U-M to Travel to SVSU for Doug Hansen Open on Friday
1/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Jan. 21, 2015
• Coach Rajewsky on WTKA Insider 
THIS WEEKEND
Friday, Jan. 23 -- at Doug Hansen Open (SVSU Fieldhouse), 2:30 p.m.
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Meet Information: Admission Fee: $5 | Entry List 
| Event Information
The University of Michigan men's track and field team continues its 2015 indoor season on Friday (Jan. 23) by traveling to the campus of Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) to compete in the Doug Hansen Open. The meet is scheduled to begin 2:30 p.m. with the field events at the SVSU Fieldhouse.
WOLVERINE BITES
• The Wolverines return 35 competitors from a year ago and welcome 29 newcomers (with redshirts and transfers), including 12 true freshmen, to the roster.
• Jerry Clayton is in his second season as the head coach with the University of Michigan men's track and field program and works primarily with the Wolverine throwers and jumpers. A Big Ten alum and Midwest native, Clayton took over the Wolverine program after spending the previous 15 seasons at Auburn University.
• New Captains: Fifth-year seniors Patrick Cochran, Ali Arastu and Cody Riffle are joined by redshirt-junior Mason Ferlic as team-elected captains for the 2015 season.
• This Weekend: The Maize and Blue will travel 19 student-athletes to Saginaw Valley State University this weekend, though no debuts are expected.
• Return of the Redshirts: In his first season last year, Clayton and his staff redshirted 22 student-athletes in preparation for the 2015 season. Now, that is starting to pay dividends with the strengthened return of four-time All-American hurdler Ali Arastu, All-American shot putters Cody Riffle and Derek Sievers and a deep group of sprinters and distance runners.
• Returning All Americans: U-M's roster features five athletes who return with All-American honors already under their belts: Ali Arastu (3x 400-meter hurdles; Mile Relay), Mason Ferlic (2x Steeplechase), Morsi Rayyan (10,000-meter run), Michael Parker Jr. (Mile Relay), Cody Riffle (2x) and Derek Sievers (Shot Put).
• Starting the Season Nearby: After dangerous weather conditions put a halt to U-M's trip to Kent, Ohio, the Wolverines had a last-minute entry to Eastern Michigan University's EMU Triangular (Jan. 9). Without a full squad, U-M traveled just nine competitors down the street to nearby Bowen Field House in Ypsilanti, Mich., and still managed to capture a pair of titles.
• Recapping EMU Triangular: In addition to the pair of individual titles (John Spooney; 60-meter dash, Ali Arastu; 200-meters), the Wolverines set five personal-bests in the event despite only traveling nine student-athletes. In both events won by U-M athletes, Michigan finishers went 1-2-3-4 across the line.
• A Strong Home Opener: At the Simmons-Harvey Invitational (Jan. 17), the first of U-M's two home events this season, the Wolverines captured five titles and put forth 15 top-three efforts on the day. Sixteen different Wolverines set 20 different personal bests in 12 different events.
• Cracking Open the Record Book: Sprinter Codie Nolan cemented his place in the U-M record book by running a 6.72-second 60-meter dash at the Simmons-Harvey (Jan. 17), which ties him for the second-fastest indoor time in U-M program history. Nolan is tied with Gene Brown (1970) and Andrew Bruce (1982) with that mark, but both Brown and Bruce had their times adjusted from a 55-meter distance. Therefore Nolan has the second-fastest "true" 60-meter dash time in indoor Michigan history.
• Teammates Battle for Shot Put Record: Entering this season, co-captain Cody Riffle held the U-M indoor shot put record at 63-2 ft. (19.25m). That changed at Michigan's Simmons-Harvey Invitational (Jan. 17), where teammate Derek Sievers launched a 63-11.75 ft. (19.50m) throw to claim the record. Sievers' throw currently ranks as the third-best in the nation.
• Season Premieres: Transfer junior Steven Bastien made his debut at the Simmons-Harvey (Jan. 17) along with redshirt freshmen Grant Cartwright, Kevin Stephens Jr., Austin Brenner, Ryan Hall, Billy Bund, Connor Mora, Austin Benoit, Will Burke and true freshman Charles DeJonge.
• An Historic Debut: Spooney is a senior transfer who joins the Wolverines after attending Brown University, where he also played football. Dubbed 'The Fastest Man in the Ivy League,' Brown lived up to his name by cracking the U-M record book in his debut performance at the EMU Triangular (Jan. 9). His 60-meter time of 6.75 seconds currently ranks fifth-best all-time at Michigan.
• Nice While it Lasted: Spooney's 6.75-second 60-meter dash time had originally placed him fourth all-time in the U-M record books until teammate Codie Nolan's performance at the Simmons-Harvey Invitational pushed him to fifth place.
• Other Debuts at EMU: Beyond Spooney's debut, another pair of athletes made their U-M debuts at the EMU Triangular (Jan. 9). Redshirt freshman Khoury Crenshaw set a personal best with a 6.81 in the 60-meter dash while true freshman pole vaulter Kaj Althaus cleared 14-6.25 ft. (4.43m) in his first performance.
• Qualifying Standards for NCAA Championships: There are no qualifying standards for the championships season. There will be a track indexing standard to delineate the different indexing among flat, undersized, banked and oversized. Qualification to the championships is based on descending-order list for the season. For each individual event contested, the top 16 declared student-athletes will be accepted into the competition. For each relay event contested, the top 12 declared relay teams will be accepted into the competition. [ USTFCCCA Selection Criteria ]
A LOOK AHEAD
Saturday, Jan. 31 -- vs. Michigan State (Allendale, Mich.) [ Ticket Information ]
Friday, Feb. 6 -- at Akron Invitational (Akron, Ohio) and Notre Dame Meyo Invitational (South Bend, Ind.)
