Michigan
Big Ten Indoor Championships (Day 1)
DMR Win Highlights Day One of Big Ten Championships
2/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Event: Big Ten Indoor Championships (Day 1)
U-M Team Standing: 4th Place of 10 Teams (19 Points) After Day 1
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 1 -- at Big Ten Indoor Championships (State College Pa.), 10 a.m.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The No. 24-ranked University of Michigan men's track and field team's distance medley relay squad finished in first place to clinch the Wolverines' first conference title of 2009 and put U-M in fourth place with 19 points after day one of the Big Ten Indoor Championships on Saturday (Feb. 28) at the Ashenfelter Multi-Sport Facility. Minnesota currently sits in first place with 47 points.
The distance medley relay team of senior/junior Brandon Fellows(Mercer, Island, Wash./Mercer Island), sophomore David St. Amant(Livonia, Mich./Churchill), senior/junior Roger Billhardt(Elmhurst, Ill./York) and senior Justin Switzer(Waterford, Mich./Kettering) crossed the line in an NCAA provisional time of 9:45.27 to capture Michigan's fifth conference championship in the event in the last eight seasons.
Sophomore Robert Peddlar(Kingston, Jamaica/Wolmer's Boys) added to the U-M point total with a third-place finish in the long jump. Peddlar trailed early in the contest but managed to recorded a jump of 23" 5.25" (7.14m) on his fourth jump to finish in third and garner six points for the Wolverines.
In the 3,000-meter run, sophomore/freshman Craig Forys(Howell, N.J.) finished in seventh place with a time of 8:11.25. Forys was the first of three Wolverine runners in the race to finish as he earned two points towards Michigan's team score.
Michigan's senior/junior Sean Pruitt(Cato, Wis./Valders) finished eighth in the shot put to round out the scoring for the Wolverines on day one. Pruitt recorded a throw of 56' 1.75" (17.11m) to earn one team point for U-M.
In preliminary action, senior Adam Harris(Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) was the top qualifier in both the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash, leading a group of five athletes who qualified in four different events.
Harris crossed the line in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.66 seconds, .08 seconds faster than Minnesota's Ibrahim Kabia, who finished in 6.74. The senior from Wheaton, Ill., then followed that up with a first-place finish in the 200-meter dash as he broke the tape with a season-best and NCAA provisional time of 21.21.
Both Switzer and senior/junior Sean McNamara(Elmhurst, Ill./York) qualified for the finals in the one-mile run, finishing first and second, respectively, in the first heat as Switzer crossed the line first with a time of 4:07.48, the second-fastest of the day. He was followed by McNamara, who finished right on his heels in second with a time of 4:07.63, good enough for fourth in the preliminaries.
In the 60-meter hurdles, junior/sophomore Nicholas McCampbell(Detroit, Mich./Cass Technical) finished fifth and sophomore Carl Buchanon(South Bend, Ind./Clay) placed sixth to advance on to tomorrow afternoon. McCampbell crossed the line in 8.05, while Buchanon followed right behind with a time of 8.07.
The Wolverines will return to the track Sunday (March 1) for the second and final day of competition at the Big Ten Men's Indoor Championships. The heptathlon kicks off competition at 10:00 a.m. Individual events are slated to begin at noon.
Team Standings (After Day 1)
1. Minnesota 47 2. Wisconsin 36 3. Indiana 27 4. MICHIGAN 19 5. Purdue 18 6. Iowa 15.5 7. Ohio State 15.5 8. Penn State 8 9. Michigan State 7 10. Illinois 2
Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day 1)
60-meter Dash (Prelims) 1. Adam Harris, U-M 6.66Q# t15. Andre Barnes, U-M 6.98 t15. Kyle Terpak, U-M 6.98 200-meter Dash (Prelims) 1. Adam Harris, U-M 21.21Q# 16. Kyle Terpak, U-M 22.11 400-meter Dash (Prelims) 1. Jeremy Orr, Michgian State 46.83Q 11. Dan Harmsen, U-M 48.52 21. Matthew Campbell, U-M 49.48 23. David Sweeney, U-M 49.75 Mile Run (Prelims) 1. Ben Blankenship, Minnesota 4:06.50Q 2. Justin Switzer, U-M 4:07.48Q 4. Sean McNamara, U-M 4:07.63Q 12. Peter Chrsitmas, U-M 4:13.42 -- Ciaran O'Lionaird, U-M DNF 600-meter Run (Prelims) 1. Lional Williams, Penn St. 1:17.74Q 13. Ricky Fleming, U-M 1:20.04 800-meter Run (Prelims) 1. Evan Bardach, Indiana 1:50.19Q# 16. Michael Luginbill, U-M 1:53.14 3,000-meter Run 1. Hassan Meade, Minnesota 8:02.61# 7. Craig Forys, U-M 8:11.25 17. Sean McNamara, U-M 8:28.07 21. Lex Williams, U-M 8:31.79 60-meter Hurdles (Prelims) 1. Josh Hembrough, Purdue 7.87Q# 5. Nicholas McCampbell, U-M 8.05Q 6. Carl Buchanon, U-M 8.07Q 12. Rob Fiorillo, U-M 8.26 Distance Medley Relay 1. MICHIGAN 9:54.25 (Brandon Fellows, David St. Amant, Roger Billhardt, Justin Switzer)
Pole Vault 1. Jeffrey Coover, Indiana 17-10 1/2 (5.45m)# Long Jump 1. Rayme Mackinson, Wisconsin 23-7 1/4 (7.19m) 3. Robert Peddlar, U-M 23-5 1/4 (7.14m) 11. Adam Harris, U-M 22-3 (6.78m) Shot Put 1. Aaron Studt, Minnesota 62-11 1/4 (19.18m)# 8. Sean Pruitt, U-M 56-1 3/4 (17.11m) 17. Vince Helmuth, U-M 52-0 1/2 (15.86m) Heptathlon: 60-meter Dash 1. Joey Schwecke, Minnesota 7.08 (854 pts.) 7. Kurt Reichenbach, U-M 7.38 (752 pts.) 13. Taylor Voice, U-M 7.47 (723 pts.) 15. Joe Strizich, U-M 7.57 (690 pts.) Heptathlon: Long Jump 1. R.J. McGinnis, Minnesota 22-22 3/4 (814 pts.) 13. Taylor Voice, U-M 20-0 1/4 (608 pts.) 17. Joe Strizich, U-M 19-8 (584 pts.) 18. Kurt Reichenbach, U-M 19-3 1/4 (559 pts.) Heptathlon: High Jump 1. Lance Moe, Purdue 6-11 1/4 (925 pts.) 7. Joe Strizich, 6-7 1/2 (731 pts.) t11. Taylor Voice, U-M 6-9 1/4 (679 pts.) t11. Kurt Reichenbach, U-M 6-9 1/4 (679 pts.) Heptathlon: Shot Put 1. R.J. McGinnis, Minnesota 49-10 1/2 (802 pts.) 7. Kurt Reichenbach, U-M 39-0 1/4 (600 pts.) 11. Taylor Voice, U-M 37-5 (570 pts.) -- Joe Strizich, U-M FOUL * NCAA automatic qualifier # NCAA provisional qualifier Q indicates qualification for next round
Contact: Joe Arancio (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
