Michigan
Nebraska Husker Invitational
Pruitt, Harris Earn Runner-up Finishes at Nebraska Husker Invite
2/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Event: Husker Invitational
U-M Team Result: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sat., Feb. 13-14 -- at Husky Invitational (Seattle, Wash.); Fri-Sat., Feb. 13-14 -- at Akron Open (Akron, Ohio)
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Senior/junior Sean Pruitt(Cato, Wis./Valders) and senior Adam Harris(Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) each earned runner-up finishes to lead the No. 18-ranked University of Michigan men's track and field team at the Husker Invitational at Nebraska's Devaney Center Indoor Track.
Pruitt placed second in the weight throw with a toss of 66-6 (20.27m), finishing behind UCLA's Boldizsar Kocsor, one of just six throwers in the nation to record a throw longer than Pruitt's season-best 69-4 in 2009. Pruitt also recorded the longest shot-put throw for any U-M thrower this season with a career-best 55-9 (16.99m) for a fifth-place finish.
In the 60-meter dash, Harris finished in second with a time of 6.76. Harris ran a season-best 6.70 in the preliminaries and entered the race as the No. 2 seed. The senior was the top college finisher in the event, crossing the line behind only Mark Jelks, who ran for Nike.
Fifth-year senior Dan Harmsen(Rockford, Mich./Rockford) led a group of three Wolverines as he finished first in the 400-meter consolation race, crossing the line in 48.29, a season-best time for any Wolverine in the event.
The U-M 4x400-meter relay squad of sophomore David St. Amant(Livonia, Mich./Winston Churchill), Harmsen, senior Andre Barnes(West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield) and sophomore Carl Buchanon(South Bend, Ind./Clay) ended the competition on a high point as the group finished second in 3:14.45 -- the best time for a Michigan quartet in the event this season.
Michigan will return to competition next weekend (Fri-Sat., Feb. 13-14) as the team will send athletes to both the Akron Open in Akron, Ohio, and the Husky Invitational in Seattle, Wash.
Event Winners/U-M Finishers
400-Meter Dash (Consolation) 1. Dan Harmsen, U-M 48.29 3. David St. Amant, U-M 49.18 4. Andre Barnes, U-M 49.75 60-Meter Hurdles (Consolation) 1. Carl Buchanon, U-M 8.03 3. Nicholas McCampbell, U-M 8.13 60-Meter Dash (Finals) 1. Mark Jelks, Nike 6.70# 2. Adam Harris, U-M 6.76 (6.70) 4x400-Meter Relay (Special) 1. Nebraska 'A' 3:13.74 2. MICHIGAN 'A' 3:14.45 (David St. Amant, Dan Harmsen Andre Barnes, Carl Buchanon)
Triple Jump 1. Nicholas Gordon, Nebraska 50-8 3/4 (15.46m)# 7. Robert Peddlar, U-M 48-3 1/2 (14.72m) High Jump 1. Dustin Jonas, Nike 7-4 1/4 (2.36m)* 10. John Kipf, U-M 6-6 3/4 (2.00m) Shot Put 1. Zack Lloyd, Arizona 62-5 (19.02m)# 5. Sean Pruitt, U-M 55-9 (16.99m) 10. Sean Pruitt, U-M 52-7 1/4 (16.03m) Pole Vault 1. Jeff Coover, Indiana 17-0 3/4 (5.20m) 6. Chris Baldwin, U-M 14-7 1/4 (4.45m)
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Fred LaPlante
On building from a difficult weekend... "You have to look at the highlights. There are things that the other kids on the team can look at and say that there are good things happening on the team. It will keep them confident and motivated that they can be part of that. Switzer's mile was pretty good, Forys 3,000-meters run was pretty good and the 4x400 team did pretty well. The thing about the Nebraska meet that was nice was we saw different competition. We have had two weeks now where guys have run trials and finals on a banked track and that experience will help them at the championships. We are still looking forward to doing big things at the Big Ten meet."
Players Mentioned
