Weekly Release #13: Wolverines Travel to Kansas and EMU
4/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
This Week
Fri-Sat., April 17-18 -- at Kansas Relays (Lawrence, Kan.)
Saturday, April 18 -- at Eastern Michigan Invitational (Ypsilanti, Mich.)
The University of Michigan men's track and field team will split meets as a portion will compete at the Kansas Relays next Friday and Saturday (April 17-18) in Lawrence, Kan., while several members of the team will travel to Ypsilanti, Mich., to compete in the Eastern Michigan Invitational on Saturday (April 18). After winning two events apiece at "The Dual", fifth-year senior Dan Harmsen(Rockford, Mich./Rockford) and sophomore Carl Buchanon(South Bend, Ind./Clay) will lead a contingent of track athletes at the Eastern Michigan Invitational while senior/junior Sean Pruitt(Cato, Wis./Valders) and sophomore/freshman Robert Peddlar(Kingston, Jamaica/Wolmer's Boys) will highlight the team of field athletes competing at the Kansas Relays.
U-M's Top 2009 Outdoor Times and Marks
100-meter Dash: Adam Harris, 10.32#
200-meter Dash: Adam Harris, 20.90#
400-meter Dash: Andre Barnes 47.82
800-meter Run: Ricky Fleming, 1:53.23
1,500-meter Run: Lex Williams, 3:46.90#
3,000-meter Run: Lex Williams, 8:19.32
5,000-meter Run: Seth Thibodeau, 15:15.61
110-meter Hurdles: Carl Buchanon, 14.35
400-meter Hurdles: Dan Harmsen, 51.21#
3,000-meter Steeplechase: Brandon Fellows, 9:15.80
4x100-meter Relay: 40.75 (McCampbell, Barnes, Terpak, Harris)
4x400-meter Relay: 3:09.36 (Barnes, Harmsen, St. Amant, Buchanon)
High Jump: Joe Strizich, 6-2.75
Pole Vault: Taylor Voice, 13-1.5
Long Jump: Robert Peddlar, 24-7.25
Triple Jump: Robert Peddlar, 47-10
Shot Put: Sean Pruitt, 57-11#
Discus: Sean Pruitt, 168-8
Hammer Throw: Sean Pruitt, 204-5#!
Javelin: Grant Till, 179-4
# NCAA regional qualifier
! U-M school record
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Dan Harmsen began his title defense in the 400-meter hurdles with a bang as the fifth-year senior finished first in the event at the Rice Bayou Classic (March 28) with an NCAA regional-qualifying time of 51.60 and he continued to improve that time at the Auburn Invitational (April 4) where he finished second with a season-best time of 51.21. Harmsen's time currently places him at the top of the conference by almost a full second. The Rockford, Mich., native is attempting to close out his college career as the first U-M back-to-back Big Ten champion in the 400-meter hurdles since Neil Gardener won the title in 1996 and 1997.
Fastest Man in the Big Ten
Senior Adam Harris(Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton) is making a strong case to be named the fastest man in the Big Ten this season. The indoor Big Ten champion in both the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash, Harris currently owns the top time in the Big Ten in both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash with NCAA regional times in both events. In the 100-meter dash, Harris' time of 10.32, which he set at The Dual against Ohio State (April 11), is easily the top time in the conference. The senior is .29 ahead of the second-best time. Harris's lead in the 200-meters is even larger as his time of 20.90 is .43 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Harris is the only Big Ten athlete with a top-five time in both events. The last U-M track athlete to win titles in both the 100- and 200-meter dash was Andrew Bruce in 1982.
Farther and Farther
Sean Pruitt recorded a mark of 204-5 in the hammer throw at The Dual against Ohio State (April 11) to break his own record in the event for the second time in as many competitions. Pruitt entered the 2009 outdoor season with the school record in the hammer at 197-11 before promptly breaking it at the Auburn Invitational (April 4), the second meet of the season. Pruitt's throw of 199-5 was an NCAA regional mark and it earned him second place at the event. Pruitt built off that success in Columbus, Ohio, when he sent the hammer five feet farther to not only break his own record but also finish first in the event.
Leaders and Best
The Maize and Blue has had an impressive start to the 2009 outdoor season as five U-M athletes are in the top three in the Big Ten in six different individual events this season, including the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter hurdles, where Michigan holds the top mark in the conference. Adam Harris leads the conference in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash with NCAA regional times 10.32 and 20.90 respectively while Dan Harmsen tops the list in the 400-meter hurdles with an NCAA regional-qualifying time of 51.21. Robert Peddlar owns a top-three mark in the long jump, where he is second with a jump of 23-7.5. Sean Pruitt school-record and NCAA regional mark of 204-5 in the hammer throw is the second-best distance in the conference. U-M also holds top-three times in the conference in both the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays. The 4x100 team is in first with a time of 40.83 and the 4x400 quartet holds the third-best time with a time of 3:12.31.
On the Road to Louisville
Dan Harmsen, senior/junior Lex Williams(Ann Arbor, Mich./Dexter), Adam Harris, Sean Pruitt and senior/junior Brendan Lodge(Narragansett, R.I./Bishop Hendrickson) have all earned NCAA regional-qualifying times and marks this season. Harris finished first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.32 at The Dual against Ohio State (April 11) to earn his second qualifying mark after finishing first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.90 at the Auburn Invitational (April 4). Williams finished second in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:46.90 at the Auburn Invitational and Harmsen recorded a time of 51.21 in the 400-meter relays to finish second at the Auburn Invitational. In the field, both Pruitt and Lodge picked up marks in the hammer throw, finishing first and second, respectively, in the at the "The Dual" against Ohio State with throws of 204-5 and 191-9.
The Champions Return
U-M returns five outdoor Big Ten champions, including three individual champions. Adam Harris returns after winning the Big Ten championship in the long jump in 2008. Junior Frank Shotwell(Medina, Ohio/Medina) picked up a Big Ten in the decathlon. Dan Harmsen picked up the Wolverines' final individual Big Ten championship with a win in the 400-meter. Harmsen also was part of the 4x400 meter championship relay team along with Senior Andre Barnes (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield). Harris, Barnes, sophomore Troy Woolfolk(Sugar Land, Texas/Dulles) also claimed a Big Ten championship as part of the first-place 4x100 relay squad.
All-American Talent
Andre Barnes and Dan Harmsen return this season after earning outdoor All-America honors in 2008 as part of the 4x400-meter relay squad which finished fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a school record time of 3:04.64.
Faster Than the Average Man
Adam Harris won two indoor Big Ten titles and earned All-America honors in the 60-meter dash for the second straight season. The senior won both the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash at the Big Ten Championship (March 1). Harris' time of 20.99 in the 200-meter dash broke the school record previously set in 1980 by Butch Woolfolk. It was the second school record Harris has broken this season after he broke his own record in the 60-meter dash at the Silverston Invitational (Feb. 21). Harris turned in an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 6.60 seconds, topping his previous record of 6.61 seconds set last season at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. At the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships, Harris finished in fourth place with a time of 6.62 to earn his second consecutive All-America distinction in the event.
5,280 Feet
Senior Justin Switzer(Waterford, Mich./Kettering) continued Michigan's strong performance in the mile this season as the senior finished first at the Big Ten Championships (March 1) and earned All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships. At the Big Ten Championships, in a race that traditionally runs slower throughout with a strong late kick, Switzer ran from the front, setting a pace that never allowed the runners to wait for a late push. Switzer crossed the line in 4:02.60 to earn his first individual Big Ten title and the second overall title of his career. At the NCAA championships, Switzer crossed the line in seventh place with a time of 4:02.99 to earn the All-America distinction. The award was his first individual honor and the second overall of his career after he earned the honor as part of the sixth-place Distance Medley relay team in 2007.
King of the Mountain
Sean Pruitt emerged as a national force to be reckoned with in the weight throw this season. Pruitt earned his first Big Ten title at the Big Ten Championships (March 1) and has twice broken his own school record in the event this season, most recently at the Indiana Relays on Jan. 30, where the senior/junior finished first with a throw of 69-4. At the Big Ten Championships, Pruitt out-threw the rest of the competition by over a foot. The Cato, Wis., native has also steadily improved his marks in the shot put and he recorded a provisional mark of 58-7.5 at the Akron Invitational on Feb. 14. Pruitt will look to carry over his success from the weight throw into the outdoor season and the hammer throw.
Introducing the Captains
Dan Harmsen, Frank Shotwell and Justin Switzer have been named team tri-captains for the 2009 season. Each captain represents a specific group of athletes with Harmsen representing the sprinters, Shotwell representing the field events and Switzer representing the distance runners.
The Leaders of the Wolverines
Fred LaPlante takes over the position of head coach for the Michigan men's track and field team after 11 seasons as the associate head coach with the program. In his 11 years with the program LaPlante's main focus has been the development of U-M's sprint and hurdle athletics. LaPlante has coached 17 Olympians, 25 individual national champions and 77 All-Americans in his 22 years of coaching.
Ron Warhurst will step back and take on the role of associate head coach after a successful nine-year run as head coach on the Michigan men's track and field team. In 2008, Michigan won its first outdoor Big Ten title in 25 years. Warhurst works mainly with Michigan's distance athletes. In his 35 years with the Michigan track and field program Warhurst has coached 12 Olympians, 12 individual national champions, 44 track and field All-Americans and 38 cross country All-Americans.
David Kaiser returns for his fifth season working with Michigan's field and jump athletes. Kaiser has coached 27 All-Americans and 33 conference champions.
Upcoming Outdoor Schedule
Thu-Sat., April 23-25 -- at Penn Relays (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Fri-Sat., April 24-25 -- at Hillsdale Relays (Hillsdale, Mich.)
Contact: Joe Arancio (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
