Weekly Release #9
2/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sat., March 3-4 -- at Alex Wilson Invitational (South Bend, Ind.)
Fri-Sat., March 10-11 -- 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 3-4) 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.
Second In Command
Sophomore Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS) owns the nation's second-fastest time in the 3,000-meter run. He clocked a personal-best 7:52.27 to win the 3,000m at the Meyo Invitational and trails only Arizona's Robert Cheseret (7:50.40) on the national performance list. Woods also blazed a time of 3:57.87 at the Boston Indoor Games (Jan. 28), a mark which would rank just 0.47 seconds behind the national leader Richard Kiplagat of Iona, but the annual meet has been excluded for NCAA consideration times.
Going the Extra Mile
Sophomore Mike Woods added his name to the long list of Michigan's Big Ten mile champions, claiming his first conference crown after posting a time of 4:14.26 in a slow and tactical mile final at the Big Ten Indoor Championships (Feb. 25-26). Splitting 1:24 over the last 600 meters, Woods finished almost a full second ahead of runner-up Ben Gregory of Wisconsin. Woods is the 14th different Wolverine runner to capture a Big Ten indoor mile crown. Dating back to 1935, Michigan has claimed the event 21 times at the conference meet.
A White-Knuckle Ride
Junior Michael Whitehead (East Norristown, Pa./Norristown Area HS) captured the Wolverines' first Big Ten indoor individual title in the field-event categories in 12 year when he claimed the triple jump trophy at last weekend's meet (Feb. 25-26). It was the first Big Ten crown for Whitehead, whose previous best showing had been third place on a pair of occasions. Hitting a mark of 51-3 3/4 on his first qualifying jump, the Wolverine junior was forced to play the waiting game as the mark held on to earn him the title. The mark counted for Whitehead's third NCAA provisional-qualifying performance in as many attempts this season and bettered the 15-man field by three inches.
Holly-Woods
Sophomore Mike Woods earned his second NCAA automatic-qualifying time in consecutive weekends behind a personal-best 3,000-meter performance at the Meyo Invitational (Feb. 3-4). Woods clocked 7:52.27 -- more than a five-second improvement on his previous best -- to capture his first collegiate win. Woods, who previously held a provisional-qualifying standard in the event, now owns the nation's second-fastest time of the season, trailing only Arizona's Robert Cheseret with 7:50.40.
Port Authority
Junior Jeff Porter accounted for 16 of the Wolverines' team points at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup (Feb. 10-11) after boasting a pair of personal-best performances to capture the 60-meter hurdles title and place third in the 60-meter dash. Porter ranks fourth among the nation's leading high hurdlers this season with an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 7.78, an 0.10-second on his previous personal best, which he registered two seasons ago en route to the Big Ten Conference 60-meter hurdles crown. The Wolverine also clocked 6.82 in the 60-meter dash to improve his career best in the event by 0.05 seconds.
Triple Threat
In his second triple jump appearance of the season, junior Michael Whitehead captured the triple jump title at the Sykes-Sabock meet (Feb. 10-11), earning his second first-place trophy in three career apperances at the annual meet. Whitehead improved his season-best mark in the event with a distance of 51-11, a performance which lists him eighth in the nation this season and just two-and-a-half inches out of the top five.
The Road to Fayetteville
The Maize and Blue has posted five NCAA-eligible performances this season -- two automatic and three provisional. Sophomore Mike Woods leads the pack with a pair of individual qualifying standards in the mile and 3,000m. The 2006 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held March 10-11 at the Randal Tyson Indoor Track in Fayetteville, Ark.
| Event (Automatic/Provisional Cut) | Name | Time | Date Set |
| 60-Meter Hurdles (7.70/7.91) | Jeff Porter | 7.78 | 2/10, Sykes-Sabock |
| Mile (3:59.30/4:04.90) | Mike Woods | 3:57.87 | 1/28, Boston Indoor Games |
| 3,000-Meter Run (7:57.30/8:06.30) | Mike Woods | 7:52.57 | 2/4, Meyo Invitational |
| | Victor Gras | 8:04.09 | 2/4, Meyo Invitational |
| Triple Jump (16.20m/15.50m) | Michael Whitehead | 15.82m | 2/11, Sykes-Sabock |
Rank Me
The Wolverines climbed to the sixth position in the most recent Trackwire 25 poll, released Feb. 27. With a projected 26 points, U-M shares the position with Tennessee and Baylor. 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 top-ranked distance medley relay as well as a trio of student-athletes ranked among the top 12 in their respective events. Sophomore Mike Woods owns the top spot in the mile run, while junior Michael Whitehead ranks fourth in the triple jump and junior Jeff Porter lists eighth in the 60-meter hurdles.
Trackwire 25 Ranking (2/27/06)
Rank, Team Points 1. Arkansas 59 2. LSU 45 3. Texas 42 4. Florida State 30 5. Florida 29 6. Tennessee 26 Baylor 26 MICHIGAN 26 9. Oregon 21 Wisconsin 21 11. Kansas 20 12. Arizona 19 13. Virginia Tech 18 Iona 18 15. Nebraska 17 16. TCU 15 17. Texas A&M 14 18. Oral Roberts 13 19. Kansas State 11 20. UCLA 10 Stanford 10 Notre Dame 10 Minnesota 10 24. South Carolina 9 25. BYU 8 Texas Tech 8
On the Horizon
U-M will wrap up the 2006 indoor season next weekend (March 10-11) 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
