Michigan
Bryan Clay Invitational
Wolverines Ready for West Coast Trip
4/19/2018 3:08:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
» Reigning Big Ten heptathlon champion Aaron Howell is making her first attempt at the event at the Bryan Clay Heptathlon at Azusa Pacific on Wednesday and Thursday to kick off the week for Michigan
» A large group from the remainder of the women's team -- many sprinters, jumpers and distance runners -- will be in action at the Stanford Cardinal Classic on Friday and Saturday.
» Among the entries is nine-time All-American Erin Finn contesting the 5,000 meters -- her first attempt at an event contested at the NCAA Outdoor Championships this year.
THIS WEEK
Wednesday, April 18 -- Azusa Pacific Bryan Clay Heptathlon (Azusa, Calif.), 1:30 p.m. PDT
Thursday, April 19 -- Azusa Pacific Bryan Clay Heptathlon (Azusa, Calif.), 12:30 p.m. PDT
Meet Information | Live Results
Friday, April 20 -- Stanford Cardinal Classic (Palo Alto, Calif.), 6:24 p.m. PDT
Saturday, April 21 -- Stanford Cardinal Classic (Palo Alto, Calif.), 5:36 p.m. PDT
Meet Information | Live Results
• Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- With a few meets under its belt this spring and the Big Ten Outdoor Championships less than a month away, the University of Michigan women's track and field team begins in earnest its push toward the postseason with a week in California at the Azusa Pacific Bryan Clay Heptathlon on Wednesday and Thursday (April 18-19) and the Stanford Cardinal Classic on Friday and Saturday (April 20-21).
Friday and Saturday's action at Stanford will see Erin Finn and the distance squad join the Wolverines' sprinters and jumpers in action in Palo Alto, while reigning Big Ten Champion heptathlete Aaron Howell is in the midst of her first heptathlon of 2018 at Azusa Pacific to kick off Michigan's West Coast swing.
While a few Wolverines are coming off recent travel -- Finn in New York City for the AAU James E. Sullivan Award ceremony and a handful from last weekend's Texas Invitational -- the team is largely rested and ready to go after a strong early season effort at Duke's Battle of the Blues two weekends ago.
Finn headlines the group with her first outdoor 5,000-meter race for Michigan since earning First-Team All-America honors at that same distance in 2015. Joining her in action will be fellow All-Americans Haley Meier and Jamie Morrissey as they look to improve on strong starts to their senior seasons.
Live results for the meet will become available from Primetime 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 | |||
| THURSDAY, APRIL 19 | |||
| Name | Event | Round | Time (ET) |
| Aaron Howell | Long Jump | Heptathlon | 3:30 PM |
| Aaron Howell | Javelin | Heptathlon | ~4:30 PM |
| Aaron Howell | 800 meter run | Heptathlon | ~6 PM |
| FRIDAY, APRIL 20 | |||
| Name | Event | Round | Time |
| Mallory Barrett | 800 meter run | Final | 9:24 PM |
| Alice Hill | 800 meter run | Final | 9:24 PM |
| Carola Jansohn | 800 meter run | Final | 9:24 PM |
| Jamie Morrissey | 800 meter run | Final | 9:48 PM |
| Julia Hall | 200 meter dash | Final | 9:59 PM |
| Torisa Johnson | 200 meter dash | Final | 9:59 PM |
| Meghan Marias | 200 meter dash | Final | 9:59 PM |
| Lauren Morgan | 200 meter dash | Final | 9:59 PM |
| Haley Meier | 5000 meter run | Final | 10:28 PM |
| Hannah Meier | 5000 meter run | Final | 10:28 PM |
| Erin Finn | 5000 meter run | Final | 11:03 PM |
| SUNDAY, APRIL 21 | |||
| Name | Event | Round | Time |
| Julia Hall | 400 meter dash | Final | 8:36 PM |
| Torisa Johnson | 100 meter dash | Final | 8:58 PM |
| Meghan Marias | 100 meter dash | Final | 8:58 PM |
| Lauren Morgan | 100 meter dash | Final | 8:58 PM |
| Mallory Barrett | 1500 meter run | Final | 9:16 PM |
| Alice Hill | 1500 meter run | Final | 9:16 PM |
| Carola Jansohn | 1500 meter run | Final | 9:16 PM |
| Sarah Zieve | 1500 meter run | Final | 9:36 PM |
| Hannah Meier | 1500 meter run | Final | 9:49 PM |
| Haley Meier | 1500 meter run | Final | 10:02 PM |
| Jamie Morrissey | 1500 meter run | Final | 10:02 PM |
HOWELL MAKES HER 2018 HEPTATHLON DEBUT
Already through with her first of two days in the seven-event heptathlon at the Bryan ClayInvitational, Howell -- the reigning Big Ten Champion in the event -- is off to her best start. Powered by a career-best performance in the shot put and a career-best-tying high jump effort, she finished the first day with 3,358 points through four events.
Her first-day output was 12 points better than her career-best Day 1 score from the 2016 Bryan Clay Invitational, and 17 points superior to her mid-point score from her overall career-best performance at the 2016 Big Ten Championships.
A lifetime-best 13.44m (44 feet, 1.25 inches) in the shot put provided a big boost on Wednesday, continuing the momentum she established in a career-best-tying 1.75m (5-8.75) clearance in the high jump. She made that height on her second attempt after needing clutch third-and-final makes at two previous bars.
Howell has three move events upcoming on the final day of the heptathlon: the long jump, the javelin and the finale 800 meters. Action begins for Howell's group at 12:30 p.m. PDT in the long jump, with the javelin beginning approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the long jump and the 800 to follow 30 minutes after the javelin.
Howell will be shooting for a berth to the NCAA Championships in June, which -- if recent history is any guide -- will take a near career-best performance. The 24th-and-final entry accepted into NCAAs the past three seasons has scored no fewer than 5,512 points; Howell holds a career-best of 5,538.
If she were to match her career-best performances in Thursday's final three events, she would finish the week with a score of 5,646 points.
WOLVERINES AT THE CARDINAL CLASSIC
• It has been a coast-to-coast week for Erin Finn. After spending the first half of the week in New York City being honored as a finalist for the prestigious AAU James E. Sullivan Award, Finn spent just over a day in Ann Arbor before heading out West to Palo Alto, California, to prep for her Friday night race at 5,000 meters. As for the race, it will be her first outdoor 5,000 in a Michigan uniform since running 15:43.97 for fifth at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Such a fast time is not required this weekend -- though that is not to say she will not run one -- as the primary goal is to get a qualifying time to the NCAA East Prelims on the board while testing her fitness after missing the latter portion of the indoor season. A time faster than 16:20 will almost certainly push her through to the NCAA Prelims.
• Morrissey will be looking to capitalize on lifetime-best fitness for this time of the season, having come within two-hundredths of a second of her 800-meter personal record at the Battle of the Blues in a 2:05.11 showing. She will take another crack at setting a new PR at 800 meters on Friday night before taking on the 1,500 meters on Saturday.
MICHIGAN IN THE NCAA EAST RANKINGS
Listed below are all the Wolverine women 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 10 entries positioned within qualifying range, which would equal last year's count of competitors at the NCAA East Prelims.
Notably absent from this is the expected debut of Erin Finn in events contested at the NCAA Championships (5,000 and 10,000 meters), as well as anticipated delayed outdoor debuts from multi-time All-American Gina Sereno and national champion Jaimie Phelan. Also not factored into the list below are Big Ten champions Claire Kieffer-Wright (high jump) and Aaron Howell (heptathlon), who have not yet competed in their primary events this spring.
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 | Rank |
| Jade Harrison | 100m | 39 |
| Jade Harrison | 200m | 29 |
| Jade Harrison | 400m | 48 |
| Jamie Morrissey | 800m | 4 |
| Jamie Morrissey | 1,500m | 18 |
| Haley Meier | 1,500m | 25 |
| Hannah Meier | 1,500m | 36 |
| Claire Borchers | Steeplechase | 2 |
| Sarah Zieve | Steeplechase | 5 |
| Courtney Jacobsen | Hammer | 30 |
Players Mentioned
