Michigan
B1G Fighting Illini Relays
Select Wolverines Set to Compete at Illinois
4/22/2021 10:47:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
THIS WEEK
Fri-Sat., April 23-24 -- at B1G Fighting Illini Relays (Champaign, Ill.)
Friday, April 16 -- at B1G Fighting Illini Relays, 1:50 p.m. CDT
Live Results
Saturday, April 17 -- at B1G Fighting Illini Relays, 2:30 p.m. CDT
Live Results
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Select members of the University of Michigan men's track and field team will compete this Friday and Saturday (April 23-24) the B1G Fighting Illini Relays in Champaign, Ill., the site of next month's Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
A nine-man contingent led by All-American Tom Dodd and multiple-time Big Ten scorer Max Wagner will represent the Wolverines in the two-day competition at Illinois' newly opened Demirjian Park facility, with most of the roster home in Ann Arbor resting up ahead of next weekend's final big regular-season push.
A bulk of Michigan's action at the meet will take place Friday (April 23) starting at 1:50 p.m. CDT, with a projected finish time of 6 p.m. CDT. The Wolverines' abbreviated Saturday (April 24) schedule opens at 2:30 p.m. CDT and concludes around 4 p.m. CDT.
The multiple-time sub-four-minute miler Dodd will be looking to bounce back from an off day last weekend in the 1,500 meters for a time south of 3:40.00, running in the event Friday at 5:40 p.m. CDT along with teammates Cole Johnson, Thomas Shilgalis and Colton Yesney.
Wagner will high jump Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CDT, in search of the seven-foot mark that likely would be needed to advance him to the NCAA postseason for the second time in his career. Cassidy Henshaw also will be in pursuit of those high bars along with him.
Derrick Simmons is aiming to crack 1:50.00 over 800 meters for the first time when he lines up Friday at 4:05 p.m. CDT, and he is scheduled to join Johnson, Shilgalis and Yesney for a distance medley relay turn Saturday at 3:50 p.m. CDT.
Austin Remick will have a chance to join teammates Joost Plaetinck and Christian Hubaker -- both idle this weekend -- as sub-9:00.00 steeplechasers when he runs at 1:50 p.m. CDT on Friday to kick off the Wolverines' weekend.
Rounding out the crew in Champaign is the lone sprinter, Austin Lin, who will compete at 400 meters on Friday at 3:15 p.m. CDT.
Fans can follow along with the action by way of live results from Primetime Timing and updates will also be provided via the team's official social media accounts.
Notes and Outlook
• The Wolverines have been bolstered this outdoor season by the return of seniors from a year ago who had only 2021 eligibility for the outdoor season due to the cancellation of last year's spring campaign -- and they are making the most of their opportunity. Andrew Liskowitz ranks No. 13 nationally in the shot put, Max Wagner is tied for No. 55 in the high jump, and Roland Amarteifio is No. 67 in the 400-meter hurdles and ran a leg of the No. 57 4x400 relay.
• Liskowitz and John Meyer, who is ranked No. 21 nationally in the shot put, make Michigan one of just four schools (Southern California, Tennessee, North Dakota State) with multiple shot putters ranked top 25 nationally. Liskowitz was the 2020 indoor national leader before the championships were canceled and was a first-team All-American outdoors in 2019, while Meyer was a first team All-American indoors this past winter.
• The Wolverines' early-season success in the 3,000-meter steeplechase has held up as more and more athletes around the nation have competed, as the quartet of Joost Plaetinck, Christian Hubaker, Jacob Branch and Jack Spamer rank No. 2 in the USTFCCCA Event Squad Rankings for the event. Plaetinck ranks No. 23 nationally at 8:52.68, while Hubaker is No. 35 at 8:54.53.
• Michigan also is exceptionally strong in the 110-meter hurdles event, with the group of Josh Zeller, Job Mayhue, Roland Amarteifio and Heath Baldwin ranked No. 3 in the USTFCCCA Event Squad Rankings. Zeller ranks No. 18 nationally at 13.72, with Mayhue also top-50 at 14.00. Not included due to bad luck with illegal wind conditions: Ayden Owens, who has run wind-aided 14.03- and 14.23-sceond performances. Setting up a tremendous Big Ten Championships showdown, only Nebraska and Iowa are ranked ahead of the Wolverines.
• The Wolverines boast significant depth at 1,500 meters as well. Led by No. 31 Nick Foster at 3:41.45 and No. 59 Tom Dodd at 3:43.21, Michigan checked in at No. 11 in the Event Squad Rankings. Anthony Berry and Oli Raimond also are ranked top-100 nationally at 95 and 98, respectively.
• Owens was named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week on Wednesday (April 21) after posting a conference-leading 7,732-point effort in the decathlon to win the B1G Husker Invitational last weekend. He ranks No. 3 nationally, and is joined in the top 25 nationally by Heath Baldwin. In his first-ever decathlon, Baldwin scored 7,261 points and is on the verge of potentially making the NCAA Outdoor Championships as one of 24 qualifiers. He likely will need to bolster his score at the Big Ten Championships next month to secure a spot.
Up Next
Friday, April 30 -- at Billy Hayes Invitational (Bloomington, Ind.), TBA
Fri-Sat., April 30-May 1 -- at B1G Ohio State Invitational (Columbus, Ohio), TBA
Players Mentioned
