Women's Track and Field Announces 2021-22 Incoming Class
8/31/2021 12:25:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan director of track and field / cross country Kevin Sullivan announced Tuesday (Aug. 31) the full contingent of 19 women who will be joining the Wolverines for the upcoming 2021-22 school year.
Among them are multiple NCAA Championships qualifiers, multiple women who enter with marks superior to existing Michigan records in their events, a World U20 Championships medalist and two women who ranked among the top five high schoolers nationally in their events in 2021.
Nikki Stephens (Florida) and Aasia Laurencin (Texas) join the Wolverines after NCAA Championships appearances at their respective previous schools, alongside fellow transfers Eleni Daughters (Davidson), Delaney Stersic (Siena Heights), Carlita Taylor (Columbia), and Brooke Tjerrild (Cal Poly).
Nike Outdoor Nationals champion Sarah Marvin, U20 bronze medalist Savannah Sutherland and double NSAF Meet of Champions winner Riley Ammenhauser headline a deep group of 2021 high school graduates that also includes BreeAna Bates, Mackenna Burkholder, Natalie Desarbo, Leah Doezema, Samantha Hastie, Kennedy Johnson, Catrin Koselka, Yasmine Mansi, Madylin McLean and Gabbie Michael.
Stephens joins the Wolverines as a graduate student after a Florida career that produced five All-America honors, and owns personal bests in the 400-meter hurdles, pentathlon, 400 meters and 600 meters that make her an immediate contender in the Big Ten.
With a 57.21 personal best in the 400-meter hurdles, Stephens is joined by Sutherland as one of two women joining the Wolverines who own personal bests superior to the existing school record of 57.44. Sutherland's 57.27 earned her a bronze medal at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi earlier this month.
Laurencin, who will join the Wolverines at mid-year, qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 100-meter hurdles as a first-year collegian. She finished 19th overall.
Though not an NCAA Championships qualifier, Tjerrild also owns a best of 4.27m (14 feet) in the pole vault that exceeds the Michigan record in that event.
Marvin and Ammenhauser come to Ann Arbor after particularly strong senior campaigns that will make them immediate contributors for the Wolverines. In a two-year pandemic stretch capped by the Nike Outdoor Nationals title, she rewrote the Michigan record book with 42 throws farther than 49 feet; only two Michigan high school girls had thrown 49 feet in state history, and only once each, prior to Marvin.
Ammenhauser swept the triple jump and long jump titles at the NSAF Meet of Champions early this spring, and capped the season with a pair of top-five finishes at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
More information about each of the newcomers can be found below. Personal best performances and additional information can be found by clicking through to each student-athlete's bio page.
Riley Ammenhauser | Jumps | Naperville, Ill. | Neuqa Valley HS
Swept the long jump and triple jump titles at the 2021 NSAF Meet of Champions ... Finished third in the long jump and fifth in the triple jump at The Outdoor Nationals 2021 ... Three-time IHSA 3A State Champion in the triple jump ... Winner of the 2019 Illinois Top Times Championships Class 3A triple jump
BreeAna Bates | Sprints | Dearborn, Mich. | Edsel Ford HS
Finished 17th in the championship section of the 100 meters at the 2019 New Balance Nationals Outdoors ... Runner-up over 100 meters at the 2021 MHSAA Division 1 finals and 10th at 200 meters ... Won the 2020 MITS Indoor State Finals at 60 meters
Mackenna Burkholder | Distance | Traverse City, Mich. | Traverse City Central HS
Finished 13th in the 300-meter hurdles at the 2021 MHSAA Division 1 State Finals ... Finished 2021 ranked No. 16 in the 300-meter hurdles among Michigan high school girls
Eleni Daughters | Distance | Pasadena, Calif. | La Salle HS | Davidson
Competed in three indoor and three outdoor seasons for Davidson ... Won the 2020 Atlantic-10 Indoor Championships 1,000-meter title ... Four-time Atlantic-10 Championships scorer at 800 meters
Natalie Desarbo | Distance | Bethesda, Md. | Holton-Arms HS
Finished runner-up at the 2019 Maryland Private School State Championships in cross country
Leah Doezema | Throws | Traverse City, Mich. | Traverse City Central HS
Won the discus title at the 2021 MHSAA Division 1 finals, and finished third in the shot put ... Ranked No. 3 among Michigan high school discus throwers and No. 6 among shot putters for the 2021 outdoor season
Samantha Hastie | Distance | Ann Arbor, Mich. | Ann Arbor Huron HS
Finished fourth at the 2021 MHSAA Division 1 State Finals at 800 meters and sixth at 1,600 meters, to go along with a runner-up finish in the 4x400 relay ... Among Michigan high school girls, ranked No. 7 over 800 meters during the 2021 outdoor season and No. 11 over 1,600 meters
Kennedy Johnson | Sprints/Hurdles | Detroit, Mich. | Cass Tech HS
Finished 12th in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2021 AAU Junior Olympic Games ... Finished 10th in the 300-meter hurdles at the 2021 MHSAA Division 1 State Finals to go along with a 13th-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles
Catrin Koselka | Distance | Ann Arbor, Mich. | Ann Arbor Skyline HS
Ran a leg of the seventh-place 4x800 relay at the 2019 MHSAA Division 1 State Finals ... Ran a leg of the 19th-place 4x800 relay at the 2019 New Balance Nationals Outdoors
Aasia Laurencin | Sprints/Hurdles | Southfield, Mich. | Oak Park HS | Texas
Competed in one indoor and one outdoor campaign for the Longhorns, having most recently appeared in the 2021 outdoor campaign ... Finished 19th in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships ... Finished seventh in the 2021 Big 12 Outdoor Championships final in the 100-meter hurdles ... Named the 2020 Gatorade Michigan Track and Field Player of the Year ... 12-time AAU All-American ... a seven-time New Balance All-American ... also a three-time state champion in the 60m hurdles
Yasmine Mansi | Distance | Northville, Mich. | Northville HS
Finished 12th at 800 meters at the 2021 MHSAA Division 1 finals ... Sixth-place finisher in the 1,600 meters at the 2019 MHSAA Division 1 State Finals ... Went on to finish 19th in the mile at the 2019 New Balance Nationals Outdoor ... Four-time qualifier for the MHSAA Division 1 State Finals ... Finished ninth overall in 2017 and 19th overall in 2019.
Sarah Marvin | Throws | Byron, Mich. | Byron HS
National champion in the shot put at The Outdoor Nationals 2021, to go along with an eighth-place finish in the discus ... Michigan high school record-holder in the shot put, as the only girl in state history to throw farther than 50 feet ... Swept the MHSAA Division 3 state titles in both the shot put and discus in 2019 and 2021 ... Ranked No. 14 in the world among U20 athletes in the shot put for the 2021 outdoor season
Madylin McLean | Distance | Traverse City, Mich. | Traverse City Central HS
Four-time MHSAA Division 1 State Finals competitor in cross country ... Finished 48th at the 2020 state finals and 45th at the 2019 edition of the meet
Gabbie Michael | Distance | Frankenmuth, Mich. | Frankenmuth HS
Three-time MHSAA Division 2 State Finals competitor in cross country ... Finished 19th at the 2019 state finals, 51st in 2018 and 81st in 2017
Nikki Stephens | Combined Events/Hurdles/Sprints | Seattle, Wash. | Issaquah HS | Florida
Competed in three indoor seasons and two outdoor seasons for the Gators, having most recently appeared in the 2020 indoor campaign ... First team All-American in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships ... First team All-American member of the 4x400 relay at the 2018 and 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships, and the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships ... All-American member of the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships that were canceled due to COVID-19
Delaney Stersic | Sprints | Adrian, Mich. | Madison HS | Siena Heights
Two-time NAIA All-American in the 4x400 relay with a third-place indoor finish in 2018 and an eighth-place outdoor finish that spring ... WHAC champion in the 400 meters at the 2019 edition of the meet
Savannah Sutherland | Sprints/Hurdles | Borden, Saskatchewan | James Bishop Mahoney HS
Bronze medalist in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2021 World U20 Championships ... No. 2 on the all-time Canadian list in the 400-meter hurdles ... Ranked No. 6 in the world among U20 athletes in the 400-meter hurdles for the 2021 outdoor season and No. 24 at 400 meters ... Finished the 2019 season as the 16th-fastest U18 woman in the world in the 100-meter hurdles ... Won the 2019 Canadian U18 Championships titles in both the 100-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles
Carlita Taylor | Sprints/Hurdles | Detroit, Mich. | Oak Park HS | Columbia
Competed in three indoor seasons and two outdoor seasons at Columbia ... Finished ninth in the 2019 Ivy League Outdoor Championships 100-meter hurdles, and 11th in 2018 ... Finished 12th at the 2021 and 2019 Ivy League Indoor Championships in the 60-meter hurdles, and placed 10th in 2018 ... Finished ninth in the 60-meter hurdles at the 2021 IC4A/ECAC Championships
Brooke Tjerrild | Pole Vault | Fresno, Calif. | Clovis North HS | Cal Poly
Three-time Big West outdoor pole vault champion in 2021, 2019 and 2018 ... Three-time NCAA West Preliminary Rounds qualifier in the pole vault, finishing 15th in 2021 -- just three spots shy of NCAA Championships qualification -- 22nd in 2019 and 13th in 2018, just one spot away from nationals ... Ranked No. 20 nationally in the pole vault for the 2021 outdoor season at 4.27m (14 feet) and No. 29 nationally indoors in 2020 at 4.20m (13 feet, 9.25 inches)
