Michigan
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Brady Earns Silver on Opening Day of Big Ten Outdoor Championships
5/14/2021 10:55:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
Site: Champaign, Ill. (Demirjian Park)
Event: Big Ten Outdoor Championships (Day 1 of 3)
U-M Result: T6th of 13 teams (9 points)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 15 -- Big Ten Outdoor Championships - Day Two (Champaign, Ill.), 10:30 a.m. CDT
• Complete Results (PDF)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team opened its pursuit of the team title at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships on Friday (May 14) at Illinois' Demirjian Park, including a silver medal from Tom Brady, multiple qualifiers into Sunday's finals and a torrid start in the decathlon.
The Wolverines capitalized on their lone track final of the day -- the 10,000 meters -- as Brady was a narrow runner-up and Devin Meyrer got the final scoring spot in eighth. Between the two, the Wolverines racked up nine points; eight from Brady and one from Meyrer.
Brady lost out in a footrace to the line to Indiana's Ben Veatch by just over a second, 29:09.13 to Brady's 29:10.41. Brady, in turn, beat Iowa's Daniel Soto by .24 seconds and Wisconsin's Seth Hirsch and Curtis Eckstein by just over a second. That difference of 1.12 seconds between second and fifth worked out to four team points -- which could be crucial as the Wolverines pursue the team title.
Meyrer hung on for eighth in 29:22.78 to give Michigan one more point toward the team effort. Both Brady and Meyrer were part of the lead group of eight that held firm through the first 9,000 meters, which was whittled down to six by the time the bell rang for the final lap with Brady in the lead. Each of the top six finishers closed the final trip around the track in less than 60 seconds, including Brady at 58.54, but he could not match Veatch's 56.58 kick.
Michigan will have three more opportunities in track and field event finals on Saturday (May 15) in the high jump, long jump and 3,000-meter steeplechase, in addition to the final day of the decathlon.
Preliminary Rounds
In addition to scoring points in the present, the Wolverines set themselves up well for more potential points in Sunday's finals with their performances in Friday's preliminary rounds. Michigan advanced three runners onto the finals in their respective events, including two at 1,500 meters.
Nick Foster and Tom Dodd automatically advanced to Sunday's (May 16) 1,500-meter final with wins in their respective heats on the strength of quick closes. Foster clocked 3:42.94 in the first heat to secure his berth with what ended up being the third-fastest time of the day, while Dodd took the third and final heat in 3:44.65 with the No. 10 time after running from the front for much of the race.
Michigan nearly had a third qualifier, as Oli Raimond missed qualifying for the final by .46 seconds in 3:45.75. Raimond was fifth-fastest in a six-man race for the heat's three automatic berths to the final, with the group separated by only a 1.5 seconds.
While it will be the first outdoor Big Ten final for Foster and Dodd, Sunday will mark the third-straight edition of the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in which Roland Amarteifio will compete in the 400-meter hurdles final after a season's best performance on Friday.
The Ghanaian Olympic hopeful ran 50.97 seconds for the third-fastest time in the prelims, after entering the meet seeded eighth overall. He finished fourth and fifth in the 2019 and 2018 editions of the meet, and will look to improve on that in his final appearance.
Michigan will have nine more opportunities to advance men to Sunday's finals in the 400 meters, 100 meters, 110-meter hurdles and 800 meters.
Decathlon
It was a career best first day of action in the decathlon as Ayden Owens, Heath Baldwin and Mason Mahacek combined for 12 personal bests in the first five events. Owens sits in second place with 4,318 points, followed by Baldwin in fifth at 3,935 points and Mahacek in sixth at 3,931 with new personal records in all five events. Though currently in second, Owens is on pace for a score that could eclipse both the school record of 8.015 points and the meet record of 7,897 points.
Owens began the day in historic fashion, blazing through 100 meters in 10.40 seconds (+1.5m/s) for a cool 999 points in not just a personal best by 0.16 seconds but also one of the fastest runs in collegiate decathlon history. Per decathlon guru Frank Zarnowski's pre-2019 NCAA Championships notes, the fastest a collegian decathlete has ever run that distance is 10.34 (+2.6m/s).
Mahacek and Baldwin also dashed to personal bests in a separate section, going 11.03 (+1.5m/s) and 11.24 seconds (+1.5m/s), respectively.
The crew kept the momentum going in the long jump, with Owens leaping to a season's best 7.47m (24 feet, 6 inches) (+1.4m/s) on his final attempt and both Baldwin and Mahacek achieving new personal bests at 6.93m (22-8.75) (+1.6m/s) and 6.90m (22-7.75), respectively. In a grueling 10-event decathlon competition where every fraction of a second and centimeter matters, Owens added 87 points in comparison to his opening 7.11m (23-4) leap.
Owens continued to excel in the shot put with an outdoor career-best 14.41m (47-3.25) for 753 points. Baldwin posted a solid 13.29m (43-7.25) for 685 points and Mahacek heaved a career-best 11.58m (38-0) for 581.
The momentum slowed for Owens in the high jump, where he mustered only a 1.85m (6-0.75) clearance for 633 points, nearly 10 centimeters shy of his career best. Baldwin and Mahacek, meanwhile, were in career-best form as the former tied his personal record at 2.09m (6-10.25) for 887 points and the latter set a new best at 2.06m (6-9) for 859 points. Owens dropped to second overall after the event, while both Baldwin and Mahacek moved up to fourth and seventh, respectively.
Any loss of momentum for Owens was merely temporary, as he made clear with a resounding career-best 46.78 seconds in the day-one finale 400 meters. He again brushed up against collegiate decathlon history, coming within a half-second of former Oregon NCAA winner Ashton Eaton's record 46.28 from 2010. The time is also No. 10 in school history and No. 7 in the Big Ten this year.
As for Mahacek and Baldwin, the momentum never stopped. Mahacek clocked a career-best 49.31 seconds and Baldwin logged a new PR at 51.24.
Day two of the decathlon continues Saturday at 10:30 a.m. CT with the 110-meter hurdles, and will also include the discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters.
Full Michigan Results by Event
Q = automatic qualifier to final; q = at-large qualifier to final
200-meter dash
Prelims
20. Noah Stallworth / 21.42 (+1.3m/s) [New PR]
1,500-meter run
Prelims
3. Nick Foster / 3:42.94Q
10. Tom Dodd / 3:44.65Q
16. Oli Raimond / 3:45.75
10,000-meter run
Final
2. Tom Brady / 29:10.41 [8 team pts]
8. Devin Meyrer / 29:22.78 [1 team pt]
12. Jacob Lee / 29:55.17 [New PR]
15. Zach Stewart / 30:03.49
400-meter hurdles
Prelims
3. Roland Amarteifio / 50.97q
Pole Vault
Final
12. Henry Sheldon / 5.02m (16-5.75)
Decathlon
Day One - Through 5 of 10 Events
2. Ayden Owens / 4,318 points
100 meter dash / 10.40 (+1.5m/s) (999 pts) [New PR] / Place: 1
Long Jump / 7.47m (24-6) (+1.4m/s) (927 pts) / Place: 3
Shot Put / 14.41m (47-3.25) (753 pts) [New PR] / Place: 2
High Jump / 1.85m (6-0.75) (670 pts) / Place: 9
400 meter dash / 46.78 (969 pts) [New PR] / Place: 1
5. Heath Baldwin / 3,935 points
100 meter dash / 11.24 (+0.9m/s) (808 pts) [New PR] / Place: 11
Long Jump / 6.93m (22-8.75) (+1.6m/s) (797 pts) [New PR] / Place: 6
Shot Put / 13.29m (43-7.25) (685 pts) / Place: 6
High Jump / 2.09m (6-10.25) (887 pts) [New PR] / Place: 2
400 meter dash / 51.24 (758 pts) [New PR] / Place: 11
6. Mason Mahacek / 3,931 points
100 meter dash / 11.03 (+0.9m/s) (854 pts) [New PR] / Place: 5
Long Jump / 6.90m (22-7.75) (790 pts) [New PR] / Place: 8
Shot Put / 11.58m (38-0) (581 pts) [New PR] / Place: 15
High Jump / 2.06m (6-9) (859 pts) [New PR] / Place: 4
400 meter dash / 49.31 (847 pts) [New PR] / Place: 4
Players Mentioned
