Michigan
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Ellerton Qualifies For 800-Meter Run Final at NCAAs
6/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Three Wolverines from the University of Michigan men's track and field team competed during day two of the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championships on Thursday (June 7) at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, Calif.
Fifth-year senior Andrew Ellerton (Sudbury, Ontario/Confederation) competed in the semifinal of the 800-meter run, grabbing an automatic mark for Saturday's event final. Ellerton took second place in his heat with a time of 1:48.65, finishing in a virtual tie with heat winner Elias Koech of UTEP (1:48.64). Of the 16 runners in the semifinal field, Ellerton clocked the fourth-fastest time.
Fans can catch Ellerton in the final by tuning into CBS. The network is scheduled to cover the meet from 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. on the final day. Senior Michael Whitehead (East Norristown, Pa./Norristown Area) will also be competing in the triple jump at that time if he qualifies in tomorrow's prelims. Tomorrow's event finals, which include senior Jeff Porter (Somerset, N.J./Franklin) in the 110-meter hurdles, are also expected to be taped and aired on the Saturday broadcast.
Sophomore Justin Switzer (Waterford, Mich./Kettering) and junior Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest) each ran in the 1,500-meter run semifinal. Unfortunately, neither Wolverine could advance to the event's final on Saturday. Switzer placed tenth in the faster heat with a time of 3:44.24, just 0.9 seconds shy of the final qualifying mark. Overall, Switzer clocked the 11th fastest time in 27-man field. Woods took thirteenth place (3:51.41) in the other heat.
The Wolverines will return for the third day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships Friday (June 8) at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, Calif. Porter will be trying to win his second national title of the year when he competes in the 110-meter hurdles final at 5:35 p.m. PDT. Whitehead will take part in the triple jump preliminaries, which are scheduled for a 1:45 p.m. PDT start.
Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 2)
800-meter Run (semifinal) Heat 1 1. Duane Solomon, USC 1:47.76Q 2. Golden Coachman, Mississippi State 1:47.89Q 3. Ryan Brown, Washington 1:48.41Q 4. Shaun Smith, Oral Roberts 1:48.91q 5. Larry Brooks, Texas-San Antonio 1:49.17q 6. Yarrick Kincaid, Tennessee 1:49.29 7. Kyle Smith, Northern Iowa 1:49.65 8. Dustin Emrani, American 1:49.67 Heat 2 1. Elias Koech, UTEP 1:48.64Q 2. ANDREW ELLERTON, U-M 1:48.65Q 3. Tim Bayley, Iona 1:48.88Q 4. Zach Glavash, Texas Tech 1:49.28 5. Raphael Asafo-Agyei, USC 1:49.86 6. Dominic Tanui, UTEP 1:49.89 7. Reuben Twijukye, LSU 1:50.28 8. Jacob Hernandez, Texas 1:50.36 1,500-meter Run (semifinal) Heat 1 1. Lopez Lomong, Northern Arizona 3:42.00Q 2. Garret Heath, Stanford 3:44.30Q 3. Pablo Solares, Rice 3:44.42Q 4. Max Smith, Providence 3:44.54Q 5. Peter vanderWesthuizen, Nebraska 3:45.05 6. Dorian Ulrey, Northern Iowa 3:45.06 7. Rickey Barnes, Irvine 3:45.37 8. Michael McGrath, Oregon 3:46.18 9. Andrew Acosta, Oregon 3:46.83 10. Sam Bair, Pittsburgh 3:47.25 11. Billy Berlin, Virginia Tech 3:47.50 12. Darren Brown, Texas 3:47.62 13. MIKE WOODS, U-M 3:51.41 14. John Richardson, Kentucky 3:58.75 Heat 2 1. Vincent Rono, South Alabama 3:41.77Q 2. Russel Brown, Stanford 3:42.01Q 3. Leonel Manzano, Texas 3:42.13Q 4. Stephen Pifer, Colorado 3:42.29Q 5. Ben True, Dartmouth 3:42.68q 6. Craig Miller, Wisconsin 3:42.78q 7. Erik Stanley, Texas 3:43.30q 8. Kurt Benninger, Notre Dame 3:43.34q 9. David Torrence, California 3:43.43 10. JUSTIN SWITZER, U-M 3:44.24 11. Phillip Reid, Cal Poly-SLO 3:46.81 12. Andrew Bumbalough, Georgetown 3:47.54 13. Michael Kerrigan, Villanova 3:50.85 Qq Qualified for semifinals
Contact: Tim Trunzo (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
