Michigan
Simmons-Harvey Quad
Wolverines Host Nation's Top Dual Meet of the Weekend
1/17/2018 5:46:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
» The Wolverines will square off with rivals Michigan State and Ohio State, as well as perennial power Arkansas, in the first scored competition at the new U-M Indoor Track Building.
» Michigan ranks No. 20 in the Track and Field News Dual Meet Rankings, with Ohio State entering at No. 6, Arkansas at No. 8 and Michigan State in at No. 23.
» Leading the way for Michigan will be Erin Finn, the national leader in the mile, who likely will be stepping up to 3,000 meters (an event in which she was the national runner-up in 2016) for the first time this season.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, Jan. 20 -- Simmons-Harvey Quad (Ann Arbor, Mich. / New U-M Indoor Track Building) 11 a.m.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Nowhere in America this weekend will there be a higher-profile dual meet than in the new University of Michigan Indoor Track Building as the University of Michigan women's track and field team hosts rivals and national contenders at the Simmons-Harvey Quad on Saturday (Jan. 20).
Michigan will square off against Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Michigan State, as well as national contender Arkansas, for the honor of becoming the first team winner crowned in the Wolverines' new facility, located on South State Street.
The Wolverines (No. 20), Buckeyes (No. 3), Spartans (No. 23) and Razorbacks (No. 6) are all rated among the best dual-meet teams in the country by Track and Field News.
No other dual meet in the country this weekend has more than three top-25 teams from the Track and Field News rankings.
Dual meets are defined as competitions with four or fewer teams, with slightly different scoring rules than traditional invitationals and championship meets. Eight athletes will score per individual event, with only two athletes per team eligible to earn points per event.
Event winners will score nine points for their teams, with a diminishing number of points accrued for each of the seven places thereafter (9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1). The team with the most points at the end of the meet will be crowned the victor.
Meet entries are not finalized until Wednesday night, but among those expected to compete for the Wolverines include reigning Big Ten Athlete of the Week Erin Finn and 2017 Big Ten Champions Gina Sereno (distance), Claire Kieffer-Wright (high jump) and Aaron Howell (multi-events), in addition to school record-holder Jade Harrison (sprints).
Fans packed the stands for the facility's opening competition this past weekend, and another capacity crowd in the 2,000-spectator bleachers is expected for Saturday with Michigan's two biggest rivals in the field. Parking for spectators is available in the lots directly north and south of the new facility (2540 S. State St.), and doors will open to the public at 10 a.m.
Michigan track and field fans both in attendance and following remotely can keep up with the meet as it is happening with live results from Delta Timing, as well as through updates on the programs' Twitter and Instagram accounts. The elite men's mile will be streamed on Facebook Live.
The meet is named in honor of the late Kenneth "Red" Simmons and Jack Harvey. Simmons, who died in 2012 at the age of 102, was the first head coach of the U-M women's track and field program 40 years ago in 1978 until his retirement in 1981. Harvey was Michigan men's head coach for 25 years from 1975-1999 as he led the Wolverines to five NCAA top-10 finishes and 10 Big Ten team titles.
News and Notes
• Though Michigan has dominated Michigan State in dual meet competition -- having gone 9-2 against the Spartans in the 40-year history of the program -- the Wolverines are coming off a narrow loss to MSU in their most recent outing in 2015, 81-80.
• Michigan's last tango with Ohio State was even more dramatic, with its most recent clash with the Buckeyes in 2012 ending in an 81-81 tie. The Wolverines lost another close battle in 2011, 83-78, in their only other dual meet battle with the Buckeyes.
• Michigan has never met Arkansas in dual meet competition.
• Finn enters the weekend as the reigning Big Ten Athlete of the Week after running a nation-leading 4:40.17 mile in her season debut. The weekly honor was the 15th of her career -- including both track and cross country -- extending her claim as the most-awarded athlete in Big Ten track and field/cross country history.
• Notable among the freshmen who made their collegiate debuts for Michigan last Saturday was Michaiah Thomas, whose opening salvo of 8.71 in the 60-meter hurdles final moved her up to No. 7 on the U-M all-time list in the event. For reference, eventual Olympian and NCAA champion Cindy Ofili clocked 8.57 in her Michigan debut in 2013.
• Led by deep performances in the mid-distance events, several Wolverines excelled at the conference level in the season-opening Wolverine Invitational on Saturday:
| Name | Event | Rank |
| Meghan Marias | 60m | 6 |
| Jade Harrison | 400m | 8 |
| Haley Meier | 800m | 3 |
| Hannah Meier | 800m | 9 |
| Chloe Foster | 800m | 10 |
| Erin Finn | Mile | 1 |
| Avery Evenson | 3000m | 6 |
| Sophie Linn | 3000m | 8 |
| 4 x 400m Relay | 6 | |
| Claire Kieffer-Wright | High Jump | 7 |
• Those deep mid-distance crews in the 800 meters and mile also made an imprint on the early season national descending order lists. Here are all the Wolverines who checked in among the top-50 nationally in their respective events.
| Name | Event | Rank |
| Jade Harrison | 400m | 32 |
| Haley Meier | 800m | 9 |
| Hannah Meier | 800m | 22 |
| Chloe Foster | 800m | 26 |
| Erin Finn | Mile | 1 |
| Claire Borchers | Mile | 22 |
| Gina Sereno | Mile | 24 |
| Sarah Zieve | Mile | 27 |
| Madeline Trevisan | Mile | 36 |
| Avery Evenson | 3000m | 27 |
| Sophie Linn | 3000m | 43 |
| 4 x 400m Relay | 35 | |
| Claire Kieffer-Wright | High Jump | 43 |
Players Mentioned
