Weekly Release #9
3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Upcoming Schedule
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: Alex Wilson Invitational
The University of Michigan men's track and field team will send a strong contingent to the Alex Wilson Invitational on Friday and Saturday (March 4-5) in South Bend, Ind. Hosted by Notre Dame University at the Loftus Center, the annual meet serves as a last-chance opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Championships the following weekend. Competition begins at 6 p.m. CST on Friday and resumes Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m.
A Look at Who's Going...
Michigan has entered seven individuals and one relay into this weekend's Alex Wilson Invitational. Most notably among the group are senior Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) -- slated to compete in the 800-meter run -- and the Wolverines' distance medley relay, both of which are the NCAA defending champion in their respective event. Sophomores Jeff Porter (Somerset, N.J./Franklin HS) and Michael Whitehead (East Norristown, Pa./Norristown Area HS) and freshman Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS) are looking to improve on NCAA provisional marks in the 60m hurdles, triple jump and mile, respectively. Rounding out the group will be sophomores John D'Arcy (Clayton, Ohio/Northmont HS) and Stann Waithe (Towson, Md./Loch Raven HS) -- both entered in the 400-meter dash -- and junior Kevin Peterman (Livonia, Mich./Churchill HS), slated for the pole vault.
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 15th positions. Willis' season-opening time of 7:48.65 ranks as the top 3,000-meter performance leads Brannen listed in the 13th 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 19th-best national mark in the triple jump.
Three's Company
Junior Nick Willis captured his third consecutive conference indoor 3,000-meter title on the first day of the Big Ten Indoor Championships (Feb. 26-277), winning with a time of 7:55.92 -- his second NCAA automatic-qualifying time of the season in the event. He was the first Wolverine to win three consecutive conference titles in one event since Kevin Sullivan achieved the feat in the mile run in 1994, '95 and '96.
D-M-R You Going to the Mall Today
The foursome of senior Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS), sophomore Stann Waithe, sophomore Sebastien Lounis (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Seaholm HS) and senior Nate Brannen combined for a time of 9:40.05 to earn Michigan its second straight Big Ten distance medley relay crown. The Wolverines have won the relay at the conference meet in three of the last four seasons with Brannen running the anchor leg on each occasion.
The Records Will Fall
The first-day performances of the Nick Willis and the Wolverines' distance medley relay netted the Wolverines a pair of Big Ten indoor meet records. Willis improved his own 3,000-meter mark -- set at last season's conference meet -- by 1.06 seconds while the DMR bumped Wisconsin from the top spot, bettering the Badgers' four year-old record by more than six seconds. Michigan now owns four conference indoor meet records, adding the 800m (Nate Brannen, 1:47.74) and mile (Kevin Sullivan, 4:00.56).
The Records Will Fall (Part 2)
The performances by Willis and the DMR also gave Michigan a pair of Lambert Field House -- Purdue's home facility -- records. Willis broke the previous 3,000-meter mark -- set by Wisconsin's Steve Lacey in 1978 -- by 8.17 seconds, while Michigan improved its own DMR record -- set in 1996 -- by nearly 15 seconds. The Wolverines boast four facility records at Lambert Field House; in addition to the 3,000m and DMR, U-M has the 400m (Omar Davidson, 46.61) and 500m (Todd Steverson, 1:01.99).
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
The Wolverines fell to the No. 6 spot in the most recent Trackwire 25 poll, released March 1, and dropped to the fifth 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. Junior Nick Willis ranks at the top of the 3,000-meter run while senior Nate Brannen moved from the No. 1 listing in the 800m to the top spot in the mile; freshman Mike Woods owns the eighth position in the mile rankings.
Trackwire 25 Ranking (3/1/05)
Rank, Team Points 1. Arkansas 53 2. Florida 47 3. Indiana 37 4. Nebraska 33 5. Auburn 32 6. MICHIGAN 31 Wisconsin 31 8. Arizona 29 9. Texas 25 10. LSU 24 11. Oregon 22 12. Oklahoma 21 13. Florida State 19 Texas Tech 19 15. Kansas State 17 16. East Carolina 16 17. Colorado State 15 18. Arizona State 14 Mississippi 14 20. Tennessee 13 21. UCLA 11 22. Virginia Tech 10 Texas A&M 10 24. Baylor 9 BYU 9 South Carolina 9
Team Power Rankings (2/28/05)
Rank, Team Points 1. Indiana 340.41 2. Wisconsin 327.57 3. Florida 327.37 4. Brigham Young 324.89 5. MICHIGAN 321.92 6. Nebraska 313.87 7. Tennessee 311.6 8. Illinois 304.11 9. Arizona 303.9 10. Arizona State 300.78
On the Horizon
U-M will wrap up the 2005 indoor season next weekend (March 11-12) at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Hosted by the University of Arkanas, events are slated to begin Friday morning at 9 a.m. CST at the Randal Tyson Indoor Track.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
