Michigan
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Borchers Wins Steeplechase on Day Two of Big Tens
5/12/2018 9:26:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Stadium)
Event: Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships (Day 2 of 3)
U-M Team Result: Third Place of 13 Teams (35 points) After Day 2
Next U-M Event: Sunday, May 13 -- Big Ten Championships - Day 3 (Bloomington, Ind.), 12:45 p.m.
• Photo Gallery | Complete Results
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- For the second night in a row the University of Michigan women's track and field team closed out its day on Saturday (May 12) at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships with a conference crown in a distance event, this time worn by steeplechaser Claire Borchers.
Borchers dethroned reigning 3,000-meter steeplechase conference winner Madeline Strandemo of Minnesota in a tense head-to-head battle to claim her first individual Big Ten title, and was followed shortly thereafter by a come-from-behind third-place finish by Sarah Zieve.
With their 16 points in the day-two finale event -- as well as five points from heptathlete Aaron Howell and an additional point by way of high jumper Katt Miner's eighth-place finish earlier in the afternoon -- the Wolverines will enter the final day on Sunday third in the team standings with 35 points.
While leader Minnesota has accrued an impressive 85 points through two days, the Wolverines are very much in striking distance of second-place Wisconsin at 39 -- but are also being pursued heavily by Iowa and Indiana (34 points), Penn State (32), Nebraska (28) and Purdue (25).
Michigan will have several opportunities on Sunday to build on that point total with entries in the 4x100 relay, 1,500 meters, 800 meters, 200 meters, 5,000 meters and 4x400 relay.
Borchers and Zieve made the most of their opportunity to score on Saturday, coming home with the win in 9:58.36 and for third in 10:14.86, respectively, with only the 2017 champion Strandemo (10:01.69) separating them. The result was a natural progression from the 2017 edition of the championships, where they finished runner-up and fourth, respectively.
With both women competing in their final Big Ten Championships races, the duo was determined to give it everything they had in the late stages of the race -- and it showed in the splits.
With Borchers coming through the bell for the final lap neck-and-neck with Strandemo -- as they had been for virtually the duration of the race with nearly metronomic consistency from lap-to-lap -- with just .22 of a second between them, it was in the last circuit around the Hayes Track that ultimately won her the race.
Borchers pulled away from Strandemo with each passing stride on the final lap, opening up a big enough gap over the homestretch for her to comfortably crack a smile as she came across the line for her first individual Big Ten title. She ran the penultimate leg of the victorious distance medley relay this past winter at Big Ten Indoors.
Her win was also just the second in school history in the event, as she joined former NCAA champion and collegiate record-holder Anna Willard from 2007 as the only Wolverine women to stand atop this particular podium.
When the dust -- or the water, as it were -- had settled, Borchers had run the final lap in 77.91 seconds; just over three seconds faster than Strandemo, but not the fastest of the race.
That distinction belonged to teammate ZIeve, who crushed a 77.57 final lap to move up from sixth at the bell to third -- an 11-second jump from her second-to-last lap of 88.72.
Zieve had dropped back to as far back as eighth with two circuits around the track remaining, but injected the right amount of pace at the right time to break free of a chase group that had trailed Borchers and Strandemo for nearly the entire race.
While she did not factor into the scoring, Ellie Leonard also ran a career-best time for 15th in 10:50.58.
Howell closed out her Big Ten career short of defending her heptathlon title from 2017, but still on the podium with an impressive 5,527-point score surpassed by only two other performances in her career.
She recovered from a rocky start in the long jump to throw three javelin marks that exceeded her previous career best, including her best of 43.19m (141 feet, 8 inches) from her opening round.
Howell closed out the two-day, seven-event competition with a 2:24.38 performance over 800 meters.
Depending on the outcomes of other conference championships around the country and which other athletes decide for or against contesting the heptathlon at the NCAA Championships, Howell will be firmly on the bubble for qualification to the national meet as a top-24 athlete nationally. Either way, she should still qualify to compete in the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds as a high jumper.
In Saturday's track event preliminary action at the Big Ten meet, mid-distance runner Jamie Morrissey was the lone Wolverine to make it through to a Sunday final. Having already qualified for the 1,500-meter final by way of Friday's action, Morrissey staked her claim as a favorite at 800 meters, as well.
Morrissey clocked 2:05.30 -- just .21 shy of her personal record -- to win her heat in convincing fashion and enter Sunday with the top seed from the prelims.
She will be looking to replicate or improve upon teammate Jaimie Phelan's output from a year ago when she won the 1,500 and went on to take third at 800 meters to start a postseason run that ultimately culminated in an NCAA title at 1,500 meters.
Still trying to regain her fitness from an injury that had sidelined her from competition over a timespan from last June through last weekend, Phelan made a valiant effort to contribute to the Wolverines' team score in the 800, but ultimately came up short.
In what will be her final collegiate race as a Wolverine, Phelan charged hard down the homestretch and clocked a season's best 2:09.25 for 12th overall and fourth in her heat. She finishes her career with one of the most memorable national titles in school history, regardless of sport, an individual Big Ten title and five All-America honors.
In a team competition where every point could be a difference-maker, the Wolverines were the beneficiary of a career-best day in the high jump by Miner, who took eighth at 1.76m (5-9.25) to chip in a point to the standings.
Miner survived two consecutive heights with third-and-final attempts -- first at 1.71m (5-7.25) and then her best height -- to put herself in position as one of the eight remaining women in the field and assured of at least scoring.
Action for the Wolverines on the final day of competition begins at 12:45 p.m. as the 4x100 relay team goes for the school record that was set at the 1998 edition of the Big Ten Championships.
COLLEGIATE CAREER-BEST PERFORMANCES AT BIG TENS
Jade Harrison -- 53.72 / 400m (O)
Aaron Howell -- 43.19m (141-8) / Javelin Throw
Ellie Leonard -- 10:50.58 / Steeplechase
Katt Miner -- 1.76m (5-9.25) / High Jump
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)
20. Torisa Johnson / 12.04 (-0.1m/s)
23. Meghan Marias / 12.20 (+0.1m/s)
24. Lauren Morgan / 12.22 (+0.1m/s)
26. Akili Echols / 12.31 (+0.1m/s)
200 Meters (Prelims) [Friday]
Final to be contested Sunday
9. Jade Harrison / 23.74q (+0.2m/s)
31. Meghan Marias / 25.38 (+0.2m/s)
400 Meters (Prelims)
12. Jade Harrison / 53.72
26. Julia Hall / 57.16
800 Meters (Prelims)
Final to be contested Sunday
1. Jamie Morrissey / 2:05.30Q
12. Jaimie Phelan / 2:09.25
18. Carola Jansohn / 2:11.41
20. Mallory Barrett / 2:12.37
1,500 Meters (Prelims) [Friday]
Final to be contested Sunday
2. Jamie Morrissey / 4:19.96Q
6. Hannah Meier / 4:22.56Q
9. Haley Meier / 4:24.06Q
15. Alice Hill / 4:26.66
5,000 Meters
Final to be contested Sunday; no prelims
10,000 Meters (Final) [Friday]
1. Erin Finn / 32:45.51
10. Sophie Linn / 35:22.43
7. Madeline Trevisan / 35:02.22
12. Gina Sereno / 35:33.65
110-Meter Hurdles (Prelims)
Prelims to be contested Saturday
Final to be contested Sunday
400-Meter Hurdles (Prelims) [Friday]
11. Chloe Foster / 59.72
29. Jenna Reid / 65.99
3,000-Meter Steeplechase (Final)
1. Claire Borchers / 9:58.36
3. Sarah Zieve / 10:14.86
15. Ellie Leonard / 10:50.58
4x100 Relay
Final to be contested Sunday; no prelims
4x400 Relay
Final to be contested Sunday; no prelims
High Jump (Final)
8. Katt Miner / 1.76m (5-9.25)
Pole Vault (Final) [Friday]
14. Sarah Uhlian / 3.82m (12-6.25)
Hammer Throw (Final) [Friday]
8. Courtney Jacobsen / 59.50m (195-2)
Heptathlon (Day 2 of 2)
4. Aaron Howell / 5,527 points
100 meter hurdles - 14.07 (+0.8m/s) / 968 points [Friday]
High Jump - 1.75m (5-8.75) / 916 points [Friday]
Shot Put - 12.79m (41-11.5) / 713 points [Friday]
200 meter dash - 26.28 (-1.1m/s) / 773 points [Friday]
Long Jump - 5.37m (17-7.5) (-0.1m/s) / 663 points
Javelin - 43.19m (141-8) / 729 points
800 meter run - 2:24.38 / 765 points
Players Mentioned
