Michigan
NCAA East Preliminaries
East Prelims Set to Kick Off NCAA Postseason
5/21/2019 12:49:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
» The University of Michigan men's track and field team takes the first steps toward qualifying for nationals with the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds on Thursday through Saturday (May 23-25) in Jacksonville, Florida.
» Among those looking to earn the 12 national championships berths in each event are All-Americans Joe Ellis, Andrew Liskowitz and Taylor McLaughlin.
THIS WEEK
Thu-Sat., May 23-25 -- NCAA East Preliminary Rounds (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Meet Central
Thursday, May 23 -- Day 1, noon
TV: FloTrack Pro | Live Results | Live Video
Friday, May 24 -- Day 2, 4 p.m.
TV: FloTrack Pro | Live Results | Live Video
Saturday, May 25 -- Day 3, 2:45 p.m.
TV: FloTrack Pro | Live Results | Live Video
• Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- NCAA postseason competition gets underway this weekend as select members of the University of Michigan men's track and field team vie for national championship berths at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds on Thursday through Saturday (May 23-25) at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
Led by All-Americans Joe Ellis, Andrew Liskowitz and Taylor McLaughlin, the Wolverines have 13 individual entries and a relay team in the meet, all aiming to perform well enough against the NCAA East Region's best to earn their way to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, June 5-8 in Austin, Texas.
This weekend's NCAA East Prelims serve as the opening rounds of the NCAA Championships, as do the NCAA West Prelims being conducted simultaneously in Sacramento, California. From each of the two regions, the top 12 in each of the 21 NCAA Championship events will punch their tickets to Austin for nationals.
Michigan has entries in 11 of those 21 events, all of whom qualified for the East Prelims by virtue of being among the best 48 individuals who declared to compete in each event.
Action begins Thursday (May 23) at noon as Ellis and Manning Plater look to finish top-12 in the hammer throw starting at noon. Notably, competitors in the throws all will have only three attempts to post their best qualifying marks.
McLaughlin and Roland Amarteifio will run in the first round of the 400-meter hurdles at 5 p.m., followed by Ben Hill in the first round of the 1,500 meters at 6 p.m. Those three will be looking to advance to quarterfinals later in the weekend, which is when NCAA Championships berths will be earned.
Thursday concludes with the semifinals of the 10,000 meters at 9:40 p.m. as Devin Meyrer looks to advance to nationals.
Friday's (May 24) action gets underway at 4 p.m. with Plater's second competition of the weekend in the discus.
True freshman Job Mayhue goes in the first round of the 110-meter hurdles at 5 p.m. NCAA bids are at stake for the rest of the night as Amarteifio and/or McLaughlin, depending on Thursday's results, run in the 400-meter hurdles quarterfinals at 7:15 p.m., followed by Lewis Tate and Joost Plaetinck in the 3,000-meter steeplechase quarterfinals at 9 p.m.
Saturday (May 25) features the shot put with Liskowitz starting at 2:45 p.m. and the high jump with Max Wagner at 4 p.m. Action in the high jump will continue only until a clear top-12 has been established.
Depending on how qualifying rounds went the previous two days, action on the track could include Hill in the 1,500-meter quarterfinals at 6:45 p.m. and Mayhue in the 110-meter hurdles quarterfinals at 7:20 p.m.
The weekend closes out with the duo of cross country All-American Jack Aho and Isaac Harding in the 5,000-meter semifinals at 8:45 p.m. and the 4x400 relay quarterfinals at 9:45 p.m.
All three days of the meet will be streamed live on FloTrack's subscription service. Live results will be available from NCAA.com and Flash Results, and updates throughout the weekend on Michigan competitors can be found on Michigan track and field's official Twitter account, @umichtrack.
The full schedule of competitors can be found below, followed by notes on Michigan's top student-athletes this weekend.
When to Watch the Wolverines
| Thursday (May 23) | Event | Round | Time (ET) |
| Manning Plater | Hammer Throw | First Round* | ~12:50 PM |
| Joe Ellis | Hammer Throw | First Round* | ~1:40 PM |
| Roland Amarteifio | 400-meter hurdles | First Round | 5:00 PM |
| Taylor McLaughlin | 400-meter hurdles | First Round | 5:00 PM |
| Ben Hill | 1,500-meter run | First Round | 6:00 PM |
| Devin Meyrer | 10,000-meter run | Semifinal* | 9:40 PM |
| Friday (May 24) | Event | Round | Time (ET) |
| Manning Plater | Discus | First Round* | 4:00 PM |
| Job Mayhue | 110-meter hurdles | First Round | 5:00 PM |
| Roland Amarteifio | 400-meter hurdles | Quarterfinal* | 7:15 PM |
| Taylor McLaughlin | 400-meter hurdles | Quarterfinal* | 7:15 PM |
| Joost Plaetinck | Steeplechase | Quarterfinal* | 9:00 PM |
| Lewis Tate | Steeplechase | Quarterfinal* | 9:00 PM |
| Saturday (May 25) | Event | Round | Time (ET) |
| Andrew Liskowitz | Shot Put | First Round* | ~3:30 PM |
| Max Wagner | High Jump | First Round* | 4:00 PM |
| Ben Hill | 1,500-meter run | Quarterfinal* | 6:45 PM |
| Job Mayhue | 110-meter hurdles | Quarterfinal* | 7:20 PM |
| Jack Aho | 5,000-meter run | Semifinal* | 8:45 PM |
| Isaac Harding | 5,000-meter run | Semifinal* | 8:45 PM |
| Relay, 4x400 | 4x400 relay | Quarterfinal* | 9:45 PM |
* = NCAA Championships berths at stake
Italicized text denotes a round of competition for which Michigan student-athletes must first qualify for.
Wolverine Bites
• Liskowitz enters as the highest-ranked Wolverine at No. 4 in the region in the shot put. He is seeking his third straight trip to the NCAA Championships, having earned honorable mention status as a redshirt freshman in 2017 and second team All-America honors as a sophomore in 2018. He is also a two-time second team All-American in the indoor shot put and owns the Michigan indoor and outdoor school records.
• McLaughlin is ranked No. 5 in the East in the 400-meter hurdles, and is aiming for his fourth consecutive NCAA Championships appearance. The two-time Big Ten Champion -- who just finished runner-up two weekends ago to wrap up a Big Ten career that saw him score in all eight of his conference championship appearances -- is also a two-time fifth-place finisher at nationals.
• Ellis did not qualify for the NCAA Championships in 2018 despite entering as a favorite to repeat his first team All-America performance from 2017. The redshirt senior is seeded ninth in the deeply competitive East Region hammer throw and is coming off a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships.
• While those three are seeded favorably to advance to NCAAs among the 12 athletes that the East Region will send in each event, several others are seeded on the cusp of advancement. Cross country All-American Aho is the next-best seed on the Wolverine roster at No. 18 in the 5,000 meters. Amarteifio, fresh off a career-best weekend at the Big Ten Championships en route to a fourth-place finish in the 400H, is right behind him at No. 19.
• Also seeded top-25 are No. 21 Plater in the hammer throw, No. 22 Meyrer at 10,000 meters, the No. 23 4x400 relay team and No. 25 Hill at 1,500 meters.
Players Mentioned
