Weekly Release #14

Upcoming Schedule
Friday, April 18 -- at Eastern Michigan Twilight Invitational (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 6 p.m.
Thu-Sat., April 24-26 -- at Penn Relays (Philadelphia, Pa.)

This Week: at EMU Twilight Invitational
The University of Michigan men's track and field team will participate in the Eastern Michigan Twilight Invitational Friday (April 18) at the Olds-Marshall Track in Ypsilanti, Mich. The meet is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.

Last Time Around: at Sea Ray Relays
The University of Michigan men's track and field team sent three sophomores to the Sea Ray Relays last weekend (Friday and Saturday, April 11-12) at Tennessee's Tom Black Track in Knoxville, Tenn. DarNell Talbert (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel HS) posted the Wolverines' best result with a 19th-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles on Friday. Talbert's time of 53.59 is Michigan's top time this season. Seth Waits (Grand Rapids, Ohio/Otsego HS) tied his fastest time of the 2003 outdoor season with a clocking of 54.31.

First Year of the NCAA Regional
As of the 2003 outdoor season, four regional meets will now be held to determine the participants for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Michigan is in the Mideast Region and will compete in its regional May 30-31 in Columbus, Ohio. In order for an athlete to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, he must finish in the top five of an individual event or be a member of a top-three relay at the regional championship. The track and field committee will also select a group of at-large athletes to round out the remainder of the Championships field in each event, similar to provisional-qualifying marks in the past.

Let's Get Regional
The Wolverines have posted eight NCAA Regional qualifying times so far in the outdoor season. Andrew Ellerton (Windsor, Ontario/Confederation HS) led the way with two regional marks, in the 800- and 1,500-meter runs, respectively. U-M had three other athletes post qualifying times in the 800-meter run at the Yellow Jacket Invitational (April 4-5), while junior/sophomore Brian Turner (Omaha, Neb./Millard North HS) was also an NCAA Regional qualifier in the 1,500-meter run. Ryan Hesselink (Freeport, Mich./Thornapple-Kellogg HS) and Alex L'Heureux (Weedon, Quebec/Palm Beach Gardens HS, Fla.) have posted regional-qualifying results in the steeplechase.

DarNell's Drive
DarNell Talbert posted U-M's top finish in the 400-meter hurdles at the Sea Ray Relays with his time of 53.49. Talbert's result is the team's fastest in the event since moving outdoors.

Andrew the Great
Freshman Andrew Ellerton established a career best in the 1,500-meter run at the Yellow Jacket Invitational (April 4-5) . Ellerton surpassed his previous personal best by over four seconds and qualified for the NCAA Regional meet with his time of 3:47.29. Ellerton's 800-meter time of 1:49.29 was his best performance at Michigan and was just 0.23 seconds off his personal best.

Nick of Time
Nick Stanko (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt HS) set a career best with his 5,000-meter performance at the Yellow Jacket Invitational (April 4-5). Stanko won the event with his result of 14:32.73, surpassing his 2002 George Mason Patriot Games (Feb. 2, 2002) time of 14:52.82.

Cooking in the 800
Dan Cooke (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney HS) surpassed his career best in the 800-meter run by one second at the Yellow Jacket Invitational (April 4-5). Cooke's time of 1:50.49 was good for fifth place and improved his career mark of 1:51.46 set in 2002.

The Turner Empire
With his NCAA Regional qualifying finish of 3:49.59 in the 1,500-meter run at the Yellow Jacket Invitational, Brian Turner posted a career-best time. Turner's previous best mark of 3:50.21 was set at the 2001 Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championships.

Bat Man
Junior David Battani (Fraser, Mich./Fraser HS) set a personal best in the 400-meter hurdles at the Yellow Jacket Invitational (April 4-5). Battani's time of 53.82 improved upon his 2002 time of 54.25 and stands as U-M's top time in the event this season.

Cobra Kaj
Sophomore/freshman Kaj Johansson (Honor, Mich./Benzie Central HS) improved upon his team-leading 400-meter time at the Yellow Jacket Invitational, posting a mark of 49.03.

National Champion!
With his win in the 800-meter run March 15 at the 2003 NCAA Championships, sophomore Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) became Michigan's first national champion since 1998. Making his move from fifth place with 150 meters remaining in the race, Brannen advanced to the front of the pack to win the race in a school and Canadian Senior Indoor record time of 1:47.79. Brannen will wait until the Penn Relays (April 24-26) before making his 2003 outdoor debut.

Rewriting the Record Books
Nate Brannen gained the second school record of his career with his time of 1:47.79 in the 800-meter run March 15 at the NCAA Indoor Championships. His mark bettered Neal Newman's 12-year-old record clocking of 1:47.83 set in 1991. Brannen also holds Michigan's fastest mark in the outdoor 800 meters with his time of 1:46.00 at the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Championships (May 31, 2002).

DM-Record
The Wolverine distance medley relay team of Nate Brannen, Seth Waits, Andrew Ellerton and Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) etched their names into the U-M record book with a third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships (March 14). The Maize and Blue crew broke the school record by over 2.5 seconds with its 9:29.76 result. Scott MacDonald (1992-97), Trinity Townshend (1993-96), Jeff Wood (1994-97) and Kevin Sullivan (1994-98) held the DMR record for seven years with their time of 9:32.28 achieved at the 1996 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Rank Me
Michigan is ranked No. 19 in the most recent Trackwire 25 poll (April 15). The Trackwire 25 projects a hypothetical score for the NCAA meet, factoring in injury reports and other variables supported by information gathered from coaches and NCAA-qualifying competitions across the country.

 1. Auburn 50 2. Tennessee 48 3. Arkansas 45 4. Mississippi State 44 5. USC 39 6. Nebraska 36 7. LSU 33 8. South Carolina 29 9. SMU 25 Florida 25 11. Eastern Michigan 24 Oregon 24 Georgia 24 14. Stanford 21 15. Texas 20 16. UTEP 18 17. Minnesota 15 18. Texas Tech 14 19. MICHIGAN 13 BYU 13 21. Indiana 12 Iona 12 UCLA 12 24. Missouri 11 Pennsylvania 11 Colorado State 11 Louisiana Southern 11

Next Time Around
The Wolverines will take to the track for the 109th running of the Penn Relays next Thursday through Saturday (April 24-26) at the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa.

Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423