS), the American high school record holder in the mile at 3:53.43 and a finalist for the 2001 Sullivan Award, is expected to make his track debut for Michigan at the Mt. SAC Relays. Webb is scheduled to compete in one of the four heats of the 1,500-meter run, which is slated to begin on Saturday (April 20) at 9:10 p.m. PDT.
Welcome Home
Two runners on the Michigan track team will return to their home state for the Mt. SAC Relays. Senior tri-captain Ike Okenwa (San Diego, Calif./Morse HS) and DarNell Talbert both hail from San Diego, Calif., which is located slightly over a hundred miles south of the home of the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. Okenwa is expected to run in the 200-meter dash as well as the 4x400-meter relay, while Talbert will likely compete in the hurdle events as well as possibly assisting in a relay event.
Last Meet Recap
Michigan had a strong showing at the Duke Invitational (April 5-6) as all three relay teams competing at the meet for the Maize and Blue posted top-five finishes, while 11 individuals placed in the top 10 of their respective events. Senior Ike Okenwa had one of the best performances at Wallace Wade Stadium as he won the developmental heat of the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.96 and teammate Nathan Taylor (Courtenay, B.C./GP Vanier HS) followed in second with a mark of 11.10. Two Wolverines also posted career-best times at the meet as freshman DarNell Talbert (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel HS) posted a time of 48.67 in the 400-meter dash and sophomore Andrew Ochs (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline HS) finished the 400-meter hurdles with a mark of 53.39.
One in the Books
Michigan already has one athlete who will need to book a trip to Baton Rouge, La., for the NCAA Championships from May 29-June 1. Senior Mike Wisniewski (Temperance, Mich./Bedford HS) posted an NCAA automatic qualifying time at the Stanford Invitational (March 30) by placing 10th with a time of 28:55.89. Wisniewski, the 2001 Big Ten outdoor champion in the 10,000-meter run, is expected to compete in the 5,000-meter run at the Mt. SAC Relays.
So Close
Senior tri-captain Derek Applewhite (Brighton, Colo./Brighton HS) just missed setting a career-best time in the 400-meter hurdles at the Duke Invitational (April 6). With a time of 51.80, Applewhite was able to post a fifth-place finish, while finishing just .11 of a second off his career-best time of 51.69.
Sprinting to the Top
Michigan couldn't have asked for much more from its two sprint relay teams at the Duke Invitational. All three squads posted top-five finishes in their events, including the 4x400-meter relay that finished in third place in the final event of the meet. The squad of senior Ike Okenwa, juniors Jeremy Schneider (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Andover HS), and Kevin Lamb (East Lansing, Mich./Haslett HS) and sophomore Andrew Ochs teamed up for a time of 3:13.20. Okenwa and Lamb also joined junior Brent Cummings (Belding, Mich./Belding HS) and Nathan Taylor to take fifth place in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 41.42.
Medley on the Mark
The sprint relay teams were not the only ones to make their mark at the Duke Invitational. The distance medley relay squad of senior Kevin Rogan (Grass Lake, Mich./Grass Lake HS), junior David Cook (Portage, Mich./ Northern HS), and sophomores Christopher Yee (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) and Terrence Rindler (Portage, Mich./Central HS) teamed up for a fifth-place finish with a time of 10:01.52.
Winning Heats
Michigan's successful performance at the Duke Invitational can't just be measured in overall standings. The Wolverines had several runners win their heats, including redshirt freshman David Battani (Fraser, Mich./Fraser HS), sophomore Dan Cooke (Belding, Mich./Belding HS) and Derek Applewhite. Applewhite and Battani both won their heats of the 400-meter hurdles at 51.80 and 54.31, respectively, while Cooke was the top performer in his heat of the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.26.
Contact: David Crabtree (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
