Michigan
NCAA Outdoor Championships (Day 2)
Wolverines Secure Spot in NCAA 4x400 Relay Final
6/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Site: Des Moines, Iowa (Drake Stadium)
Event: NCAA Outdoor Championships (Day 2)
U-M Team Standing: No Points After Day 2
Next U-M Event: Fri.-Sat., June 13-14 -- at NCAA Outdoor Championships (Des Moines, Iowa)
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Junior Andre Barnes(West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield HS), senior co-captain Andrew Wechter(Shelby, Ohio/Shelby HS), senior/junior Dan Harmsen(Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS) and fifth-year senior Stann Waithe(Towson, Md./Loch Raven HS) advanced to the finals in the 4x400-meter relay to lead the University of Michigan men's track and field team Thursday (June 12) on day two of the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Drake Stadium on Jim Duncan Track.
After Barnes started the race boxed in among the middle pack, Wechter split free to place U-M third heading into the third leg. Harmsen again was able to slip through a crack on the outside of the homestretch to give Waithe a clean exchange. Waithe closed in on leaders quickly and had an impressive homestretch to finish second with a season-best and school-record performance of 3:04.73. The top-two finish in their heat automatically advanced the Wolverines to the finals on Saturday at 4:48 p.m. CDT.
In his first appearance at the outdoor national meet, junior Adam Harris(Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North HS) advanced to the semifinals in the 200-meter dash but did not qualify for the final. Harris placed third in his heat and 15th overall in the 200-meter dash preliminaries with a time of 21.05. Running next to Walter Dix of Florida State, Harris kept pace with the defending national champion the entire race but finished 0.01 a second behind Dix, just missing the second of the heat's two automatic trips to the semifinals.
In the 200m semifinals, Harris was placed in lane one and started strong, but he lost a step in the final stretch to finish seventh in his heat and 15th overall with a time of 21.13.
Sophomore Frank Shotwell(Medina, Ohio/Medina HS), the 2008 Big Ten decathlon champion, finished 20th in the decathlon with a score of 6,641 points. Shotwell's second day was highlighted with back-to-back 12th-place finishes in the 110-meter hurdles (15.00), good for 850 points, and discus, with a mark of 134-3 (40.92m) for 683 points.
Shotwell, who is the first Wolverine to win both the Big Ten heptathlon and decathlon titles in school history, is also the only Michigan athlete to compete and finish among the top 20 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the decathlon.
The Wolverines will return to action tomorrow Friday (June 13) for the third day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Waithe will race in the semifinals of the 400-meter dash at 8:25 p.m. CDT at Drake Stadium. CBS College Sports Network (formerly CSTV) will provide live coverage beginning at 7 p.m. CDT.
U-M Results (Day 2)
Decathlon 1. Ashton Eaton, Oregon 8,055 points 20. Frank Shotwell, U-M 6,641 100m Dash (11.30) 795 (19) High Jump (5-8 3/4, 1.75m) 585 (24) Shot Put (40-3 1/4, 12.27m) 623 (22) 400m Dash (52.29) 712 (20) Long Jump (19-3 1/2, 6.16m) 621 (26) Javelin (141-2, 43.03m) 486 (21) 1,500m Run (4:55.78) 584 (13) 110m Hurdles (15.00) 850 (12) Discus (134-3, 40.92m) 683 (12) Pole Vault (14-1 1/4, 4.30m) 702 (11) 4x400-meter Relay (Prelims) Heat 2 1. Texas A&M 3:04.17Q 2. Michigan 3:04.43Q (Andre Barnes, Andrew Wechter, Dan Harmsen, Stann Waithe) 200-meter dash (Prelims) Heat 1 1. Jeremy Dodson, Colorado 21.01Q 3. Adam Harris, U-M 21.05q 200-meter dash (Semifinals) Heat 1 1. Walter Dix, Florida State 20.51Q 7. Adam Harris, U-M 21.13 Qq qualified for next round ( ) indicates place in each decathlon event
Day 1 Results
Q U OT E S
Michigan Head Coach Ron Warhurst
On the 4x400m relay... "Well, we looked like we were in trouble in the first leg, it was a little disappointing, but he (Andre Barnes) was able to hang in there to hand the baton off to Andrew Wechter, who ran awesome. They ran awesome. To break the school record and finish second with an automatic qualifier for the nationals is something that hasn't been done since 1978."
Michigan Associate Head Coach Fred LaPlante
On 4x400m relay team's sudden success... "We have had the potential of having a good team for four years, but something has always happened to slow them down. These guys have just been resilient; they are on a mission right now. They came into today very confident and focused on what they could do. They're not shocked or surprised at all. They just weren't going to be denied of doing this."
Contact: Jeremiah W. Hergott (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
