Michigan
Cardinal Classic
Stanford Cardinal Classic Awaits Group of Wolverines
4/19/2018 4:01:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
» Former Big Ten champions Taylor McLaughlin and Ben Flanagan -- the latter making his 2018 outdoor debut -- headline a group of six Wolverines competing at the Stanford Cardinal Classic on Friday and Saturday.
» Joining Flanagan in Palo Alto from the distance crew are seniors Micah Beller, Ausin Benoit, Connor Mora and Ryan Wilkie.
THIS WEEK
Friday, April 20 -- at Stanford Cardinal Classic (Palo Alto, Calif.), 6:12 p.m. PDT
Meet Information | Live Results
Saturday, April 21 -- Stanford Cardinal Classic (Palo Alto, Calif.), 4:59 p.m. PDT
Meet Information | Live Results
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Headlined by a pair of former Big Ten champions, the University of Michigan men's track and field team will send a six-strong contingent to compete at the Stanford Cardinal Classic on Friday and Saturday (April 20-21) at Cougar Athletic Stadium in Palo Alto, California.
Former 10,000-meter conference champion Ben Flanagan leads the largely distance-oriented group of six Wolverines in his 2018 outdoor debut, with former 400-meter hurdles champion Taylor McLaughlin also on the travel roster in search of another strong performance in his signature event
Flanagan will compete at 10,000 meters Saturday night as he aims to wrap up a berth to the NCAA East Preliminaries with a performance faster than, or in the neighborhood of, 29:50. Such a time would go a long way in sewing up a third-consecutive berth to the Prelims for Flanagan, who went on to earn second team All-America honors in the event in 2016.
Connor Mora also will be taking his first crack Saturday at the 3,000-meter steeplechase -- an event in which Mora has made the NCAA postseason for three years in a row -- in this 2018 season. He will be joined by Austin Benoit, who will be looking to earn his third trip to the Prelims. Both men will be looking to run faster than nine minutes, which has historically been enough to advance as one of the East Region's top 48 in the event.
Micah Beller will carry the banner for the Michigan distance crew on Friday night as he pursues his third consecutive bid to the NCAA East Prelims at 5,000 meters. Times faster than 14:10 have almost always qualified for the Prelims since the NCAA adopted the East/West Prelims system in 2010, and Beller has already matched or exceeded that standard twice this indoor season, including a 14:06.95 at Iowa State in February.
Competing at 1,500 meters on Saturday night, Ryan Wilkie will be looking to advance to the NCAA Prelims for the first time in his career. Coming in with a career-best at 3:51.26 from his season-opening race at Arizona State, Wilkie will need to chop off a few more seconds to achieve the 3:45 performance that likely will be necessary to put himself in the qualifying conversation.
McLaughlin has already sealed up his third straight berth to the East Prelims in the 400-meter hurdles as the region's fifth-best hurdler. He will look to improve on his best-ever opening run of 50.86 to lead off the Wolverines' weekend on Friday night at 6:12 p.m. PDT, and will double back to 200 meters an hour later.Â
Live results for the meet will become available from Record Timing as the meet approaches, and fans can follow the latest updates directly from the program's official social media channels.
WHEN TO FOLLOW THE WOLVERINES
| Wolverines Competing This Weekend | |||
| FRIDAY, APRIL 20 | |||
| Name | Event | Round | Time |
| Taylor McLaughlin | 400 meter hurdles | Final | 9:12 PM |
| Taylor McLaughlin | 200 meter dash | Final | 10:11 PM |
| Micah Beller | 5000 meter run | Final | 11:22 PM |
| SATURDAY, APRIL 21 | |||
| Austin Benoit | Steeplechase | Final | 7:59 PM |
| Connor Mora | Steeplechase | Final | 7:59 PM |
| Ryan Wilkie | 1500 meter run | Final | 9:30 PM |
| Ben Flanagan | 10,000 meter run | Final | 11:11 PM |
MICHIGAN IN THE NCAA EAST RANKINGS
Listed below are all the Wolverine men who are currently ranked among the top-48 individuals in their respective events. Why top 48? That is the cutoff for qualifying to the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds in Tampa, Florida, next month. The NCAA East Prelims serve as the gateway to qualifying for June's NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Michigan currently has 16 entries positioned within qualifying range, which would equal last year's count of competitors at the NCAA East Prelims. Last year's 16-entry contingent was the second-largest in school history during the NCAA Prelims Round Era (2010-present), trailing only the 18-entry group Michigan fielded in 2016.
Athletes currently ranked top-15 in their events are near-locks to advance to the NCAA East Prelims. Those ranked from that cutoff through No. 30 are on the fence of advancing at this point as marks will continue improving around the nation as the spring progresses, but they would be best served to improve their mark to secure a spot. From there through No. 48, an improved mark will be required to hold on to their top-48 positioning.
| Name | Event | Mark | Rank |
| Taylor McLaughlin | 200m | 20.95 | 37 |
| Anthony Berry | 800m | 1:50.43 | 39 |
| Chase Barnett | 800m | 1:50.67 | 46 |
| Connor Mora | 1,500m | 3:45.85 | 41 |
| Taylor McLaughlin | 400H | 50.86 | 5 |
| Roland Amarteifio | 400H | 52.41 | 30 |
| Noah Caudy | 400H | 52.89 | 42 |
| Andrew Lorant | Steeplechase | 9:08.26 | 34 |
| Kevin Haughn | Pole Vault | 5.00m (16-4.75) | 44 |
| Daniel Butael | Triple Jump | 15.04m (49-4.25) | 38 |
| Kevin Stephens, Jr. | Triple Jump | 14.96m (49-1) | 48 |
| Andrew Liskowitz | Shot Put | 19.13m (62-9.25) | 7 |
| Grant Cartwright | Shot Put | 18.19m (59-8.25) | 19 |
| Joe Ellis | Hammer | 71.00m (232-11) | 7 |
| Grant Cartwright | Hammer | 65.47m (214-9) | 18 |
| Manning Plater | Hammer | 59.22m (194-3) | 46 |
Players Mentioned
