Harris, Warhurst Take Top Big Ten Outdoor Honors

PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team headlined the Big Ten Conference postseason awards list for the 2008 outdoor season, as announced by the league office Wednesday (May 21). Junior Adam Harris(Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North HS) was named the men's Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Championships, while head coach Ron Warhurst was named the men's Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.

Harris becomes the Wolverines' first Track and Field Athlete of the Year and Championships since 1998 (Kevin Sullivan and John Mortimer, respectively). The junior sprinter paced Michigan to its first team title since 1983, racking up 26.5 individual points. His two first-place finishes came in the 200-meter dash (20.75) and as a member of the winning 400-meter relay team (40.26). He also placed third in the 100-meter dash (10.36) and showcased his versatility by placing second in the long jump with a distance of 25-4 3/4 (7.74m).

Warhurst led the Wolverines to their first Big Ten outdoor title in 25 years as U-M won three individual event titles and a pair of relays to claim the championship last weekend in Champaign, Ill. He has coached 44 first team All-Big Ten selections in his 35 seasons at Michigan (10 years as head coach), with six coming this season. Warhurst has earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors for men's cross country four times (1990, '93, '97, '98).

Redshirt freshman Grant Till(Wayne, N.J./Wayne HS) was selected as Michigan's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, given to individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. Till pinned down sixth place in the javelin at the championships with a toss of 190-0 (57.91m).

Also earning All-Big Ten first team honors as league champions were junior Andre Barnes(West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield HS), senior/junior Dan Harmsen(Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS), sophomore Frank Shotwell(Medina, Ohio/Medina HS), fifth-year senior Stann Waithe(Towson, Md./Loch Raven HS), senior co-captain Andrew Wechter(Shelby, Ohio/Shelby HS) and freshman Troy Woolfolk(Sugarland, Texas/Dulles HS).

Shotwell won the decathlon title with a school record and NCAA provisional score of 7,362 points, while Harmsen won the 400-meter hurdles with a regional qualifying time of 51.12, leading a 19-point Michigan output in the event with three Wolverines in the top five.

Woolfolk, Barnes, Waithe and Harris gave Michigan its first 4x100-meter relay title since 1982, posting a regional qualifying time of 40.26. Barnes, Wechter, Harmsen and Waithe sealed the team title by winning the 4x400-meter relay with a regional time of 3:08.39, marking U-M's first 4x400-meter relay title since 1978.

After a two-week hiatus, U-M will send its contingent of 14 regional qualifiers to the NCAA Mideast Regional on May 30-31 in Fayetteville, Ark. Events are slated to begin Friday, May 30, at 11 a.m. CDT with the hammer throw.

Contact: Jeremiah W. Hergott (734) 763-4423