Weekly Release #20
6/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Upcoming Schedule
Wed-Sat., June 11-14 -- at NCAA Championships (Sacramento, Calif.)
This Week: at NCAA Championships
Sophomore Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) and freshman Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) of the University of Michigan men's track and field team have qualified to compete at the NCAA Championships Wednesday through Saturday (June 11-14) at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, Calif. Brannen qualified for NCAAs in the 800-meter run by winning the 800 title at the first-ever NCAA Mideast Regional (May 30-31). Willis also earned a regional championship to advance to the NCAA meet in the 1,500-meter run. The first round of the 800-meter run will be held Wednesday (June 11) at 11:30 a.m. PDT. The semifinals will be held Thursday (June 12) at 11:25 a.m. PDT, while the final will be contested Saturday (June 14) at 8:30 p.m. PDT. The 1,500 begins with the semifinals on Thursday at 7:25 p.m. PDT. The final will be contested Saturday at 7:50 p.m. PDT.
Schedule for U-M Athletes (Times PDT)
| Wednesday, June 11 | |
| 11:30 a.m. | 800 Meters (first round) |
Thursday, June 12 | |
| 11:25 a.m. | 800 Meters (semifinals) |
| 8:30 p.m. | 1,500 Meters (semifinals) |
Saturday, June 14 | |
| 7:50 p.m. | 1,500 Meters (final) |
| 8:30 p.m. | 800 Meters (final) |
Michigan and the National Championships
Michigan has produced a total of 42 individual track and field national championships in its storied history, the last coming in March when Nate Brannen became the 28th individual champion to don the Maize and Blue with his win in the indoor 800-meter run. Last year at the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Michigan had three All-Americans, including Brannen in the 800 meters, Alan Webb (2002) in the 1,500 meters and Mike Wisniewski (1999-2002) in the 10,000 meters.
Title Defense Continues
Nate Brannen took the first step toward defending his 2003 indoor 800-meter national championship by winning the 800 at the NCAA Mideast Regional (May 30-31), thus automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Brannen, who advanced to the final with the sixth fastest time (1:48.35) in the semifinals, won the regional title with a time of 1:49.72. The slow, tactical race kicked into high gear around the final turn as Brannen's final push over the last 90 meters gave him a 0.15 second victory over Alabama freshman Peter Etoot.
Brannen Among the Field
Nate Brannen is ranked 13th among the NCAA Championships field with his season-best time of 1:48.35. The Mideast Region, in which Brannen finished first at the regional meet, boasts four of the nation's top six times. Tennessee's Marc Sylvester has posted the nation's fastest time in the 800 this season at 1:46.56. Arkansas junior Robbie Stevens and Alabama's Peter Etoot are ranked second and third, respectively, while Kentucky junior Jean Balan posted the sixth-fastest time this season.
800-Meter Run 1. Marc Sylvester, Tennessee 1:46.56* 13. Nate Brannen, U-M 1:49.15* * automatic qualifier
Willis Among the Field: A Race Oddity
With convincing wins in the 1,500-meter seminfinals and final at the NCAA Mideast Regional, freshman Nick Willis is a much more dangerous opponent in the 1,500 than his 26th-ranked time of 3:45.45 implies. Willis won his races at the regional by almost two seconds each and has already defeated six of the top eight in the NCAA Championships field in head-to-head races at the regional.
1,500-Meter Run 1. Kip Kangogo, BYU 3:41.53 25. Nick Willis, U-M 3:45.45* * automatic qualifier
That's What I'm Talking About
Michigan's Nick Willis has had a successful freshman campaign, which he will continue at the NCAA Championships. On a national level, Willis was an NCAA indoor All-American (distance medley relay), an indoor 3,000-meter finalist and an NCAA Regional champion (1,500 meters). Competing on the conference level, Willis won a pair of Big Ten titles (indoor 3,000 meters, outdoor 1,500 meters) and was runner-up in a third event (indoor mile) en route to sweeping the conference's indoor and outdoor Freshman of the Year honors. He has also set a school record with Michigan's distance medley relay and won a Penn Relays DMR title, earning the meet's "Male Athlete of the Relays" laurels by setting the meet record with his 1,200-meter split time.
Last Time Around: at NCAA Mideast Regional
Michigan's Nate Brannen and Nick Willis each won event titles at the NCAA Mideast Regional (May 30-31), hosted at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Brannen won the 800 meters and Willis won the 1,500 to advance to the NCAA Championships. The Maize and Blue had to close calls at the regional meet. Freshman Andrew Ellerton (Windsor, Ontario/Confederation HS) finished just 0.02 seconds out of the final automatic qualifying spot in the 800-meter run, while redshirt freshman Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS) was kept from advancing in the 1,500-meter run by 0.63 seconds. Senior Alex L'Heureux (Weedon, Quebec/Palm Beach Gardens HS, Fla.) took 10th place in the steeplechase and senior/junior Nick Stanko (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt HS) posted the region's 11th-fastest time in the 5,000-meter run.
It's Academic
The Big Ten has released its Spring academic all-conference list and named 14 athletes on the men's track and field team among its top student-athletes. Second only to the women's track and field team in number of honors, Michigan's men's squad had a strong semester in the classroom as well as on the track. To be eligible for the Spring Academic All-Big Ten Conference team, student-athletes must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year and carry a career grade-point average of 3.0 or better. Honorees from the men's track and field team are:
David Battani, Jr., Sports Management and Communication, Fraser, Mich.
Dan Cooke, Sr., Computer Science, Pinckney, Mich.
Ryan Hesselink, Sr., Mechanical Engineering, Freeport, Mich.
Jeong-Hwan Kang, So., Political Science, Lynnwood, Wash.
Kevin Lamb, Sr., Biological Psychology, East Lansing, Mich.
Tarn Leach, So., Biological Psychology, East Jordan, Mich.
Sean Moore, So., Undeclared, Saline, Mich.
Terrence Rindler, Sr., Chemical Engineering, Portage, Mich.
Jeremy Schneider, Sr., Computer Science and Engineering, West Bloomfield, Mich.
Nick Stanko, Sr., Ceramics, Wyandotte, Mich.
Phil Stead, Sr., Graphic Design, Dearborn, Mich.
Nick Vander Ploeg, So., Undeclared, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Seth Waits, So., Undeclared, Grand Rapids, Ohio
Chris Yee, Jr., Movement Science, Ann Arbor, Mich.
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 (Grand Rapids, Ohio/Otsego HS), Andrew Ellerton and Nick Willis etched their names into the U-M record book with a third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships (March 14) as 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.
DM-Are You Going to the Mall Later
The distance medley relay has been one of Michigan's most successful events this season. Combining the efforts of four athletes running four different distances (400, 800, 1,200 and 1,600 meters), Maize and Blue DMRs have won indoor All-America honors, set a school record and won a Penn Relays title in 2003. The Penn Relays is the nation's top outdoor DMR competition and serves as the de facto national championship since the event is not contested at the NCAA Championships.
Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
