Michigan
Battle of the Blues
Michigan Takes Second in Battle of the Blues
4/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
April 2, 2016
» On the track, U-M won the 100-meter dash (Chris Maye), 800-meter run (Brennan Munley), 1,500-meter run (Jordan Hewitt), 3K (Tony Smoragiewicz) and 3,000-meter steeplechase (Mason Ferlic), scoring 29 points in those four middle-distance and distance races.
» Overall, the Wolverines relied on contributions from 19 different scorers while scoring in 17 events overall.
» Fans can watch a replay of the broadcast from this weekend on ESPN3.com in the 'Replay' section with their cable provider logins.
• Complete Results 
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Site: Durham, N.C. (Morris Williams Track and Field Stadium)
Event: Battle of the Blues
U-M Team Result: 2nd Place of 3 Teams (78.50 points)
Next U-M Event: Wed-Thursday, April 6-7 -- at Bulldog Decathlon/Heptathlon (Athens, Ga.)
DURHAM, N.C. -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team put forth a great team performance to take second place at the Battle of the Blues meet this weekend (Fri-Sat., April 1-2), finishing just 4.5 points behind No. 17 North Carolina while beating the host school, Duke, in a tri-meet battle of some of the nation's top academic institutions at Morris Williams Track and Field Stadium.
The meet, which used a 5-3-2-1 point(s) scoring system for individual events and scored relays as 5-3, provided a taste of scored competition early into the outdoor season for the Wolverines, and the team responded with a number of personal bests and head-to-head victories against fierce ACC competition.
Entering Saturday's events, U-M had built a small lead by scoring nine points in the hammer throw on Friday (April 1), but North Carolina began to pull ahead as the weekend wore on. Approaching the final stretch of events, U-M trailed UNC by more than 20 points with just the shot put, triple jump, 3K and 3,000-meter steeplechase remaining.
The Wolverines made up nearly all the ground between themselves and the Tarheels over those four events, scoring 10 points in the 3K, eight points in the shot, seven points in the steeplechase and three in the triple jump, while the Heels scored at a lower clip over that span. U-M forced a pressure-filled situation in the 4x400-meter relay and would have needed a first-place finish and UNC last-place showing to earn the win. The Heels came through though, taking victory and sealing a team win to close the door on a Michigan comeback bid.
For head coach Jerry Clayton, the Wolverines taking things down to the wire is just what these types of competitions are all about. He commended the hosting Blue Devils on putting together a top-quality weekend.
"I thought Duke did an excellent job as the host," said Clayton.
"The meet was coach-friendly, athlete-friendly, spectator-friendly and more. I loved having the live streaming, having the athletes on ESPN, and it's also great for our fans, especially for our Michigan fans, and for the sport itself. It gives everyone who supports us but can't be here a way to see our athletes compete. These are three great academic institutions, and that brings together some really great student-athletes competing here this weekend. That's what track and field, and specifically collegiate sports, is supposed to be about."
"When you go into the Big Ten Championships, it's all about place and beating people head to head," Clayton continued. "Sometimes in track and field we get too caught up with people setting records or personal bests, and it's really about the team and the scoring. That's what these meets teach our athletes -- to compete head to head because that's what they'll need in the championship phase of our season."
THROWS
Michigan's strong throws weekend began with the hammer on Friday, when freshman Joe Ellis led a 1-2-4 finish in to total nine points for the Wolverines and begin the tri-meet weekend on excellent footing.
After making his outdoor debut with the No. 2 all-time throw in Michigan history last weekend (64.39 meters; 211-3 ft.), Ellis impressed again this weekend. He fouled on his first throw then landed his second attempt at 64.88 meters (212-10 ft.), which would have won the event had he not extended that measure even farther on his final attempt.
Ellis measured in at 65.26 meters (214-1 ft.), a new personal best and a little more than one meter shy of Michigan's all-time record (66.34 meters; 217-8 ft.). It helped him claim the event title and six points for the Maize and Blue.
Cartwright earned the runner-up spot in the event, extending his personal best by more than 10 feet at his second career meet throwing hammer. He landed a measure of 60.51 meters (198-6 ft.) on his second attempt and secured three points for the Maize and Blue. In fourth place, Michigan fifth-year senior Brad Bolton registered a throw of 57.84 meters (189-9 ft.), bringing U-M's total to nine points on Friday.
Saturday's throws began with senior fifth-year Derek Sievers' discus title. He threw 52.47 meters (172-1 ft.) to come within one meter of his personal-best 53.39 meters in his season-opening performance, and his winning throw came on the final attempt of the first round. Sophomore Grant Cartwright placed fourth to add another point to the event haul.
Both athletes also competed in the shot put, combining for a one-two finish with Cartwright taking the victory. He led the competition out of the gate with a strong opening mark at 17.77 meters (58-3.75 ft.), a throw that would have actually won the event.
Cartwright told ESPN after the shot was completed that Coach Clayton pointed out something to tweak in his technique heading into the finals, and on his last attempt he launched an 18.35-meter (60-2.5 ft.) throw, a new personal best and the No. 5 all-time mark at U-M.
Sievers' mark came in at 17.52 meters (57-5.75 ft.) for another four points.
Senior/junior Stephen Burk scored in the javelin, placing third. On his last attempt, Burk had his best throw of the day and upped his season best with a 62.75 meter (205-10 ft.) throw.
Clayton was especially pleased in the performances of Michigan's throws group, noting the three different event winners and the major contributions to team scoring that the group provided as a whole.
"To come in here and win three of the four throwing events, especially when we were only seeded first in one of them coming in, is a sign of the guys doing a really good job," Clayton added.
MID-DISTANCE/ DISTANCE
In the outdoor season's first steeplechase, fifth-year Mason Ferlic wasted no time establishing the lead at his pace. He and junior/sophomore Connor Mora broke away early, with the duo leading the field by about 10 meters just a few laps into the race. Ferlic extended his lead soon thereafter, breaking the field about 3:00 into the race.
Ferlic needed to run a sub-44 over the last 200 meters to eclipse the national leader and came across with a new personal best, and he did just that, flying over the last several laps to cross at 8:33.95 to pace a one-three finish for the Wolverines and win the event by nearly 25 seconds.
The St. Paul, Minnesota, native ran his first collegiate 1,500 last weekend to work on his closing and speed overall and feels the well-rounded approach he and distance coach Kevin Sullivan have taken to this season is paying off.
"I think early in the season, doing a 1,500 is kind of a mid-training cycle race," said Ferlic.
"It's important to get other races in to work in different aspects that could be really important when I'm racing the steeple or other distances further down the road. I'm trying to become a well-rounded athlete and not just focus on the steeple, especially trying to score in other events at the conference meet. Overall, it was good to open up in the steeple this first meet; I felt pretty good, and the result was great, so getting a PR after a big training week felt comfortable."
Ferlic said he did not necessarily expect to PR this yearly into the year, but he felt better than expected and was able to keep pushing his body over the final 1,500 meters or so.
"Before the race, the whole strategy or plan was to use this as a rust-buster; get a feel for the water pit and barriers again," said Ferlic.
"I had gotten a little bit of a feel in practice, but nothing can substitute the race so I wanted to practice the details and not really worry about the time. I was happy to get the win for the team and score points, but I didn't think I was going to run that fast. I took the first half of the race pretty conservative and really tried to focus on technique, but I felt good and kept pressing the gas a little bit, and I ended up responding well and came away with a PR, which is a great sign this early into the season."
At 800 meters, two U-M scorers were led by sophomore Brennan Munley, who sat on North Carolina's O'Neal Wanliss until the final straightaway, making up an eight-meter gap or more to win the race in an outdoor-best 1:49.01. Junior Nate Chapman claimed the sixth point of the race for the Wolverines, running his own PR to place fourth in 1:50.69.
Hewitt won a closely contested 1,500-meter race, with five athletes vying for four scoring places down the stretch. Junior/sophomore Aaron Baumgarten made a move to open things up, and Hewitt was chasing him down with UNC's Logan Carroll and Duke's Alec Kunzweiler, who went on to finish second and third, respectively. Freshman Jordy Hewitt made his move over the final lap and finished in 3:49.35, while Baumgarten crossed at 3:49.99 in his first collegiate 1,500-meter race. Senior/junior Alex Moran also competed and set a new personal best in fifth.
In the 3K race, junior Tony Smoragiewicz earned the win with a wire-to-wire victory, timing a huge PR to finish in 8:06.64. He led a flurry of block M-covered singlets across the line as U-M went 1-2-3 to get back into the team title mix with a 10-point effort. Junior/sophomore Micah Beller came in behind Smoragiewicz at 8:07.04, and junior co-captain Ben Flanagan ran 8:12.07 for third to round out all three-top finishers with new PRs.
Junior/sophomore Billy Bund made his season debut in the event, placing fifth to miss the scoring cut by 1.39 seconds with a time of 8:14.60, while senior/junior Jarred Bratley also made his 2016 debut.
JUMPS
Sophomore Kevin Stephens Jr. scored in the long and triple jumps, landing a new PR in both events. In the triple, Stephens did all he could, taking the lead on his final jump with a mark of 14.93 meters (48-11.75 ft.), before UNC's Darryl Shaw came in at 15.16 meters (49-9 ft.) on the final jump of the competition to take the win.
Stephens' first PR of the weekend came in the long jump, as he landed at 6.96 meters (22-10 ft.) on his first attempt. That mark was good for fourth, with Stephens adding four points to U-M's scoring as an individual.
Freshmen Alasgar Mammedov tied for third in the high jump, matching his collegiate best by clearing 2.03 meters (6-8 ft.) on his first attempt. His classmate Brandon Piwinski improved on his season-opening height from last weekend.
SPRINTS
Fifth-year senior Phil Washington III had a strong effort to place runner-up in the 400 meter race, running 48.03 for a solid season-opening time. Meanwhile, senior Chris Maye won the 100-meter dash in 10.77 seconds, adding another five points to the U-M team total.
Both Washington and Maye ran in the 200 race as well, placing two-four with a pair of PR's as well. Washington ran 21.55 across the line, while Maye timed 21.71.
In the 400-meter hurdles race, freshman Taylor McLaughlin used an impressive finish to close on North Carolina Senior Javonte Lipsey over the final hurdle and home stretch, running 52.11 to place runner-up in his outdoor hurdles race debut.
In the 4x400-meter relay, Michigan's squad of Washington, Munley, Chapman and McLaughlin timed 3:11.95 to place second behind the Tarheels.
POLE VAULT
Sophomore/freshman Kevin Haughn picked up one point, placing fourth and making his outdoor debut.
Speaking on the team's comeback effort as a whole, Clayton said that tight finishes like tonight's are part of what make these scored meets so compelling for fans and athletes alike.
"To me that's what track and field should be about -- the team and that competition -- and that's what we really need to get going to make the sport exciting. I'm sure the viewers can follow that and see how we came back and how it came down to the last event.
The Maize and Blue hopes to continue a strong start to the outdoor season with the Spartan Invitational on the docket for next weekend (April 8-9). All-American Steven Bastien will compete earlier in the week at Georgia (April 6-7) in his first decathlon as a Wolverine.
COLLEGIATE PERSONAL BESTS
Track Events
200 meters
Phil Washington III -- 21.55
Chris Maye 21.71
800 meters
Brennan Munley -- 1:49.01
Nate Chapman -- 1:50.69
1,500 meters
Alex Moran -- 3:50.32
3,000 meters
Tony Smoragiewicz -- 8:06.64
Ben Flanagan -- 8:12.07
Billy Bund -- 8:14.60
3,000 meter steeplechase
Mason Ferlic -- 8:33.95
Field Events
Hammer Throw
Joe Ellis -- 65.26 meters (214-1 ft.)
Grant Cartwright -- 60.51 meters (198-6 ft.)
Discus
Grant Cartwright -- 52.38 meters (171-10.25 ft.)
Shot Put
Grant Cartwright -- 18.35 meters (60-2.5 ft.)
High Jump
Alasgar Mammedov -- 2.03 meters (6-8 ft.)*
Brandon Piwinski -- 1.99 meters (6-6.25 ft.)
Long Jump
Kevin Stephens Jr. -- 6.96meters -- (22-10 ft.)
* = Matches indoor best
TWEET OF THE NIGHT
Beautiful day here in Durham for the Battle of the Blues @ Durham, North Carolina https://t.co/KzGlVqLCJT
-- Kevin Sullivan (@ksully330) April 2, 2016
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard
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