Michigan
Len Paddock Invitational (Day 2)
Brannen, Waits Lead Michigan on Final Day of Paddock
5/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Sophomores Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) and Seth Waits (Grand Rapids, Ohio/Otsego HS) led the University of Michigan men's track and field team Saturday (May 10) on the second and final day of the Len Paddock Invitational held on Ferry Field.
Brannen posted the Wolverines' fastest time of the outdoor season in the 800-meter run with his finish of 1:49.18. Brannen cruised to the event title with the help of teammate Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS), who paced the race for the first 600 meters.
The Wolverines had four athletes in the 800-meter run's top six finishes. Redshirt freshman Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS) finished third (1:51.24), freshman Andrew Ellerton (Windsor, Ontario/Confederation HS) was fifth (1:51.74) and senior/junior Dan Cooke (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney HS) placed sixth at 1:51.81.
Waits followed up his winning performance in the 400-meter hurdles on the first day of the Paddock with a second-place finish in the 400-meter dash. Waits' time of 49.21 established a U-M outdoor season best.
Michigan also set a season best with its 4x100-meter relay composed of sophomore Nathan Taylor (Courtenay, B.C./G.P. Vanier HS), junior David Battani (Fraser, Mich./Fraser HS) and junior/sophomores Dustin Gress (Novi, Mich./Farmington HS) and Francis Legasse Jr. (Rochester Hills, Mich./Notre Dame Prep). Battani anchored the unit to a finish of 41.91.
Freshman Spencer Dowdall (Coral Springs, Fla./Coral Springs HS) had a good day in the field, clearing a career-best mark of 15-1 in the pole vault.
The Maize and Blue will return to action next Friday through Sunday (May 16-18) at the Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championships held at Bierman Track and Field Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn.
Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
