Michigan
NCAA Mideast Regional (Day 2)
Ellerton Wins 800-Meter Run at NCAA Mideast Regional
5/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Sophomore Andrew Ellerton (Sudbury, Ontario/Confederation HS) automatically qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships after winning the 800-meter run, pacing the University of Michigan men's track and field team on the second and final day of competition at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships on Saturday (May 29) at LSU's Bernie Moore Track Stadium. With the 10 team points from Ellerton's win, the Wolverines finished tied for 20th in the final standings.
Ellerton used a reliable strategy to win his race, slowly making his way through the pack before kicking down the opposition in the final stretch. Going out a little slower than usual, Ellerton sat in last place for most of the first lap, picking up a few positions at the halfway point. The Wolverine sophomore was still several paces behind the middle of the pack down the second backstretch when contact between a few competitors resulted in one hitting the track; Ellerton was able to avoid the fallen athlete and continue his move to the front. He took the lead in the final bend and used his kick to stay out front, clocking a time of 1:48.32.
In just the second year of the NCAA regional-qualifying format, the Wolverines have claimed back-to-back 800-meter titles after junior Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) claimed victory last season. It will be the first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships for Ellerton after the Wolverine sophomore just missed qualifying in 2003 with a sixth-place finish in the 800m.
The Wolverines also recorded strong performances in the 4x400-meter relay and the triple jump on the second day of competition. The Wolverines' 4x400m squad, consisting of junior Seth Waits (Grand Rapids, Ohio/Ostego HS), freshman Stann Waithe (Towson, Md./Loch Raven HS), junior DarNell Talbert (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel HS) and freshman John D'Arcy (Clayton, Ohio/Northmont HS), recorded a time of 3:09.68 to claim 10th place among the 18-man field. Only 0.45 seconds separated the Wolverines from the sixth-place Indiana squad.
Freshman Michael Whitehead (East Norristown, Pa./Norristown Area HS) narrowly missed recording his own personal-best performance in the triple jump, claiming 13th place with a mark of 50-10 3/4. The Wolverine freshman was just 2-1/4 inches from his career mark, which he set at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships (May 14-16).
Ellerton will be the Wolverines' lone representative at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 9-12 in Austin, Tex. Preliminary competition in the 800-meter run will kick off on Wednesday (June 9) at 5:10 p.m. CDT at Texas' Myers Stadium.
Final Team Standings (Top 10)
1. Arkansas 95 2. Louisiana State 70 3. Auburn 51 4. Ohio State 48 5. Tennessee 43 6. Wisconsin 30 Indiana 30 8. Mississippi State 26 9. Kentucky 24 10. Purdue 23 Southern Mississippi 23 ----------------------------- 20. MICHIGAN 10 Southern 10 Southern Illinois 10 Eastern Michigan 10
Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 2)
100-meter Dash (Final) 1. Tyson Gay, Arkansas 10.02 200-meter Dash (Final) 1. Tyson Gay, Arkansas 20.16 400-meter Dash (Final) 1. Kelly Willie, LSU 44.81 800-meter Run (Final) 1. Andrew Ellerton, U-M 1:48.32 1,500-meter Run (Final) 1. Chris Mulvaney, Arkansas 3:49.75 12. Rondell Ruff, U-M 4:11.01 3,000-meter Steeplechase (Final) 1. Jordan Desilets, Wisconsin 8:44.40 110-meter Hurdles (Final) 1. Joel Brown, Ohio State 13.39 400-meter Hurdles (Final) 1. Adrian Walker, Illinois 50.01 4x100-meter Relay (Final) 1. Arkansas 39.18 (Michael Thomas, Wallace Spearmon, Tyson Gay, Omar Brown) 4x400-meter Relay (Final) 1. LSU 3:05.20 (Marvin Stephenson, Austin Benton, Siraj Williams, Kelly White) 10. Michigan 3:09.68 (Seth Waits, Stann Waithe, DarNell Talbert, John D'Arcy) Triple Jump (Final) 1. Leevan Sands, Auburn 56-9 1/4 (17.30m) 13. Michael Whitehead, U-M 50-10 3/4 (15.51m) Pole Vault (Final) 1. Jeremy Scott, Arkansas 18-2 3/4 (5.56m) Discus (Final) 1. Gaute Myklebust, Memphis 198-3 (60.42m) Javelin (Final) 1. Leigh Smith, Tennessee 247-9 (75.51m)
Day 1 Results
Q U O T E S
U-M Sophomore Andrew Ellerton
On his win in the 800-meter run ... "It certainly wasn't a walk in the park. I had to kick pretty hard at the end. I had the kid from Tennessee right behind me at the end, so that last 100 meters was definitely a lot harder than it has been previously this season. It was a really good opportunity to see different competitors here this weekend, some of top guys in the country. The fact that I was able to beat them gives me a lot more confidence heading into nationals."
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
