Weekly Release #2
1/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Jan. 15 -- at Eastern Michigan Invitational (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 11 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 22 -- host Red Simmons Invitational (U-M Track Building), 9 a.m./noon
Saturday, Jan. 29 -- at Boston Indoor Games (Boston, Mass.)
This Week: EMU Invitational
The University of Michigan men's track and field team will head across town on Saturday (Jan. 15) for the EMU Invitational in Ypsilanti, Mich. Competition is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at Bob Parks Track.
Last Time Around: Jack Harvey Invitational
The Wolverines opened the 2005 season with a strong showing at the non-scoring Jack Harvey Invitational (Jan. 8) with a trio of event victories and several personal-best performances. Senior Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS) and sophomore/freshman Brian Les (Elm Grove, Wis./Catholic Memorial HS) captured individual win in the Mile and 800-meter run, respectively, while U-M boasted the top 4x400-meter squad of the day's competition.
Fear-Les
Sophomore/freshman Brian Les captured his first collegiate victory in just his first meet wearing a Maize and Blue singlet -- Les redshirted the 2004 indoor and outdoor seasons -- with a first-place showing in the 800-meter run at the Jack Harvey Invitational (Jan. 8). Les clocked a time of 1:57.58 in the first-place performance, narrowly edging out teammate Ryan Gall (Livonia, Mich./Churchill HS) at the line by 0.01 seconds.
Ruff Around the Edges
Senior Rondell Ruff led a 1-2-3-4 Michigan finish in the Mile run at the Jack Harvey Invitational (Jan. 8), claiming his second collegiate victory -- his first was the 800m at last season's Jack Harvey meet -- with a time of 4:20.95.
Speak Softly and Carry a Long Pole
Making his collegiate and U-M debut, senior/junior Kevin Peterman (Livonia, Mich./Churchill HS) cleared a personal-best 15-11 to place third in the pole vault at the Jack Harvey Invitational (Jan. 8). Peterman tacked on eight inches to his previous best and recorded the best mark by a U-M pole vaulter in three seasons. Also registering a personal best in the event was sophomore Kevin Day (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North HS), who claimed fifth at 14-11, nearly four inches better than his previous best mark.
(Tri-) Captain Courageous
Senior Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS), junior Craig Theissen (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny HS) and senior Seth Waits (Grand Rapids, Ohio/Ostego HS) were selected to lead the Wolverines as tri-captains for the 2005 season. A three-time NCAA champion and nine-time All-American in track and cross country, Brannen is putting together one of the greatest collegiate careers in U-M history. He also served as the captain of the Wolverine cross country team this past fall. Theissen returns for his second season as a U-M captain and serves a key member of the Wolverines' field events corps as one of the top pole vaulters. A 400-meter hurdles specialist, Waits has scored in each of the last four Big Ten Championships, and in 2003, he earned All-America honors as a member of the Wolverines' distance medley relay.
Willis Named New Zealand's Top Middle Distance Runner
Junior Nick Willis was named Athletics New Zealand Middle Distance Runner of the Year at the organization annual awards banquet on Oct. 16 in recognition of his performance in the 1,500-meter run at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Willis just narrowly missed advancing to the final, placing sixth in the slower of the two heats with a time of 3:41.46, just 0.19 seconds out of the final automatic spot. In the first round, Willis outkicked five opponents down the final stretch to register a time of 3:39.80, automatically qualifying for the semifinals with a third-place finish.
On the Horizon
The Wolverines return to Ann Arbor next Saturday (Jan. 22) to host the Red Simmons Invitational at the U-M Indoor Track Building. Competition is slated to begin with the field events at 9 a.m. while track events start at Noon.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
