Weekly Release #10
3/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sat., March 11-12 -- at NCAA Indoor Championships (Fayetteville, Ark.)
This Week: NCAA Indoor Championships
The University of Michigan men's track and field team will send senior Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS), junior Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS), junior Andrew Ellerton (Windsor, Ontario/Confederation HS), senior Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS) and sophomore Stann Waithe (Towson, Md./Loch Raven HS) to the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championships Friday and Saturday (March 11-12) at Randal Tyson Track in Fayetteville, Ark. Brannen (800m, 3,000m) and Willis (mile, 3,000m) will each compete in a pair of individual events while Brannen will also join Ruff, Waithe and Ellerton to form the Wolverines' distance medley relay team.
Schedule of Events (Times are CST)
| Friday, March 11 | |
| 4:45 p.m. | 800-meter run (preliminaries) |
| 7:05 p.m. | Mile run (preliminaries) |
| 9:30 p.m. | Distance Medley Relay (final) |
Saturday, March 12 | |
| 6:25 p.m. | Mile run (final) |
| 6:45 p.m. | 800-meter run (final) |
| 7:50 p.m. | 3,000-meter run (final) |
The Road to Fayetteville
The Maize and Blue has posted 11 NCAA-eligible times this season -- five automatic and eight provisional. Senior Nate Brannen and junior Nick Willis lead the pack with multiple automatic qualifying mark -- Brannen in the 800m and mile and Willis in the mile and 3,000m. The Wolverines also nabbed their automatic time in the distance medley relay at last weekend's Alex Wilson Invitational (March 4-5), posting the second-fastest time in collegiate history. 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 | 1:47.52 | 3/5, Wilson 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) | Ruff, Waithe, Ellerton, Willis | 9:28.12 | 3/4, Wilson Invitational |
| Triple Jump (16.20m/15.50m) | Michael Whitehead | 15.76m | 2/12, Sykes-Sabok |
A Breakdown of Michigan's NCAA Events...
800-meter Run -- Senior Nate Brannen returns to Fayetteville as the two-time defending NCAA indoor 800-meter champion and is looking to rewrite history as the first runner to win three consecutive 800-meter titles. Coming off a strong indoor campaign with personal-best performances in the 800m, mile and 3,000m, Brannen is ready to defend his title. With one of the deepest 800-meter field in NCAA Indoor history, the Wolverine captain heads into the NCAA Championships as the sixth-ranked runner following a 1:47.51 effort at last weekend's Alex Wilson Invitational (March 4-5).
Mile Run -- Despite owning times among the nation's best in the previous two season -- including the top time in 2004 -- junior Nick Willis has twice passed on the mile at the NCAA meet. This season, in his NCAA Championships mile debut, Willis enters with the third seed and a converted time of 3:57.27 -- a mark he recorded in just his second race of the year at the Harold Silverston Invitational (Feb. 19), breaking Michigan's Indoor Track Building record in the process. Eight individuals enter the weekend with sub-4:00 performances, guaranteeing a competitive field at the NCAA meet. Indiana's Sean Jefferson (3:56.44) and Arkansas' Said Ahmed (3:57.04) rank higher than Willis on the season performance list while the Wolverine and Florida State's Tom Lancashire are the only runners to own converted sub-4:00 times.
3,000-meter Run -- Junior Nick Willis and senior Nate Brannen will both make appearances in the individual event at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Willis -- in his third attempt at the 3,000-meter title -- will look to improve upon his runner-up performance in 2004 and capture his first NCAA individual crown. Willis clocked a time of 7:48.65 in his season debut -- his first competitive race since mid-October -- giving him the nation's fastest 3,000m performance of the season and the top seed heading into this weekend's NCAA meet. Brannen will try his luck in the 3,000-meter run, which is slated to begin just one hour after his 800-meter final. With the Wolverines looking for their first indoor team title, the pair will try to maximize Michigan's points in the event.
Distance Medley Relay -- Michigan's DMR squad enters the NCAA Championships holding the nation's fastest time of the season for the second year in a row at following a 9:28.12 performace at the Alex Wilson Last Chance meet (March 4-5). The U-M foursome clocked the second-fastest DMR in history, missing its own world record in the event (9:27.77) by just 0.35 seconds. Senior Rondell Ruff will open the race with the 1,200-meter leg before passing the baton to sophomore Stann Waithe for the 400-meter leg. Sophomore Andrew Ellerton will run the 800-meter portion and pass the baton to senior Nate Brannen for the final 1,600 meters. This weekend's foursome is looking to lower Michigan's own collegiate record in this event. The Wolverines' toughest competition will likely come from Arkansas, who ranks second on the season performance list with a time of 9:29.25, the only other automatic-qualifying time among the 10-team field.
NCAA Indoor Championship History
The Wolverines have placed in the top 10 as a team at the NCAA Indoor Championships eight times since the inception of the meet in 1967. The Maize and Blue had its highest finish in 1995, when it came in fourth.
Last year, the Wolverines boasted its second-best performance at the NCAA indoor meet in program history with a fifth-place finish (28 points) and two event champions to cap the most successful U-M indoor season in nine years. Junior Nate Brannen captured his second straight 800-meter title with a school-record 1:47.61 and combined with junior DarNell Talbert (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel HS) and sophomores Andrew Ellerton and Nick Willis to win the distance medley relay and nab the collegiate record in the event. Willis rounded out the Wolverines' standout performance with a runner-up finish in the 3,000-meter run.
2004 Final Team Standings (Top 10)
1. Louisiana State 44.5 2. Florida 38 Arkansas 38 4. Texas 31 5. MICHIGAN 28 6. Purdue 25 Baylor 25 8. Texas Christian 24 9. Ohio State 20 10. Wisconsin 19 Brigham Young 19
U-M in the Last 10 NCAA Indoor Championships
| Year | Place | Points | All-Americans |
| 2004 | 5th | 28.00 | Nate Brannen (800m, DMR), Nick Willis (3,000m, DMR), Andrew Ellerton (DMR), DarNell Talbert (DMR) |
| 2003 | t-13th | 16.00 | Nate Brannen (800m, DMR), Andrew Ellerton (DMR), Seth Waits (DMR), Nick Willis (DMR) |
| 2002 | No Score | -- | |
| 2001 | No Score | -- | |
| 2000 | t-41st | 4.00 | Steve Lawrence (5,000m) |
| 1999 | 47th | 2.00 | Jay Cantin (mile) |
| 1998 | 6th | 21.00 | Kevin Sullivan (mile, DMR), John Mortimer (5,000m), Jay Cantin (DMR), Dwayne Fuqua (DMR), Don McLaughlin (DMR) |
| 1997 | 13th | 15.00 | Neil Gardner (55m hurdles), Jay Cantin (DMR), Dwayne Fuqua (DMR), Scott MacDonald (DMR), Don McLaughlin (DMR) |
| 1996 | t-30th | 8.00 | Scott MacDonald (DMR), Kevin Sullivan (DMR), Trinity Townsend (DMR), Jeff Wood (DMR) |
| 1995 | 4th | 25.00 | Kevin Sullivan (mile, DMR), Jon Royce (high jump), Nick Karfonta (DMR), Scott MacDonald (DMR), Trinity Townsend (DMR) |
Leading the Nation
Michigan competitors posted three of the nation's fastest times of the 2005 season -- individually, in the mile and the 3,000-meter run, and collectively, in the distance medley relay. With the second-fastest indoor mile in collegiate history, senior Nate Brannen registered 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 22nd positions. Willis' season-opening time of 7:48.65 ranks as the top 3,000-meter performance while Brannen rounded out the top 15 with a converted 7:56.77. U-M also owns the best DMR mark this season after running the second-fastest time in collegiate history (9:28.12) at last weekend's last-chance meeet. In the field events, sophomore Michael Whitehead (East Norristown, Pa./Norristown Area HS) posted the 20th-best national mark in the triple jump.
1-800-Meter-Run
Senior Nate Brannen earned the opportunity to defend his NCAA 800-meter title, running the NCAA automatic-qualfying standard at last weekend's Alex Wilson Invitational (March 4-5). With a time of 1:47.51, Brannen clocked the nation's sixth-fastest time of the season to win the event and shaved 0.10 seconds from his indoor personal best and his own U-M school record. Over the last three seasons, Brannen has bettered the Wolverines' indoor 800-meter school mark four times.
Four Men and a Baton
The Wolverines also waited until the last-chance meet to automatically qualify their distance medley relay but did so in a big way at the Alex Wilson Invitational (March 4-5), running the top time of the 2005 indoor season at 9:28.12. The quartet of senior Rondell Ruff, sophomore Stann Waithe, junior Andrew Ellerton and junior Nick Willis dominated the 20-team field -- finshing seven second ahead of runner-up Notre Dame -- and was the only team to record the automatic standard. The performance broke the Loftus Sports Center facility record and ranks as the second-fastest DMR in history -- just 0.35 shy of the Wolverines' own collegiate record -- giving U-M the two quickest distance medley relay performances on record.
Michigan Claims Third at Big Ten Championships
Behind the performances of 13 different scorers and a pair of event champions, the Wolverines claimed fourth place (88 points) at the Big Ten Indoor Championships (Feb. 26-27). Michigan earned back-to-back wins in the final two first-day events for the second straight season as junior Nick Willis claimed the 3,000-meter title and the distance medley outran the competition. Near misses defined day-two competition as sophomore Jeff Porter (Somerset, N.J./Franklin HS), senior Nate Brannen and Willis missed repeat-title performances in the 60m hurdles, 800m and mile, respectively, by a combined 0.04 seconds.
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.
Going the Distance (Medley Relay)
The foursome of senior Rondell Ruff, 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 U-M its second straight Big Ten distance medley relay crown. Wisconsin made the race close, but Brannen used his kick in the final 200 meters to move around the Badger anchor and beat him to the line by 0.48 seconds. 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).
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 regular-season finale 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. Willis' performance 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.
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.
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 rank among the top-10 in both major polls with the No. 3 spot in the most recent Trackwire 25 poll, released March 8, and the seventh 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 holds the top spot in the mile -- leading teammate Nick Willis in the second listing -- and ranks fourth in the 800-meter run. Willis also lists at No. 4 in the 3,000-meter rankings.
Trackwire 25 Ranking (3/8/05)
Rank, Team Points 1. Arkansas 55 2. Florida 46 3. MICHIGAN 38 4. Indiana 31 Auburn 31 6. Oregon 29 7. LSU 27 8. Arizona 26 9. Texas 24 10. Florida State 23 11. Nebraska 22 Wisconsin 22 13. Oklahoma 21 Tennessee 21 15. Colorado State 19 BYU 19 17. Texas Tech 17 Kansas State 17 19. Mississippi 15 20. UCLA 13 21. Arizona State 12 22. Virginia Tech 10 South Carolina 10 24. Texas A&M 8 Baylor 8
Team Power Rankings (3/7/05)
Rank, Team Points 1. Indiana 356.97 2. Wisconsin 355.05 3. Florida 346.73 4. Brigham Young 345.66 5. Tennessee 338.58 6. Nebraska 334.48 7. MICHIGAN 326.70 8. Illinois 326.18 9. Missouri 323.69 10. LSU 322.18
On the Horizon
The Wolverines will take a two-week hiatus before hitting the road to kick off the outdoor portion of their 2005 season at the Raleigh Relays on March 24-27 in Raleigh, N.C.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
