Michigan
Big Ten Indoor Championships
Big Ten Championships on Deck for Wolverine Women
2/21/2018 2:13:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
» Five-time Big Ten champion Gina Sereno leads the way for Michigan heading into the Big Ten Indoor Championships.
» Outdoor Big Ten champions Claire Kieffer-Wright and Aaron Howell are looking to add indoor titles to their springtime wins from 2017.
» The women's distance medley relay will not only be going for the Big Ten title, but also an NCAA Championships qualifying time.
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THIS WEEK
Fri-Sat., Feb. 23-24 -- at Big Ten Indoor Championships (Geneva, Ohio/SPIRE Institute), 12:20 p.m. (Friday) / 11 a.m. (Saturday)
Meet Information | Live Results | Watch Live on Flotrack Pro/BTN Plus
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- With the regular season in the books, it is now on to the postseason for the national No. 23-ranked University of Michigan women's track and field team as it goes for the conference team title and individual crowns at the Big Ten Indoor Championships on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 23-24).
Led by five-time Big Ten Champion Gina Sereno and reigning outdoor conference winners Claire Kieffer-Wright and Aaron Howell, numerous Wolverines are either contenders for individual titles or potential scorers in their respective events as Michigan battles to reclaim their 2016 conference trophy at the SPIRE Institute.
After a seventh-place finish a year ago, the Wolverines will hope to replace the points scored last year by the likes of Erin Finn, Jaimie Phelan and Jamie Morrissey -- none of whom are available for these championships -- with a resurgent group of veterans.
Sereno will lead the charge in her final Big Ten Indoor Championships appearance, looking to not only defend the 3,000-meter title she won in dramatic fashion a year ago but also add an indoor 5,000-meter title to her collection. Since the 2016 Big Ten Outdoor meet, she has claimed five conference titles, including two outdoors in the 5,000.
Also returning as 2017 scorers for Michigan are Howell (fourth in the pentathlon); Jade Harrison (fourth at 400 meters), Claire Borchers (eighth at 800 meters) and Meghan Marias (eighth at 60 meters).
In addition to expecting similar or improved performances from those returning scorers, the Wolverines will be relying on several Wolverines who have shown the potential for big points this 2018 season.
Kieffer-Wright, in the midst of the best indoor season of her life in the high jump, is aiming for an indoor title to go along with the outdoor crown she won last May. The senior dual-sport volleyball star did not score indoors a year ago.
Haley Meier just missed the scoring in the mile a year ago in ninth place, but she is the pre-meet favorite this year based on her strong performance at Washington two weekends ago.
Meier will also have a role to play on the distance medley relay team, which has extra motivation beyond reclaiming the Big Ten title. Sitting 12th in the nation right now, the Wolverines are looking for an improvement on their time to put them in better position for extending their nation-best qualifying streak to the NCAA Championships to 16 years.
Fans can attend both days of the championships -- located just a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Ann Arbor to Geneva, Ohio -- in person for $20 or $8 for children, students from Big Ten schools and senior citizens (65+).
Those who cannot attend can watch the meet live on FloTrack Pro or BTN Plus with subscriptions to those services. Live results through Lightning Timing will also be available, and Michigan track & field's official social media channels will be providing updates throughout the weekend.
WHEN TO WATCH THE WOLVERINES
Friday, February 23
| Name | Event | Round | Time |
| Aaron Howell | 60 meter hurdles | Pentathlon (1 of 5) | 10:50 AM |
| Aaron Howell | High Jump | Pentathlon (2 of 5) | 11:30 AM |
| Sarah Uhlian | Pole Vault | Final | 11:30 AM |
| Meg Darmofal | 3000 meter run | Final (Unseeded) | 12:00 PM |
| Rachel Barrett | Mile | Prelims | 12:40 PM |
| Claire Borchers | Mile | Prelims | 12:40 PM |
| Haley Meier | Mile | Prelims | 12:40 PM |
| Hannah Meier | Mile | Prelims | 12:40 PM |
| Julia Hall | 400 meter dash | Prelims | 1:20 PM |
| Jade Harrison | 400 meter dash | Prelims | 1:20 PM |
| Aaron Howell | Shot Put | Pentathlon (3 of 5) | 2:00 PM |
| Torisa Johnson | 60 meter dash | Prelims | 2:10 PM |
| Meghan Marias | 60 meter dash | Prelims | 2:10 PM |
| Micaela DeGenero | 800 meter run | Prelims | 2:50 PM |
| Alice Hill | 800 meter run | Prelims | 2:50 PM |
| Hannah Meier | 800 meter run | Prelims | 2:50 PM |
| Aaron Howell | Long Jump | Pentathlon (4 of 5) | 3:15 PM |
| Michaiah Thomas | 60 meter hurdles | Prelims | 3:30 PM |
| Chloe Foster | 600 meter run | Prelims | 4:10 PM |
| Aaron Howell | 800 meter run | Pentathlon (5 of 5) | 4:55 PM |
| Jade Harrison | 200 meter dash | Prelims | 5:00 PM |
| Torisa Johnson | 200 meter dash | Prelims | 5:00 PM |
| Meghan Marias | 200 meter dash | Prelims | 5:00 PM |
| Sophie Linn | 3000 meter run | Final | 5:50 PM |
| Gina Sereno | 3000 meter run | Final | 5:50 PM |
| Michigan | Distance Medley Relay | Final | 6:30 PM |
Saturday, February 24
| Name | Event | Round | Time |
| Claire Kieffer-Wright | High Jump | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Courtney Jacobsen | Weight Throw | Final | 11:10 AM |
| Finalists TBD | Mile | Final | 1:20 PM |
| Finalists TBD | 400 meter dash | Final | 1:40 PM |
| Finalists TBD | 60 meter dash | Final | 2:00 PM |
| Finalists TBD | 800 meter run | Final | 2:20 PM |
| Finalists TBD | 60 meter hurdles | Final | 2:40 PM |
| Finalists TBD | 600 meter run | Final | 3:00 PM |
| Finalists TBD | 200 meter dash | Final | 3:20 PM |
| Gina Sereno | 5000 meter run | Final | 3:40 PM |
| Madeline Trevisan | 5000 meter run | Final | 3:40 PM |
| Michigan | 4x400 relay | Final | 4:20 PM |
TOP WOLVERINE CONTENDERS
• There was no race at the 2017 championships more exciting than Sereno's 3,000-meter win at the line over Indiana's Katherine Receveur by .04 of a second, giving her the first of what would be three Big Ten titles between indoors and outdoors. Though her win last year was an upset of sorts, there is no doubt of her favorite status in 2018 as the top seed in the field in 9:01.62. Not only will she look to defend her 3,000-meter title (Friday, 5:50 p.m.), but she will look to claim her first indoor 5,000-meter title the next day (Saturday, 3:40 p.m.). She was sixth in the race a year ago, and has not yet run the distance in 2018.
• Kieffer-Wright is having the best indoor campaign of her career, having cleared a career-best 1.84m (6-0.5) two weeks ago at Kent State to close out her regular season. Not only did she set a new PR in her last outing, she twice jumped 1.79m (5-10.5) in her previous two competitions to come within one centimeter of her then-career-best. At Big Tens (Saturday, 11 a.m.), she is one centimeter off the top seed in the event.
• Having already posted a 4,000+ point pentathlon score that ranks her 13th nationally and on the bubble for NCAA Championships qualifying, Aaron Howell is arguably having her best-ever indoor campaign. Coming off the Big Ten Outdoor heptathlon title in May, she will look to join Bettie Wade -- a graduate of the same Farmington Hills High School as Howell -- and Tania Longe as the only women to win both indoor and outdoor combined event conference titles. She is currently ranked third in the conference.
• Michigan's mile depth in 2018 has been nothing short of spectacular with a nation-best 17 women faster than five minutes. Leading the corps into Big Tens is the trio of Haley Meier, Claire Borchers and Hannah Meier. Haley Meier chopped nearly seven seconds off her mile PR with a 4:35.69 clocking two weeks ago to move to No. 3 in Michigan history, while Borchers checked in at No. 13 in program history in 4:39.94.
• Aiming to extend its national record NCAA Indoor Championships qualifying streak to 16 years in a row, the distance medley relay team finds itself in a precarious situation in the final weekend of the qualifying period. After a disappointing outing last weekend, the team is ranked 12th nationally with only 12 spots available for the NCAA field. With several other high-profile teams around the country looking to stake their claims to NCAA bids this weekend, the Wolverines' tandem of the Meier twins, Borchers and indoor 400-meter school-record holder Jade Harrison will take the track one final time (Friday, 6:30 p.m.) to race both for the win and the clock.
• Here's the full list of competing Wolverines who enter the conference championships among the top-20 in their respective events in the Big Ten rankings:
| Name | Event | Rank |
| Meghan Marias | 60m | 9 |
| Torisa Johnson | 60m | 18 |
| Jade Harrison | 200m | 14 |
| Jade Harrison | 400m | 19 |
| Chloe Foster | 600m | 12 |
| Hannah Meier | 800m | 14 |
| Haley Meier | Mile | 1 |
| Claire Borchers | Mile | 3 |
| Hannah Meier | Mile | 11 |
| Gina Sereno | 3000m | 2 |
| Sophie Linn | 3000m | 20 |
| Madeline Trevisan | 5000m | 8 |
| Michaiah Thomas | 60H | 9 |
| 4 x 400m Relay | 6 | |
| Distance Medley Relay | 2 | |
| Claire Kieffer-Wright | High Jump | 2 |
| Sarah Uhlian | Pole Vault | 18 |
| Courtney Jacobsen | Weight Throw | 17 |
| Aaron Howell | Pentathlon | 3 |
WOLVERINES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
• The Wolverines checked in at No. 23 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Team Rankings, down 11 spots from last time. Among Big Ten teams, only No. 10 Minnesota, No. 16 Purdue and No. 25 Wisconsin are ranked higher. It is important to note that the national rankings do not indicate how a team might fare in a conference championship scenario, but rather how a team might fare at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
• Heading into the final weekend of qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships next month, here are where the Wolverines stand in the national NCAA rankings (top 16 advance to NCAAs in individual events, top 12 relay teams qualify).
| Name | Event | Rank |
| Haley Meier | Mile | 10 |
| Claire Borchers | Mile | 30 |
| Hannah Meier | Mile | 45 |
| Gina Sereno | 3000m | 10 |
| Haley Meier | 3000m | 39 |
| Distance Medley Relay | 12 | |
| Claire Kieffer-Wright | High Jump | 11 |
| Aaron Howell | Pentathlon | 13 |
Players Mentioned
