Wolverine Women Ready for Big Ten Indoor Championships

Thursday, February 25

Geneva, Ohio

4:00 PM

Michigan

Big Ten Indoor Championships

Chika Amene (Michigan Photography)

Wolverine Women Ready for Big Ten Indoor Championships

2/22/2021 12:59:00 PM | Women's Track & Field

By: Kyle Terwillegar

THIS WEEK
Thu-Sat., Feb. 25-27 -- at Big Ten Indoor Championships (Geneva, Ohio)
Meet Central

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's track and field team has individual and team glory in its sights as it travels to Geneva, Ohio, for the Big Ten Indoor Championships this Thursday through Saturday (Feb. 25-27) at the SPIRE Institute.

The Wolverine women are expected to field numerous student-athletes who will challenge for individual and relay titles, giving Michigan a strong chance of pushing to near the top of the team standings. Michigan was fifth at the meet a year ago.

Entries are not yet finalized as of publication.

Spectators will not be allowed into the facility as a precautionary measure and to allow for more room for participants from separate teams to space themselves out within the building.

Fans will be able to follow along with Big Ten Network Plus live streams of the action on all three days. Regular updates will also be provided through Delta Timing's live results page and the official social media channels of Michigan track and field.

Meet Schedule

In order to mitigate the risks posed by the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic, the meet will be spread over three days instead of the traditional two. Each day will feature distinct men's sessions in the morning into the early afternoon, followed by a women's session late in the afternoon into the evening.

For the women, Thursday's opening session kicks off at 4 p.m. with action on the track and in the field. Finals will be held in the long jump and weight throw in the field and in the 3,000 meters and distance medley relay on the track.

Friday is the longest day for the Wolverine women, starting at 3:30 p.m. with the five-event pentathlon that will last until after 8 p.m. The triple jump will also be held as the day's lone field event final at 4 p.m., followed by preliminaries on the track starting at 4:40 p.m.

Saturday's finale kicks off at 4 p.m. both on the track and in the field. A bulk of the weekend's points in the team standings will be awarded in this session, as finals will take place in three field events and nine events on the track.

How the Big Ten Indoor Championships Work

Each of the teams in the conference will field student-athletes in the 17 events on the Big Ten Indoor Championships meet program. Student-athletes will compete against each other in each of those events, with points awarded to their respective teams based on how high they finish in the top eight of their event.

Event winners will get 10 points for their teams, with the runners-up receiving eight points in the 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring. The team that accumulates the most points from its student-athletes will be crowned the team champion.

Team Notes

• Led by head coaches James Henry and Jerry Clayton, the Wolverine women checked in at No. 29 nationally in the latest Track and Field Rating Index (TFRI) from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

• Michigan will look to defend its distance medley relay title from the 2020 edition of the championships. The Wolverine women have won the event in three of the past five seasons and all but three years since 2004.

• Of the 14 women who contributed points to last year's fifth-place finish, eight return on Michigan's active 2021 roster. Aurora Rynda is the two-time defending champion at 600 meters, and both Katt Miner (high jump) and Ericka VanderLende (5,000 meters) return as bronze medalists from a year ago. Also back are scorers Alice Hill (mile, distance medley relay), Kathryn House (3,000 meters), Amber Gall (800 meters) and Courtney Jacobsen (weight throw), as well as 2019 pole vault scorer Jessica Mercier.

• Ziyah Holman enters her first Big Ten Championships meet undefeated in her young collegiate career, most recently adding a Silverston Invitational-record and Big Ten-leading 400-meter victory to a resume that already includes the school record over 600 meters and the most viral video in Michigan Athletics history. She now ranks No. 2 in U-M indoor history at the 400 meters distance.

• The Wolverines women have always been bolstered at the conference meet by their depth in the distance events, and 2021 is no different. Ericka VanderLende blasted a 15:48.88 time for 5,000 meters that ranks No. 2 in school history and fifth nationally in 2021, and she is the leader of a 3,000-meter group that ranks ninth nationally in the USTFCCCA Event Squad Rankings. She is also part of the No. 7 mile squad led by All-American Alice Hill and newcomer Katelynne Hart.

• Michigan's pole vault squad, with not a single member beyond sophomore eligibility, is quickly becoming one of the deepest in the conference and the country. Jessica Mercier continued her career-best indoor season with a 4.09m (13-5) clearance at the Silverston Invitational on Friday (Feb. 19), while Mia Manson is establishing herself as one of the best first-year vaulters in program history with her 3.94m (12-11) mark on Friday. This was the second straight weekend the two both cleared at least 3.90m, making them the first Michigan teammates to ever accomplish that feat. They could be joined soon by Bree Bredeweg, who made it over 3.79m (12-5.25) at the Silverston. All three are ranked top-20 in the conference.

• Amanda Schaare broke through the 16-meter barrier in the shot put at the Silverston Invitational and could make a big jump up the U-M all-time list in the event this weekend. An additional 111 centimeters to her 16.08m (52-9) heave from the Silverston last week would catapult her from No. 4 to No. 2 on the all-time list, bypassing former school record-holder Sonya Payne -- the school's first Black woman to earn All-America honors -- and Allison Liske.

Wolverines in the Conference Rankings

Name	Event	Rank
Ziyah Holman	400m	1
Ziyah Holman	600m	1
Hill, Holman, Petee, Hart	Distance Medley Relay	1
Ericka VanderLende	5000m	2
Alice Hill	Mile	3
Jessica Mercier	Pole Vault	3
Ericka VanderLende	3000m	4
Katt Miner	High Jump	4
Katelynne Hart	3000m	5
Theresa Mayanja	Pentathlon	5
Hannah Waller	60m	6
Amanda Schaare	Shot Put	6
Katelynne Hart	Mile	7
Courtney Jacobsen	Weight Throw	7
Amene, Roberts, Lane, Holman	4x400 Relay	8
Mia Manson	Pole Vault	10
Kathryn House	3000m	11
Raquel Powers	5000m	12
Lucy Petee	800m	13
Samantha Tran	3000m	13
Kayla Windemuller	3000m	14
Kathryn House	Mile	16
Ericka VanderLende	Mile	17
Michaiah Thomas	60m Hurdles	17
Jada Wimberly	High Jump	17
Ameia Wilson	Long Jump	17
Erin Connor	Shot Put	17
Ameia Wilson	60m	18
Hannah Waller	200m	19
Bree Bredeweg	Pole Vault	19