Ten Wolverines Prepped for Jacksonville

May 27, 2015

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The University of Michigan men's track and field team will be represented by 10 student-athletes at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds from Thursday-Saturday (May 28-30) at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Competition will start on Thursday at noon and will resume on Friday at the same time. Saturday's final day of action begins at 1:30 p.m. For the Wolverines, however, action does not begin until 6:55 p.m. on Thursday with the 100-meter dash opening rounds.

The top 48 athletes in both the east and west regions in each event (in descending order) as well as the top 24 relays from each region qualified for the meet. The athletes will participate in two rounds (first round and quarterfinals) during the preliminary round. Twelve competitors from each individual event and 12 teams from each relay event will advance from each preliminary championship competition to the NCAA Championships. This year's national meet will be held from June 10-13 in Eugene, Oregon.

MICHIGAN QUALIFIERS

The 10 Wolverines below will compete in Jacksonville this week.

Event	Name/Seed	Time/Mark	Date
100m Dash	John Spooney/26	10.41*	4/17/15
	Codie Nolan/35	10.48%	5/07/15
	Khoury Crenshaw/44	10.53*	4/17/15
5,000m	Mason Ferlic/5	13:46.89	5/2/15
	Morsi Rayyan/16	14:00.10	5/2/15
10,000m	Morsi Rayyan/20	29:22.15	4/17/15
	Mark Beams/25	29:32.44	4/03/15
3,000m steeplechase	Mason Ferlic/4	8:36.82	4/17/15
	Connor Mora/11	8:45.96	5/2/15
	Austin Benoit/36	8:57.01	4/04/15
Shot Put	Cody Riffle/13	63-7.5 ft. (19.39m)	5/17/15
	Derek Sievers/19	61-2 ft. (18.64)	4/23/15
Discus	Derek Sievers/31	175-2 ft. (53.39m)	5/15/15

% = +2.7 wind-aided
* = +0.1 wind-aided

WOLVERINE BITES

• The preliminary rounds will be hosted by the University of North Florida for the third time in four years, as Hodges Stadium was the site of the 2012 and 2014 east regionals.

• The shot-put battle continues for fifth-year senior co-captain Cody Riffle and senior/junior Derek Sievers. Sievers owned the record at the beginning of the season, before it was broken by Riffle in Virginia (62-0.5 ft; 18.91m). At the Big Ten Championships (May 17), Riffle launched a lifetime-best throw of 63-7.5 ft. (19.39m) to push the bar even further. Within the already-talented field in the east region, the push for the program record stands as one of the most interesting storylines for the Maize and Blue this weekend. Together, the duo owns the No. 1 and 2 throws on U-M's all-time performance list, with Riffle leading the way as the program record holder.

• Michigan Sports Television's Ed Kengerski spoke with both Riffle and Sievers one week before the conference meet about their battle for the record in this video piece from MSTV. Kengerski got some great insight from the duo, learning about different throwing styles and their mismatched practice schedules. Check it out at MGoBlue.com or on our Twitter and Facebook pages.

• Senior/junior co-captain Mason Ferlic owns top-five regional times in both the 3,000m steeplechase (8:36.82, 4th) and in the 5,000m run (13:46.89, 5th). Already a two-time All-American and conference champion (most recently in the steeplechase), Ferlic has been Michigan's most elite distance runner through the 2015 season.

• Ferlic leads a talented group of distance runners across several events. In fact, U-M was the only team in the Big Ten to score in every single mid-distance and distance event (the 800m race, mile run, 3K, 5K and distance medley relay) at the indoor conference championships last February. The distance program has soared to new heights under first-year head cross country coach and assistant track coach Kevin Sullivan, a three-time Olympian, 16-time Big Ten champion and 14-time All-American -- the most decorated runner in U-M history. The Wolverines scored in the 800m run, 3,000m steeplechase, 5,000m run and 10,000m run at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.

THE COACHES

• Head Coach 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. At the 2014 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, he led Bradley James to the program's first high jump title since 1996 and this year he helped Wolverine throwers score in the shot put and javelin events, including a lifetime-best from Cody Riffle in the shot put to set the new program record. In his first outdoor season, he guided eight Wolverine field athletes to the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds and now in 2015 he has brought another pair of shot putters to compete.

• Assistant coach Steven Rajewsky has helped the U-M sprinters to re-write the program performance list in this, his second year at U-M. After assisting with the 13 Wolverines in competition at this meet in 2014, Rajewsky brings a trio of his sprinters to Jacksonville this weekend. Both John Spooney (No. 5) and Khoury Crenshaw (tied-9th) own top-10 times on U-M's all-time performance list from the outdoor season in the 100m dash, while all three Wolverines competing this weekend set top-10 times in the 60m dash (Spooney; No.2, Codie Nolan tied-3, Crenshaw No. 4) during the indoor season, in addition to a new program record in the 400m race set by Ali Arastu.

• Assistant coach Kevin Sullivan has brought the Wolverine distance program back to national promise just one short season into his tenure at the helm of the cross country program and as an assistant to Clayton. As noted above, U-M was the only team in the Big Ten to score in every single mid-distance and distance event (the 800m race, mile run, 3K, 5K and distance medley relay) at the indoor conference championships last February. The Wolverines scored in the 800m run, 3,000m steeplechase, 5,000m run and 10,000m run at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, and Sullivan has led Ferlic to the sixth-fastest steeple time in program history.

THE 2015 WOLVERINES

• Team Captains: Fifth-year seniors Patrick Cochran, Ali Arastu and Cody Riffle were joined by senior/junior Mason Ferlic as team-elected captains for the 2015 season.

• 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 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 six athletes who have already earned All-America honors in their careers: Ali Arastu (3x 400-meter hurdles; Mile Relay), Mason Ferlic (2x Steeplechase), Morsi Rayyan (10,000-meter run), Steven Bastien (Heptathlon), Cody Riffle (2x) and Derek Sievers (2x; Shot Put).

A LOOK AHEAD
Wed-Sat., June 10-13 -- at NCAA Outdoor Championships (Eugene, Oregon)

Communications Contact: Chad Shepard (734) 763-4423