Michigan
NCAA Mideast Regional (Day 1)
Ellerton, Ruff Qualify for Finals at NCAA Mideast Regional
5/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team qualified a pair of individual competitors to their respective event finals on the first day of action at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships on Friday (May 28) at LSU's Bernie Moore Track Stadium. The Wolverines did not score any team points in today's action.
Sophomore Andrew Ellerton (Windsor, Ontario/Confederation HS) earned an automatic trip to the 800-meter final by claiming first place in the third of four preliminary heats. Ellerton stayed in the middle of the pack through the first lap, moving his way up to the second position at the 600-meter mark. Ellerton sat on the heels of Kent State's Mike Inge before taking off with 100 meters to go, outkicking the field to clock a time of 1:49.57, 0.40 seconds ahead of runner-up Inge.
Ellerton was the only competitor among his heat to qualify for the 800-meter final, with the first and fourth heats producing the fastest times during the preliminary round. The Wolverine sophomore will be seeded third heading into the 800-meter final.
Junior/sophomore Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS) claimed sixth place in the first heat of the 1,500-meter run and, with the first heat running considerably faster than the second, produced the sixth-fastest time of the day with a mark of 3:51.41. It will be Ruff's first appearance in the regional finals after missing last season's cut by just two spots.
That was the situation this season for junior Seth Waits (Grand Rapids, Ohio/Ostego HS), who placed 11th in the 400-meter hurdles, missing the nine-man field by just 0.18 seconds.
The Wolverines will return to the track tomorrow (Saturday, May 29) for the second and final day of action at the NCAA Mideast Regional. U-M competition will begin at 5:22 p.m. CDT with the final of the 1,500-meter run.
Top 10 Teams (After Day 1)
1. Purdue 23 Auburn 23 3. LSU 17 4. Kentucky 15 5. Ohio State 12 Southern Mississippi 12 7. Wisconsin 11 8. Miami (Ohio) 10.5 9. Southern 10 10. Butler 8 Indiana 8 Michigan State 8
Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 1)
100-meter Dash (Prelims) 1. Marty Scales, MTSU 10.04Q 200-meter Dash (Prelims) 1. Wallace Spearmon, Arkansas 20.25Q 400-meter Dash (Prelims) 1. Kelly Willie, LSU 45.12Q 13. Stann Waithe, U-M 47.00 800-meter Run (Prelims) 1. Peter Etoot, Alabama 1:46.83Q 3. Andrew Ellerton, U-M 1:49.57Q 25. Dan Cooke, U-M 1:51.85 1,500-meter Run (Prelims) 1. Rob Myers, Ohio State 3:46.51Q 10. Rondell Ruff, U-M 3:51.41q 110-meter Hurdles (Prelims) 1. Joel Brown, Ohio State 13.45Q -- Jeff Porter, U-M DNS 400-meter Hurdles (Prelims) 1. Abraham Reed-Jones, Illinois 50.54Q 11. Seth Waits, U-M 51.68 15. DarNell Talbert, U-M 53.03 5,000-meter Run (Final) 1. Simon Bairu, Wisconsin 14:13.08 4x100-meter Relay (Prelims) 1. LSU 39.72Q (Kelly Willie, Marvin Stephenson, Pete Coley, Robert Parham) High Jump (Final) 1. Aarik Wilson, Indiana 7-3 1/4 (2.22m) Long Jump (Final) 1. Leevan Sands, Auburn 26-9 3/4 (8.17m) 14. Joe Baldwin, U-M 23-8 1/4 (7.22m) Shot Put (Final) 1. Jeff Chakouian, Kentucky 66-3 (20.19m) Hammer Throw (Final) 1. Dan Taylor, Ohio State 223-8 (68.18m) * NCAA Championships qualifier Qq qualified for event final
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
