Weekly Release #8
2/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Upcoming Schedule
Sat-Sun., Feb. 26-27 -- at Big Ten Indoor Championships (West Lafayette, Ind.)
Fri-Sat., March 4-5 -- at Alex Wilson Invitational (South Bend, Ind.)
Fri-Sat., March 11-12 -- at NCAA Indoor Championships (Fayetteville, Ark.)
This Week: Big Ten Indoor Championships
The University of Michigan men's track and field team will kick off the indoor postseason at the 2004 Big Ten Conference Men's Indoor Championships on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 26-27) in West Lafayette, Ind. Hosted by Purdue University, the Big Ten Championships will feature 18 events over the course of two days. Competition will begin each day with heptathalon events starting at 10 a.m. CST on Saturday and 10:20 a.m. on Sunday. For more information about the Big Ten Championships, visit the Big Ten site.
Michigan at the Big Ten Championships
U-M has won 26 Big Ten indoor team championships, the most in conference history, and has produced 208 individual champions and 19 relay titles. Hosting the meet last season, Michigan matched its best finish in nine years at the Big Ten indoor meet as 16 different Wolverines earned points, contributing to a third-place team finish (94.5 points) at the U-M Indoor Track Building. Sophomore Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) paced the Wolverines with a pair of individual event titles in the mile and 3,000-meter run, a performance that earned him both Big Ten Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Championships distinction. Junior Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) also contributed to a pair of U-M victories, capturing the 800-meter title and anchoring the distance medley relay. Freshman Jeff Porter (Somerset, N.J./Franklin HS) rounded out the Wolverine individual champions with a 60-meter hurdles title, earning the U-M newcomer Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.
2004 Final Team Standings
| Place, Team | Points | |
| 1. | Wisconsin | 174.5 |
| 2. | Minnesota | 122.0 |
| 3. | MICHIGAN | 94.5 |
| 4. | Illinois | 63.0 |
| 5. | Purdue | 59.0 |
| 6. | Indiana | 58.0 |
| 7. | Ohio State | 51.0 |
| 8. | Penn State | 39.0 |
| 9. | Michigan State | 27.0 |
| 10. | Iowa | 13.0 |
U-M in the Last 10 Big Ten Championships
| Year | Place | Points | Site |
| 2004 | 3rd | 94.50 | Ann Arbor, Mich. |
| 2003 | 6th | 51.50 | Champaign, Ill. |
| 2002 | cancelled | Minneapolis, Minn. | |
| 2001 | 7th | 58.00 | State College, Pa. |
| 2000 | 6th | 62.00 | Bloomington, Ind. |
| 1999 | 9th | 50.50 | Madison, Wis. |
| 1998 | 6th | 62.00 | West Lafayette, Ind. |
| 1997 | 5th | 67.30 | Iowa City, Iowa |
| 1996 | 6th | 37.00 | Columbus, Ohio |
| 1995 | 3rd | 93.00 | Champaign, Ill. |
Leading the Nation
Michigan competitors own two of the nation's fastest times of the season -- in the mile and the 3,000-meter run. With the second-fastest indoor mile in collegiate history, senior Nate Brannen owns the nation's top mile time this season (3:55.11), leading junior Nick Willis and freshman Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS) in the third and 12th positions. Willis' season-opening time of 7:48.65 ranks as the top 3,000-meter performance leads Brannen listed in the 10th spot with a converted 7:56.77. The Wolverines also rank fifth in the distance medley relay this season, seven seconds shy of first-place Arkansas. Sophomore Michael Whitehead (East Norristown, Pa./Norristown Area HS) owns the 13th-best national mark in the triple jump.
Going the Extra Mile
Junior Nick Willis registered his second NCAA automatic-qualifying standard in just his second competitive race of the season at the Harold Silverston Invitational (Feb. 19), winning the mile run with a time of 3:58.07. Willis' converted mark (3:57.27) ranks as the third-fastest in the nation this season and gives U-M its fourth NCAA qualifier in the event.
On the Record
Junior Nick Willis' mile performance at the Harold Silverston Invitational (Feb. 19) was the first sub-4:00 mile recorded at the U-M Indoor Track Building in 22 seasons, breaking the facility record by Olympic medalist Brian Diemer (3:59.01) by nearly a full second.
I Feel Week
With his record-setting mile performance at the Harold Silverston Invitational (Feb. 19), junior Nick Willis claimed his second Big Ten co-Athlete of the Week distinction in just three weeks. Michigan earned the weekly award in four of seven weeks during the 2005 indoor campaign, boasting more Athlete of the Week citations than any other school in the conference, just as it did during the fall cross country season, claiming three of five weekly honors. In addition to Willis' pair of conference weekly awards, senior Nate Brannen netted the distinction in back-to-back weeks in late January in recognition of his first two races of the season.
Ocean's .Eleven
Senior Nate Brannen clocked the second-fastest indoor mile in collegiate history at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games (Jan. 29), posting an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 3:55.11 to place fifth among the internationally-elite competition. Brannen shattered his personal best in the event by nearly three seconds and missed the collegate record -- set by North Carolina's Tony Waldrop in 1974 -- by just 0.11 seconds.
Or Is It...
Trackshark.com has awarded senior Nate Brannen the collegiate indoor mile record on the basis that it was the fastest time recorded electronically. According to NCAA rules, for events that start and finish at basically the same location -- 400 meters and above -- a factor of .14 seconds is added to all hand times to get the FAT equivalent. The hand-timed recording of 3:55.0 by North Carolina's Tony Waldrop in 1974 is equivalent to 3:55.14. Trackshark creates two separate categories, giving Brannen the electronically-recorded record while leaving Waldrop with the hand-timed mark.
Two For the Record
With his performance, senior Nate Brannen did capture a pair of indoor mile records: the Canadian senior mark and the U-M school record, usurping former-Wolverine Kevin Sullivan from both spots. Brannen's time of 3:55.11 shaved 0.22 seconds from Sullivan's mark (3:55.33), which boasted a nine-year reign in the record book.
Welcome Back, Willis
Junior Nick Willis blazed the nation's fastest 3,000-meter time of the season to win the event at the Meyo Invitational (Feb. 4-5) and net his first NCAA automatic-qualifying time of the season, shattering the standard by more than seven seconds. Willis recorded a time of 7:48.65 to dominate the 22-man field in his 2005 season debut and first competition since the NCAA Cross Country Pre-Nationals in mid-October.
Holly-Woods
Freshman Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS) claimed a pair of NCAA provisional-qualifying standards in back-to-back weeks with personal-best performances in the mile and 3,000-meter run. At the Boston Indoor Games (Jan. 29), Woods clocked 4:01.56 in an eighth-place performance, shaving 0.39 seconds from his previous best in the event. Just a week later at the Meyo Invitational (Feb. 4-5), the Wolverine freshman shattered his 3,000-meter personal record by 10 seconds, clocking 8:02.01 to place seventh and better the Canadian Junior record -- held for 26 years by Ian Clarke --by two seconds.
1-800-Meter-Run
Making his 800-meter season debut, senior Nate Brannen -- the two-time defending NCAA champion in the event -- captured individual event title at the Meyo Invitational (Feb. 4-5), clocking an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 1:49.07. Recording his third individual NCAA-consideration of the season, Brannen missed the automatic standard by just 0.93 seconds. Brannen owns the fourth-fastest time in the nation this season; no runner has yet hit the automatic mark.
Port(er) Authority
Sophomore Jeff Porter (Somerset, N.J./Franklin HS) registered a season-best and NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 7.89 in the 60-meter hurdles, placing sixth among the 12-man final. Porter missed his personal best in the event by just 0.02 seconds.
Necessary Ruffness
Senior Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS) collected Michigan's third NCAA consideration in the mile this season with a seventh-place performance in the Meyo section of the event at the Meyo Invitational (Feb. 4-5). Ruff clocked a personal-best 4:04.68, bettering his previous mark -- set just the previous weekend at the Boston University Invitational (Jan. 29) -- by 3.31 seconds.
Triple Threat
Sophomore Michael Whitehead earned U-M its first NCAA qualifying performance in the field events in four years (Charles DeWildt -- pole vault, 2001) with his provisional mark in the triple jump at the Sykes-Sabok Challenge Cup (Feb. 11-12). Whitehead jumped a personal-best 51-8 1/2 to claim runner-up honors in the event, adding more than seven inches to his previous best. The Wolverine sophomore bettered the NCAA provisional mark by nearly a foot while falling approximately just a foot and a half shy of the automatic standard.
Fantastic Four
Capturing their fourth straight distance medley relay crown in a one-year period, the Wolverines recorded an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 9:36.06 to win the event last Friday (Feb. 4) at the Meyo Invitational. The foursome -- consisting of freshman Mike Woods, sophomore Stann Waithe (Towson, Md./Loch Raven HS), junior Andrew Ellerton and senior Nate Brannen -- registered the second-fastest collegiate mark of the season and missed the automatic standard (9:33.00) by just three seconds.
The Road to Fayetteville
The Maize and Blue has posted 11 NCAA-eligible times this season -- three automatic and eight provisional. Senior Nate Brannen, junior Nick Willis and freshman Mike Woods lead the pack with multiple individual qualifying standards -- Brannen owns an automatic in the mile and provisionals in the 800m and 3,000m, Willis boasts automatics in the mile and 3,000m while Woods holds provisional marks in the mile and 3,000-meter run. Both U-M runners also contributed to the Wolverines' provisional-qualifying distance medley relay, along with sophomore Stann Waithe and junior Andrew Ellerton. Sophomore Michael Whitehead is the lone field-event representative with an NCAA provisional standard in the triple jump. The 2005 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held March 11-12 at the Randall Tyson Indoor Track in Fayetteville, Ark.
| Event (Automatic/Provisional Cut) | Name | Time | Date Set |
| 60-Meter Hurdles (7.70/7.91) | Jeff Porter | 7.89 | 2/5, Meyo Invitational |
| 800-Meter Run (1:48.00/1:49.50) | Nate Brannen | 1:49.07 | 2/5, Meyo Invitational |
| Mile (3:59.30/4:04.90) | Nate Brannen | 3:55.11 | 1/29, Boston Indoor Games |
| | Mike Woods | 4:01.56 | 1/29, Boston Indoor Games |
| Rondell Ruff | 4:04.68 | 2/5, Meyo Invitational | |
| Nick Willis | 3:57.27 | 2/19, Silverston Invitational | |
| 3,000-Meter Run (7:57.30/8:06.30) | Nick Willis | 7:48.65 | 2/5, Meyo Invitational |
| Nate Brannen | 7:58.07 | 1/22, Simmons Invitational | |
| Mike Woods | 8:02.01 | 2/5, Meyo Invitational | |
| Distance Medley Relay (9:33.00/9:43.70) | Woods, Waithe, Ellerton, Brannen | 9:36.03 | 2/4, Meyo Invitational |
| Triple Jump (16.20m/15.50m) | Michael Whitehead | 15.76m | 2/12, Sykes-Sabok |
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.
Rank Me
While the Wolverines retained the No. 3 spot in the most recent Trackwire 25 poll, released Feb. 22, while falling to the second listing in this week's power rankings. The Trackwire 25 projects a hypothetical score for the NCAA meet, factoring in injury reports and other variables supported by information gathered from coaches and NCAA-qualifying competitions across the country.
Additionally, the Wolverines boast the nationally top-ranked distance medley relay as well as three student-athletes ranked among the top 12 in their respective events. Senior Nate Brannen and junior Nick Willis rank at the top of the 800-meter run and the 3,000-meter run, respectively, while freshman Mike Woods holds the eighth listing in the mile.
Trackwire 25 Ranking (2/22/05)
Rank, Team Points 1. Arkansas 76 2. Indiana 44 3. MICHIGAN 31 Florida 31 Wisconsin 31 6. Texas 28 7. Nebraska 24 8. LSU 23 Auburn 23 10. Florida State 20 11. Oklahoma 19 12. Oregon 18 13. Arizona State 17 Mississippi 17 15. East Carolina 16 Baylor 16 Kansas State 16 18. Texas Tech 15 Arizona 15 Colorado State 15 21. BYU 11 Virginia Tech 11 23. Texas A&M 10 24. UCLA 9 Tennessee 9
Team Power Rankings (2/22/05)
Rank, Team Points 1. Indiana 337.48 2. MICHIGAN 319.42 3. Florida 314.5 4. Wisconsin 306.24 5. Brigham Young 305.16 6. Nebraska 304.76 7. Illinois 302.77 8. Tennessee 301.14 9. Arizona State 300.78 10. Arizona 295.77
On the Horizon
The Maize and Blue will send a contingent to the Alex Wilson Invitational next weekend (March 4-5) in South Bend., Ind. The annual meet gives competitors a last chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
