Michigan
NCAA Mideast Regional (Day 1)
Wolverines Earn Four Finals Spots at NCAA Regional
5/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Site: Fayetteville, Ark. (John McDonnell Field)
Event: NCAA Mideast Regional (Day 1)
U-M Team Standing: No Points After Day 1
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 31 -- at NCAA Mideast Regional (Fayetteville, Ark.)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- One relay team and three individual members of the University of Michigan men's track and field team qualified for finals Friday (May 30) to pace the Wolverines on the first day of the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships at Arkansas' John McDonnell Field.
Junior Adam Harris(Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North HS) headlined the track preliminaries as he qualified for the finals with the seventh seed in the 200-meter dash with a personal-best time of 20.68, good for second in his heat. Harris becomes the first Michigan sprinter in school history to reach the regional finals in the 200-meter dash and holds the third fastest time in school history, just 0.09 a second off the record set by Butch Woolfolk in 1980.
Harris was also a member of the 4x100-meter relay team of freshman Troy Woolfolk(Sugarland, Texas/Dulles HS), junior Andre Barnes(West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield HS) and fifth-year senior Stann Waithe(Towson, Md./Loch Raven HS) that finished third in its heat, posting a time of 40.52. The eighth-place seeding marks the first time Michigan has advanced to the regional finals in 4x100-meter relay.
Waithe also advanced to the 400-meter dash final with a time of 46.56 in the preliminaries. Waithe, who entered the prelims as the 11th seed, finished third in the fastest heat of the event and secured the sixth seed for the final. Senior co-captain Andrew Wechter(Shelby, Ohio/Shelby HS), who entered the preliminaries as the 15th seed, did not compete in the event due to injury.
Michigan will also send senior/junior Dan Harmsen(Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS) to the finals in the 400-meter hurdles. Harmsen, who entered as the seventh seed in the event, clocked a time of 51.15 to finish first in his heat and third overall. Harmsen ran in lane eight and paced himself well with the lead pack. On the final turn he took the lead and gave himself a huge cushion on the final straightaway, finishing almost a full second ahead of runner-up Ryan Smith of Indiana (42.03).
Junior Justin Switzer(Waterford, Mich./Kettering HS) and junior/sophomore Sean McNamara(Elmhurst, Ill./York HS) competed in the 1,500-meter run and finished fifth and seventh in their heat (14th and 17th overall) with times of 3:49.44 and 3:51.81, respectively. The pace of their heat was so slow that the top finisher Jack Bolas of Wisconsin had the ninth best time of the preliminaries.
The Wolverines will return to the track tomorrow Saturday (May 31) for the second and final day of the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Men's competition is slated to begin at 11 a.m. CDT with the hammer throw at Arkansas' John McDonnell Field.
Top 10 Teams (After Day 1)
1. Auburn 24 2. Louisiana State 22 3. Arkansas 16 4. Louisville 12 Purdue 12 Eastern Kentucky 12 7. Kentucky 10 Kent State 10 Troy 10 Louisiana-Monroe 10 ------------------------- MICHIGAN 0
Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day 1)
4x100-meter Relay (Prelims) 1. Mississippi State 39.75Q 8. Michigan 40.52q (Troy Woolfolk, Andre Barnes, Stann Waithe, Adam Harris) 1,500-meter Run (Prelims) 1. Jeff See, Ohio State 3:46.10Q 14. Justin Switzer, U-M 3:49.44 17. Sean McNamara, U-M 3:51.81 400-meter Dash (Prelims) 1. Miles Smith, Southeast Missouri 45.85Q 6. Stann Waithe, U-M 46.56q 200-meter Dash (Prelims) 1. Richard Thompson, LSU 20.18Q 7. Adam Harris, U-M 20.68q 400-meter Hurdles (Prelims) 1. Chad Leath, Northwestern State 50.53Q 3. Dan Harmsen, U-M 51.15Q High Jump 1. Grant Lindsey, Kentucky 7-2 1/2 (2.20m) -- John Kipf, U-M no height Qq Qualification to final round
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Ron Warhurst
On the team's overall success... "We had a great day. The 4x100 (relay) is in and we had Adam (Harris) advance in the 200, Stann (Waithe) in the 400 and Danny Harmsen in the intermediate hurdles. Tomorrow we have the three hammer throwers, the 4x100 and mile relays and the three others who advanced."
On Andrew Wechter's injury... "He didn't even run today. He tweaked his hamstring in practice on Tuesday -- not the one that has been bothering him but the other one. He's done for the meet."
Contact: Jeremiah W. Hergott (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
