Michigan
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Wolverines Are B1G Runners-Up
5/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
» The Wolverines closed the Big Ten meet with the team's best outdoor finish since the 2008 season, capping the best pair of program conference finishes since a pair of third-place showings in 2007.
» Mason Ferlic completed an impressive weekend sweep. After winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Saturday, Ferlic came back and earned a 5K crown this afternoon, becoming the first Big Ten athlete to accomplish the feat since 2002.
» Freshman sensation Taylor McLaughlin won the 400-meter hurdles in 49.80 to take his first-ever Big Ten crown and set the No. 4 time in the NCAA this season.
» The Wolverines had Sunday scoring contributions in the following events: 400-meter hurdles (10 points), 800 meters (one) 1,500 meters (two), 5,000 meters (14), 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays (one each), shot put (four), javelin (four) and triple jump (five).
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Site: Lincoln, Neb. (Ed Weir Stadium)
Event: Big Ten Outdoor Championships (Day 3)
U-M Team Result: 2nd Place of 13 Teams (90.5 points)
Next U-M Event: Thu-Sat., May 26-28 -- at NCAA East Preliminary Rounds (Jacksonville, Fla.)
LINCOLN, Neb. -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team scored 42 points Sunday (May 15) thanks to balanced scoring and a pair of titles to hold its second-place positioning and finish with the program's best placing at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships since the 2008 season as action concluded at Ed Weir Stadium.
Michigan won the 400-meter hurdles race (freshman Taylor McLaughlin) and the 5K (senior Mason Ferlic) on the final day of events. After Steven Bastien earned silver in the decathlon to lead early contributions, U-M scored in nine events on Sunday with almost each and every Wolverine outperforming his individual seed to collaborate in an outstanding team effort. The direction of the Wolverine program is skyrocketing upwards, and head coach Jerry Clayton and his staff have steered the ship through rocky waters into a new era of Wolverine track and field.
Clayton tried to sum up what made the weekend so special after Sunday's closing events.
"There are so many highlights it's hard to mention them all," he said. "Everyone stepped up and finished higher than they came in ranked, and it was a phenomenal effort by the whole team, especially the seniors. The leadership they've given during the transition of the last three years has been very impressive. It's their team; they own it, and they've really had an outstanding championship."
With the men finishing second and the women winning their 17th conference title as a program, it marks the best finish for Michigan at the Big Ten meet since 2008, when the men were victorious and the women were runners-up. The significance of that was not lost on Clayton.
"We want to congratulate our women's program on another title," he said, "It's just fantastic to see, and it's great for Michigan when our progams can have the success we are having."
Ultimately, it was the collective team from his athletes effort that impressed Clayton most.
"You don't end up second in a meet like this competing as a bunch of individuals, so it's a tribute to the athletes," said Clayton. "It's their team and their program, and we as coaches are obviously directing that, but they are the ones that have come forward and put forth the necessary effort. They deserve this, and now we are even more excited moving into the NCAA phase of the season.
MIDDLE-DISTANCE/DISTANCE
In the 5K race, Ferlic held off Purdue's Matt McClintock to claim a victory of almost four seconds and take his second gold medal of the weekend. He timed 14:06.74 to become the first conference's first steeplechase-5K double champion since Wisconsin's Isaiah Festa in 2002.
Ferlic, a fifth-year senior and two-year co-captain, has seen the ups and downs of this program and he could not imagine finishing his Big Ten career any better way.
"This weekend was the culmination of everything we've worked for," said Ferlic. "We've preached championship racing from the staff down to the athletes -- it's about beating the guys next to you, competing and racing to your potential. We certainly did that this weekend. We outperformed our projected point totals due to focus, determination and having a fire lit under us.
"I'm certain this program is headed in the right direction, and I know we can build on the success we've had. Our finish indoors was the first step, and now we've added more to the formula, and it's only looking better."
Senior/junior Tony Smoragiewicz turned in a scoring performance of his own, running 14:14.73 in the same race to take fifth place and bring the Wolverines' scoring total from the event to 14 points.
In the 1,500-meter race, freshman Jordy Hewitt scored with a seventh-place finish, running 3:47.95. Sophomore Brennan Munley ran 1:49.32 to add another point in the 800-meter race, placing eighth.
SPRINTS
In the 400-meter hurdles race, McLaughlin recorded the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA this year, timing 49.80 across the line to earn his first career Big Ten title in just his second conference meet. His time also ranks No. 6 in the world among junior athletes (under-20). McLaughlin, now the owner of the No. 3 race in Michigan history, also ran the fastest time in the Big Ten this year -- all out of lane one. His sensational freshman season continues, as he has now totaled 16 points through just two Big Ten events.
McLaughlin was unhappy with his prelims effort and more than redeemed himself this afternoon.
"I was very irritated by my prelims race because I did not run well at all," he said. "Going into today's race, Coach (Steven Rajewsky) told me I needed to be aggressive and just go for it. Being in lane one I could see everybody and didn't have to worry about anyone behind me. I just had to go after it and beat everyone."
McLaughlin did just that and now has a gold medal to add to the bronze he won in the 400-meter dash during the season. He has made a fast impact on the Wolverine roster and has the rest of the Big Ten on notice.
"I'm just pleased with the ability to compete in this conference and place and to be with the upperclassmen from different schools," he said.
In the 4x100-meter relay, U-M scored with an eighth-place finish. The senior-laden squad of Chris Maye, Codie Nolan and Phil Washington III had junior/sophomore Khoury Crenshaw on the anchor leg, and the group ran 40.68 seconds, tied for 10th all-time at U-M.
In the 4x400-meter relay, senior/junior Nate Chapman teamed with Washington, Munley and McLaughlin to add another point with their time of 3:08.43, also good for the 10th-fastest time in U-M history.
THROWS
Junior/sophomore co-captain Grant Cartwright improved his PR with a fifth-place performance in the shot put. He launched his second attempt 19.17 meters (62-10.75 ft.) to finish the weekend with eight points individually and has now moved into the top five all-time in the shot put, discus and hammer.
Senior/junior Stephen Burk scored in the javelin, hurling a season-best 65.27 meters (214-02 ft.), a mark that has him in position to make the cut for the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Rounds.
JUMPS
In the triple jump, sophomore Kevin Stephens Jr. earned a fourth-place finish with a new PR, landing his best attempt at 15.21 meters (49-11 ft.).
The Maize and Blue will return to Ann Arbor and begin preparation for the NCAA postseason, beginning with the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds, scheduled for Thursday-Saturday, May 26-28. The top 48 individual athletes (per event) and top 24 relay teams will be finalized next week, and that field will eventually produce the NCAA Championship field in June (9, 11).
COLLEGIATE PERSONAL BESTS
Track Events
400-meter hurdles
Taylor McLaughlin -- 49.80
Field Events
Triple Jump
Kevin Stephens Jr. -- 15.21 meters (49-11 ft.)
Tweet of the Day
Nobody's got it better. #proudcoach https://t.co/y4LgkkqS2D
-- Kevin Sullivan (@ksully330) May 16, 2016
Players Mentioned
