Michigan
Battle of the Blues
Wolverines Ready to Defend 'Battle of the Blues' Team Title
4/3/2018 2:44:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
» Originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon (April 7), the Battle of the Blues against Duke and North Carolina was moved up to Friday afternoon (April 6) to avoid cold and rainy weather.
» All-American throwers Joe Ellis, Grant Cartwright and Andrew Liskowitz will make their 2018 outdoor debuts as the Wolverines roll out their most complete lineup of the year thus far.
» Michigan is looking to defend its Battle of the Blues team title from a year ago when its 101 points surpassed the combined totals of runner-up Duke (54 points) and North Carolina (45 points).
THIS WEEK
Friday, April 6 -- Battle of the Blues (Durham, N.C.), 3:30 p.m.
Meet Information | Live Results | Watch Live on ACC Network Extra
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The defense of its 2017 team title is at stake for the University of Michigan men's track and field team as it squares off Friday (April 6) with Duke and North Carolina for the third-annual edition of the Battle of the Blues at 3:30 p.m. at Duke's Morris Williams Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
The Wolverines' effort to take the win over the pair of ACC foes will come one day earlier than originally scheduled, as the meet was moved one day from Saturday (April 7) to avoid forecasted rainy weather with temperatures in the mid-40s. Friday's outlook is much more amenable, with temperatures in the high 60s with a mix of clouds and sun overhead.
Buoyed by the 2018 outdoor debuts of All-American throwers Joe Ellis, Grant Cartwright and Andrew Liskowitz -- and with All-American 400-meter hurdler Taylor McLaughlin and others starting to settle into their primary outdoor events -- Michigan looks to replicate a dominant 2017 showing. Last year's edition saw Michigan take the title with 101 points, more than the combined totals of Duke (54 points) and North Carolina (45 points).
Among those scheduled to compete are individual-event winners from last year's competition in distance runners Connor Mora and Austin Benoit; and throwers Ellis, Cartwright and Liskowitz. Cartwright and Ellis were also winners in 2016, as was distance runner Jordy Hewitt, who will also be in action on Friday.
North Carolina claimed the inaugural 2016 Battle of the Blues title in a much more closely fought 83-78.5 win over the Wolverines.
Friday's competition will be the only time Michigan's full team is in action together until reconvening for the Big Ten Championships at Indiana, May 11-13. In the meantime, different event groups will split up to different meets each weekend to seek the best available competition and conditions in order to pursue performances that will put them in the hunt for qualifying to the NCAA postseason.
ACC Network Extra, available online via WatchESPN, will carry a live stream of the track events beginning with the 4x100 relays at 4 p.m. and carrying on through the completion of the meet-finale 4x400 relays at approximately 8 p.m.
Live results for the meet will be available from Flash Results as the meet progresses, and fans can always follow the latest updates directly from the program's official social media channels.
WHEN TO FOLLOW THE WOLVERINES
| Wolverines Competing This Weekend | |||
| FRIDAY, APRIL 6 | |||
| Name | Event | Round | Time |
| Joe Ellis | Hammer Throw | Final | 3:30 PM |
| Manning Plater | Hammer Throw | Final | 3:30 PM |
| Carpenter, Washington, Nicholas, Hagen | 4x100 relay | Final | 4:05 PM |
| Jack Aho | 1500 meter run | Final | 4:25 PM |
| Chase Barnett | 1500 meter run | Final | 4:25 PM |
| Anthony Berry | 1500 meter run | Final | 4:25 PM |
| Connor Mora | 1500 meter run | Final | 4:25 PM |
| Roland Amarteifio | 110 meter hurdles | Final | 4:45 PM |
| Noah Caudy | 110 meter hurdles | Final | 4:45 PM |
| Sierra Hendrix-Williams | 110 meter hurdles | Final | 4:45 PM |
| Sean Marshall | 110 meter hurdles | Final | 4:45 PM |
| Nick Burkhalter | Pole Vault | Final | 5:00 PM |
| Daniel Butael | Long Jump | Final | 5:00 PM |
| Stephen Hagen | 100 meter dash | Final | 5:00 PM |
| Kevin Haughn | Pole Vault | Final | 5:00 PM |
| Alex Klemm | High Jump | Final | 5:00 PM |
| Desmond Nicholas | 100 meter dash | Final | 5:00 PM |
| Brandon Piwinski | High Jump | Final | 5:00 PM |
| Kevin Stephens | Long Jump | Final | 5:00 PM |
| Max Wagner | High Jump | Final | 5:00 PM |
| Josiah Carpenter | 400 meter dash | Final | 5:20 PM |
| Vail Hartman | 400 meter dash | Final | 5:20 PM |
| Desmond Melson | 400 meter dash | Final | 5:20 PM |
| Alex Schwedt | 400 meter dash | Final | 5:20 PM |
| Blake Washington | 400 meter dash | Final | 5:20 PM |
| Grant Cartwright | Discus | Final | 5:30 PM |
| Andrew Liskowitz | Discus | Final | 5:30 PM |
| Manning Plater | Discus | Final | 5:30 PM |
| Jordy Hewitt | 800 meter run | Final | 5:40 PM |
| Matt Plowman | 800 meter run | Final | 5:40 PM |
| Tanner Schwannecke | 800 meter run | Final | 5:40 PM |
| Ryan Wilkie | 800 meter run | Final | 5:40 PM |
| Roland Amarteifio | 400 meter hurdles | Final | 6:10 PM |
| Noah Caudy | 400 meter hurdles | Final | 6:10 PM |
| Sean Marshall | 400 meter hurdles | Final | 6:10 PM |
| Taylor McLaughlin | 400 meter hurdles | Final | 6:10 PM |
| Josiah Carpenter | 200 meter dash | Final | 6:30 PM |
| Stephen Hagen | 200 meter dash | Final | 6:30 PM |
| Desmond Nicholas | 200 meter dash | Final | 6:30 PM |
| Austin Benoit | Steeplechase | Final | 7:00 PM |
| Kevin Hall | Steeplechase | Final | 7:00 PM |
| Andrew Lorant | Steeplechase | Final | 7:00 PM |
| Manning Plater | Shot Put | Final | 7:00 PM |
| Aaron Baumgarten | 3000 meter run | Final | 7:30 PM |
| Micah Beller | 3000 meter run | Final | 7:30 PM |
| Billy Bund | 3000 meter run | Final | 7:30 PM |
| Daniel Butael | Triple Jump | Final | 7:30 PM |
| Issac Harding | 3000 meter run | Final | 7:30 PM |
| Kevin Stephens | Triple Jump | Final | 7:30 PM |
| Schwedt, Melson, McLaughlin, Hartman | 4x400 relay | Final | 7:55 PM |
MICHIGAN'S TOP CONTENDERS
• The throws trio of Ellis, Cartwright and Liskowitz will be back in uniform for the first time since the NCAA Indoor Championships nearly a month ago -- though only Ellis will be competing in his primary event. The reigning first-team All-American hammer thrower will be looking to make his season debut in his outdoor specialty in a way that has become tradition during his time at Michigan: breaking the Duke facility record. He tossed 65.26m (214 feet, 1 inch) as a redshirt freshman in 2016 to establish a Morris Williams Stadium record in the 2015-built facility, and topped it a year later at 66.34m (217-8). Cartwright will also be going for a win in three consecutive years (shot put in 2016, discus in 2017) as he defends his discus title with teammate Liskowitz also in the field.
• McLaughlin is set to make his 2018 debut in his signature 400-meter hurdles event on Friday -- an event in which he is a two-time All-American (first team in 2016 and second team in 2017), a Big Ten champion in 2016 and a 2016 IAAF World Junior Championships silver medalist. After finishing runner-up at this meet two years in a row, he will be gunning for his first Battle of the Blues win in the event. Joining him after a lifetime-best 52.96 clocking at Arizona State two weekends ago will be Roland Amarteifio, who chopped nearly a third-of-a-second off his previous PR from last season's Big Ten Championships.
• Having excelled in the steeplechase over the past few seasons, Mora is off to a quick start to 2018 in a different event: the 1,500 meters. The senior clocked a career-best 3:45.85 at Arizona State two weekends ago, an improvement of four seconds over his previous personal record at that distance. This will mark the first time Mora has run this particular race multiple times in the same season. He will be joined in the 1,500 by, among others, Anthony Berry, who scored at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in the mile earlier this winter. The crew competing at 3,000 meters includes Big Ten Indoor scorers Aaron Baumgarten, Micah Beller and Billy Bund.
• Never before have two Michigan triple jumpers surpassed 50 feet in the same outdoor season, let alone the same meet. Kevin Stephens Jr. and Daniel Butael accomplished that feat for the first time indoors, and are looking to replicate it this spring. In their first outing at Arizona State, Butael leapt 15.04m (49-4.25) with Stephens jumping 14.83m (48-8). Both men have proven capable of 50 feet in their careers with Butael having gone farther than 52 feet prior to coming to Michigan and with Stephens coming off an indoor season that saw him crack that barrier twice.
Players Mentioned
