Michigan
Big Ten Outdoor Championships (Day 2)
Wolverines Advance Five Runners to Big Ten Finals
5/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
MADISON, Wis. -- Freshmen Alan Webb (Reston, Va./South Lakes HS) and Nathan Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) and junior Derek Applewhite (Brighton, Colo./Brighton HS) won heats of their respective races to lead the University of Michigan men's track and field team Saturday (May 18) on the second day of the Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championships. The Wolverines concluded Saturday's competition at the Dan McClimon Track in ninth place with six points but managed to advance five individuals to Sunday's finals.
In the 1,500-meter run, Webb controlled the entire race en route to winning his heat with a time of 3:53.35. Webb stayed in the back of the pack for the first three laps of the race before making his move right at the beginning of the fourth lap. After building a sizeable lead, Webb slowed down his pace while still making sure he was the top performer in his heat to earn a berth in Sunday's final that will be held at 1:15 p.m. CDT.
Fellow freshman Brannen, who owned the top time in the Big Ten for the 800-meter run heading into Saturday's action, also won his heat with the same relative ease. Brannen stayed near the front of the pack for his entire race before making his move with 300 meters left in the race. After taking the lead, Brannen coasted to a time of 1:51.41 and ensured a berth in Sunday's final at 2:08 p.m. CDT.
Michigan's top event on the day proved to be the 400-meter hurdles as two Wolverines qualified for Sunday's final, which will begin at 2:28 p.m. CDT. Along with Applewhite's top time in heat one of 51.59, sophomore Andrew Ochs (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) posted a career-best time of 52.47 to become the eighth qualifier into Sunday's final. The time by Ochs placed third in heat one and was almost a second faster than his previous career best (53.39).
The other individual to qualify for Sunday's finals was senior tri-captain Ike Okenwa (San Diego, Calif./Morse HS). Okenwa qualified in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes with times of 10.56 and 21.33, respectively.
In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, the Maize and Blue had two runners finish in the top 11. Junior Ryan Hesselink (Freeport, Mich./Thornapple-Kellogg HS) led the way with a 10th-place finish and a time of 9:11.66, and freshman Tarn Leach (East Jordan, Mich./East Jordan HS) followed in 11th at 9:13.91.
The Big Ten Championships will conclude on Sunday (May 19) at the Dan McClimon Track. The first event of the day will begin at 11:40 a.m. CDT.
Team Standings (After Day 2)
1. Wisconsin 63 2. Minnesota 53 3. Purdue 44.5 4. Ohio State 29 5. Iowa 26 6. Indiana 22 7. Michigan State 15.5 8. Penn State 10 9. MICHIGAN 6 10. Illinois 4
Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day 2)
3,000-meter Steeplechase 1. Isaiah Festa, Wisconsin 8:50.40# 10. Ryan Hesselink, U-M 9:11.66 11. Tarn Leach, U-M 9:13.91 Long Jump 1. Lenton Herring, Wisconsin 25-5 1/2# Hammer Throw 1. Jim Costello, Iowa 217-7# Discus 1. Karl Erickson, Minnesota 184-11# Decathlon 1. Paul Terek, Michigan State 7,829 pts.# High Jump 1. Kevin Netzer, Minnesota 7-1 1/2 4x100-meter Relay (Preliminaries) Heat 1 1. Iowa 40.40 Heat 2 1. Wisconsin 39.82# 5. Michigan 40.87 (Nathan Taylor, Ike Okenwa, Kevin Lamb, Brent Cummings) 110-meter Hurdles (Preliminaries) Heat 1 1. Mathew Harris, Indiana 14.13 6. DarNell Talbert, U-M 15.05 Heat 2 1. Jon Mungen, Wisconsin 14.19 4. David Battani, U-M 15.06 400-meter Hurdles (Preliminaries) Heat 1 1. Derek Applewhite, U-M 51.59 3. Andrew Ochs, U-M 52.47 5. Seth Waits, U-M 54.01 Heat 2 1. Michael Jakobsson, Minnesota 51.74 Heat 3 1. Brian Derby, Penn State 50.78 4. DarNell Talbert, U-M 54.00 1,500-meter Run (Preliminaries) Heat 1 1. Alan Webb, U-M 3:53.35 7. David Cook, U-M 3:55.11 8. Tom Greenless, U-M 3:58.77 Heat 2 1. John Jefferson, Indiana 3:52.94 7. Terrence Rindler, U-M 3:54.74 800-meter Run (Preliminaries) Heat 1 1. Nathan Brannen, U-M 1:51.41 Heat 2 1. Toby Henkels, Minnesota 1:50.25 2. Dan Cooke, U-M 1:52.46 3. Philip Stead, U-M 1:53.51 Heat 3 1. Todd Helber, Ohio State 1:50.14 Heat 4 1. Dan Murray, Wisconsin 1:49.40 4. Kevin Rogan, U-M 1:53.42 400-meter Dash (Preliminaries) Heat 1 1. Robb Merritt, Minnesota 47.12 4. Kevin Lamb, U-M 48.01 Heat 2 1. Adam Steele, Minnesota 46.95 7. Jeremy Schneider, U-M 49.15 Heat 3 1. Jabari Pride, Wisconsin 47.08 3. Anthony Beal, U-M 48.69 200-meter Dash (Preliminaries) Heat 1 1. Ryan Olkowski, Penn State 20.74# Heat 2 1. Jacques Reeves, Purdue 20.91 3. Ike Okenwa, U-M 21.33 Heat 3 1. Tim Dodge, Iowa 20.78# 6. Darren Adams, U-M 22.11 100-meter Dash (Preliminaries) Heat 1 1. B.J. Tucker, Wisconsin 10.35 Heat 2 1. Jacques Reeves, Purdue 10.40 3. Ike Okenwa, U-M 10.56 Heat 3 1. Tim Dodge, Iowa 10.41 * NCAA automatic qualifying mark # NCAA provisional mark
Q U O T E S
U-M Volunteer Assistant Coach Kevin Sullivan
On the performances of Alan Webb and Nathan Brannen ... "They both did what they needed to do and that was to advance to Sunday's finals. Both controlled their races and should be in good shape for tomorrow."
Freshman Alan Webb
On his first win in a collegiate race ... "It is definitely something I've thought about. Tomorrow is the one that really counts, but it's still a nice feeling."
On Saturday's race ... "The race went well. I was able to race the way I wanted to and still feel ready for tomorrow. It helped my confidence big time to go out and run well today."
Contact: David Crabtree (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
