Michigan
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Shot Putters, Steeplechasers Keep Michigan Atop Big Ten Standings
5/12/2018 10:01:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Stadium)
Event: Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships (Day 2 of 3)
Day Two Score: First Place of 12 Teams (44 points) After Day 2
Next U-M Event: Sunday, May 13 -- Big Ten Championships – Day 3 (Bloomington, Ind.), 11 a.m.
• Photo Gallery | Complete Results
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team remained at the top of the Big Ten Outdoor Championships team standings through the meet's second of two days on Saturday (May 12), powered by a pair of top-four finishes in the shot put.
Andrew Liskowitz and Grant Cartwright took third and fourth in the competition, respectively, as the duo reprised its finish from last year's conference meet -- a performance that in 2017 propelled them to the NCAA Championships.
With their 11 points and six from the steeplechase duo of fifth-place Connor Mora and seventh-place Austin Benoit -- Michigan finished the penultimate day of Big Tens with 44 points to hold steady atop the team standings for the second day in a row.
The Wolverines lead Penn State by 14 points, Michigan State and Indiana by 15 and Ohio State (27 points), Minnesota (25) and Wisconsin (24) by 20 points or fewer. With two-thirds of the Championships events left to be scored -- only seven of 21 are on the board thus far -- Sunday's competition is up for grabs to anyone, though Michigan has positioned itself well.
Advancing out of Saturday's preliminary action on the track were the 110-meter hurdles duo of Roland Amarteifio and Sierra Hendrix-Williams, both of whom set new personal records on the day.
With those two additions, the Wolverines are now poised to contend on Sunday's final day with 18 scoring opportunities, including former indoor or outdoor scorers in Cartwright, Mora, Taylor McLaughlin, Aaron Baumgarten, Micah Beller, Anthony Berry, Kevin Haughn and Kevin Stephens Jr.
In the shot put, Liskowitz took third in a competitive final that saw the top two finishes break the 20-meter threshold for just the fourth time in meet history, topping out at 19.46m (63 feet, 10.25 inches) -- a mark that is the best ever thrown by a Wolverine at the conference meet and one that would have been a school record if not for his effort two weekends ago.
Cartwright followed up his career-best Friday in the hammer throw with another career-best effort in the shot put at 19.30m (63-4). He will look to go for the trifecta in the discus on Sunday.
While he ultimately ended up with the bronze medal around his neck, Liskowitz nearly walked away with nothing. After fouling his first two attempts, he was able to get on the board with an 18.84m (61-9.75) heave right down the middle of the sector.
His best of the day in the fourth round was followed by two consecutive fouls to close out the day -- including a sixth-round throw that could have potentially won the competition with what was likely a school record if not for his inability in the moment to stay upright in the ring.
The steeplechase final saw Mora score for the fourth consecutive season, taking fifth for four points in 9:00.04, and Benoit breaking through for his first scoring performance with a seventh-place effort in 9:05.56.
Mora ran from the front early, taking the first three laps in second before ultimately falling back into the pack for the latter half of the race. Still, he held his ground throughout the remainder of the race, remaining in fifth for the final three laps of the race.
Benoit worked his way up the pack in the late stages of the race, moving from ninth to eighth to seventh over those last three laps.
Like Benoit, the 110-meter hurdles duo of Amarteifio and Hendrix-Williams will have an opportunity to net the first Big Ten scoring performance of their young careers after career-best runs on Saturday pushed them through to the final.
Amarteifio -- one of just three men in the field to make both the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles finals -- was the second-to-last qualifier to the 110 hurdles final with a career-best 14.17 (+0.8m/s) run in the first heat, while Hendrix-Williams earned the ninth-and-last berth with a career-best 14.21 (+0.4m/s).
Both men could yet be on the outside-looking-in in terms of making the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds (top-48 in the East), though they will have one more opportunity to make their cases for inclusion on Sunday.
Sunday's action begins with the triple jump at 11 a.m. Track finals will kick off starting at 12:55 p.m. with the 4x100 relay.
COLLEGIATE CAREER-BEST PERFORMANCES AT BIG TENS
Roland Amarteifio -- 14.17 (+0.8m/s) / 110m Hurdles
Grant Cartwright -- 19.30m (63-4) / Shot Put
Sierra Hendrix-Williams -- 14.21 (+0.4m/s) / 110m Hurdles
Alex Schwedt -- 48.11 / 400m
FULL MICHIGAN RESULTS BY EVENT
Q = Automatic qualifier to final
q = Non-automatic qualifier to final (advanced as one of fastest non-auto qualifiers)
w = wind-aided (greater than 2.0 meter-per-second [m/s] wind; marks with wind up to 4.0m/s are allowable for NCAA Preliminaries qualifying purposes)
100 Meters (Prelims)
12. Khoury Crenshaw / 10.53 (+1.4m/s)
20. Desmond Nicholas / 10.76 (+0.4m/s)
200 Meters (Prelims) [Friday]
22. Josiah Carpenter / 22.41 (-0.9m/s)
400 Meters (Prelims)
22. Desmond Melson / 47.93
24. Alex Schwedt / 48.11
800 Meters (Prelims)
22. Matt Plowman / 1:53.50
1,500 Meters (Prelims) [Friday]
Final to be contested Sunday
4. Anthony Berry / 3:47.11
11. Chase Barnett / 3:48.38
5,000 Meters
Final to be contested Sunday; no prelims
10,000 Meters (Final) [Friday]
1. Ben Flanagan / 30:23.86
5. Billy Bund / 30:36.96
10. Jacob Lee / 30:55.98
17. Isaac Harding / 31:25.97
110-Meter Hurdles (Prelims)
Final to be contested Sunday
8. Roland Amarteifio / 14.17q (+0.8m/s)
9. Sierra Hendrix-Williams / 14.21q (+0.4m/s)
400-Meter Hurdles (Prelims) [Friday]
Final to be contested Sunday
2. Taylor McLaughlin / 49.93Q
6. Roland Amarteifio / 51.73q
17. Noah Caudy / 54.08
19. Sean Marshall / 56.33
3,000-Meter Steeplechase (Final)
5. Connor Mora / 9:00.04
7. Austin Benoit / 9:05.56
--. Andrew Lorant / DNF
4x100 Relay
Final to be contested Sunday; no prelims
4x400 Relay
Final to be contested Sunday; no prelims
High Jump
Final to be contested Sunday
Pole Vault
Final to be contested Sunday
Triple Jump
Final to be contested Sunday
Shot Put (Final)
3. Andrew Liskowitz / 19.46m (63-10.25)
4. Grant Cartwright / 19.30m (63-4)
Discus
Final to be contested Sunday
Hammer Throw (Final) [Friday]
2. Joe Ellis / 72.72m (238-7)
4. Grant Cartwright / 68.28m (224-0)
14. Manning Plater / 61.21m (200-10)
Players Mentioned
