Michigan
Big Ten Indoor Championships
Holman Breaks 400m Record on Day Two of Big Tens
2/26/2021 9:26:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
Site: Geneva, Ohio. (SPIRE Institute)
Event: Big Ten Indoor Championships (Day 2 of 3)
U-M Result: 3rd of 13 teams (28 points)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 27 -- at Big Ten Indoor Championships - Day 3 (Geneva, Ohio), 3:30 p.m.
• Complete Results (PDF)
GENEVA, Ohio -- First-year phenom Ziyah Holman did not disappoint in her collegiate postseason debut, breaking the second school record of her young career as the University of Michigan women's track and field team completed the second of three days at the Big Ten Indoor Championships on Friday (Feb. 26) at the SPIRE Institute.
Running in the preliminary rounds of the 400 meters, Holman blasted a lap-and-a-third around SPIRE's oversized 300-meter track in 52.55 to establish herself as the resounding favorite to win the event in Saturday's final and among the fastest young women in the history of the world.
Holman was joined in advancing from today's prelims to Saturday's final by milers Alice Hill and Jena Metwalli, and sprints teammate Hannah Waller in the 60 meters.
In addition to the potential for points tomorrow, the Wolverines put points on the board on Friday as Theresa Mayanja finished sixth in the heptathlon.
With Mayanja's points added to the 25 Michigan scored on Thursday, the Wolverine women now stand third overall with 28 points. Six of 18 events have been scored, with the remainder to be decided on Saturday (Feb. 27).
Just as Holman has done in each and every race this winter, she went out hard and never looked back, with time itself her only competition. Her performance not only earned her the top seed heading into Saturday's final, looking to become Michigan's first champion in this event, it was the fastest time in the field by more than a second-and-a-half.
Such was the significance of her performance that it registered on global all-time lists. According to the World Athletics database, Holman now ranks No. 23 in the history of the world among athletes in the under-20 age group for the indoor 400 meters.
She toppled another first-year collegian for the school record, as Jade Harrison was in her debut campaign in 2017 when she ran 52.84 on this same track at this same meet.
As of publication, the time ranks her within the top 16 nationally -- the threshold for qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships in March -- but much can change with another round of running left for her and other conference meets taking place around the nation this weekend.
Holman was doubling back on Friday from Thursday's runner-up distance medley relay team, a feat also undertaken by leadoff leg Hill in the mile. Entering as one of the favorites, Hill qualified through to Saturday's final as the prelim round's second-fastest runner in 4:45.76. She now has a chance to score in her third straight mile final.
She will be joined on the line for the second straight year by Metwalli, who snuck in with the last qualifying spot in 4:50.29. In her race, Metwalli charged hard in the final 100 meters to overtake Indiana's Maddie Dalton by less than a half-second -- which would ultimately prove to be the difference between making the final and not.
Rounding out the qualifiers was Waller in the 60-meter dash. She matched her best of 7.48 seconds to finish seventh overall in the prelims. She now has a chance to make a run at the U-M first-year record of 7.42 seconds set by Maria Brown in 1997.
Mayanja was the lone scorer on the day for Michigan as she posted a score of 3,593 points to take sixth in the five-event pentathlon competition. She bookended the day with career-best performances as she clocked 8.60 in the 60-meter hurdles and 2:22.85 in the 800 meters.
The final session of the Big Ten Indoor Championships begins Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Full Michigan Results by Event
Q = automatic qualifier to final; q = at-large qualifier to final
60-meter dash
Prelims
7. Hannah Waller / 7.48q [New PR]
19. Hanna Hearn / 7.65
19. Lauren Morgan / 7.65 [New PR]
21. Ameia Wilson / 7.67
200-meter dash (Thursday)
Prelims
13. Hannah Waller / 24.58 [New PR]
400-meter dash
Prelims
1. Ziyah Holman / 52.55Q [U-M Record]
800 meter run
Prelims
22. Lauren Fulcher / 2:14.18 [New PR]
23. Julia Sullivan / 2:14.80
Mile
Prelims
2. Alice Hill / 4:45.76Q
9. Jena Metwalli / 4:50.29q
3,000-meter run (Thursday)
Final
2. Ericka VanderLende / 9:12.45 [New PR]
4. Kathryn House / 9:21.31 [New PR]
7. Samantha Tran / 9:25.08 [New PR]
10. Kayla Windemuller / 9:28.01 [New PR]
60-meter hurdles (Thursday)
Prelims
19. Paige Chapman / 8.89
Distance Medley Relay (Thursday)
Final
2. Alice Hill, Ziyah Holman, Lauren Fulcher, Katelynne Hart / 11:10.12
Long Jump (Thursday)
Final
9. Ameia Wilson / 5.77m (18-11.25) [New PR]
Triple Jump
Final
16. Hannah Waller / 11.08m (36-4.25) [New PR]
Weight Throw (Thursday)
Final
7. Courtney Jacobsen / 19.01m (62-4.5)
21. Erin Connor / 15.88m (52-1.25)
Pentathlon
Final
6. Theresa Mayanja / 3,593 points
60 meter hurdles / 8.60 (995 pts) [New PR]
High Jump / 1.55m (5-1) (678 pts)
Shot Put / 11.03m (36-2.25) (597 pts)
Long Jump / 4.92m (16-1.75) (538 pts)
800 meter run / 2:22.85 ( pts) [New PR]
Players Mentioned
