Michigan
Big Ten Indoor Championships
Distance Medley Relay Victorious on Strong Day One for Wolverines at Big Tens
2/25/2022 8:27:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
Site: Geneva, Ohio (SPIRE Institute)
Event: Big Ten Indoor Championships (Day 1 of 2)
U-M Result: 2nd place of 13 teams (33 points) after Day 1
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 26 -- at Big Ten Indoor Championships - Day 2 (Geneva, Ohio), 1 p.m.
• Complete Results (PDF)
GENEVA, Ohio -- With a win in the distance medley relay, a silver medal in the field and scoring performances in five different events, the University of Michigan women's track and field team set the tone Friday (Feb. 25) on the first day of the Big Ten Indoor Championships at the SPIRE Institute.
The quartet of Alice Hill, Ziyah Holman, Aurora Rynda and Samantha Tran combined to win Michigan's 16th distance medley relay title in program history, and they were joined on the medals podium by silver-medal long jumper Ameia Wilson after her historic performance.
With 10 points from the relay and eight more from Wilson forming a strong foundation, the Wolverines racked up 33 points on the first day of competition, one point behind leader Penn State.
The duo of Theresa Mayanja and Clare McNamara posted seven combined points with fifth- and sixth-place finishes in the pentathlon, and Kayla Windemuller and Brooke Tjerrild scored four points each in fifth-place results in the 3,000 meters and pole vault, respectively.
In the relay, Hill brought the Wolverines through the 1,200-meter leg near the front of the pack, and Holman broke the race wide open with a 53-second split on the 400-meter leg. Rynda built on the lead with a 2:04.6 carry over 800 meters, and Tran held off a hard-charging Olivia Howell of Illinois by less than a second for the win in 11:02.72. Tran's split was 4:40.5 for 1,600 meters.
Rynda, Holman and Tran all also qualified through to Saturday's final in their respective individual events as top seeds.
Two-time 600-meter champion Rynda put herself in position to reclaim the title she last won in 2020 in her most recent appearance at the championships, as she clocked a comfortable 1:28.81 to post the fastest qualifying time of the day.
Holman took the first step toward defending her 2021 Big Ten indoor title at 400 meters as she posted the fastest time of the day at 53.62. A win on Saturday would keep intact her career unbeaten streak in individual conference finals, as she swept both the indoor and outdoor crowns a year ago.
Tran also will enter Saturday as a top prelims performer as she clocked a career-best 4:41.49 in the mile to claim the day's fastest time by just under a tenth of a second. She will be looking to replicate her breakthrough performance from the 2021 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, where she ran 4:14.35 -- equivalent to a 4:34.7 mile -- for fourth place.
Wilson came within centimeters of both school history and the conference title but still came away with her first conference medal on the strength of a career-best 6.31m (20-8.5) leap in the third round of the long jump.
The mark was just eight centimeters shy of winner Darby Thomas of Nebraska, and seven short of the school record of 6.38m (20-11.25) held by Erin Busbee since 2013. It was chief among a series that featured four six-meter jumps, and it put her in the top 25 nationally as of publication.
Both pentathletes posted career-best five-event totals as Mayanja amassed 3,662 and McNamara scored 3,491 points.
Mayanja was strongest in the 60-meter hurdles and shot put, in which she ran a season's best 8.61 and threw a career-best 12.31m (40-4.75). McNamara posted three PRs along the way, including 1.58m (5-2.25) in the high jump, 11.75m (38-6.5) in the shot put and 2:24.20 in the 800-meter finale.
At 3,000 meters, Windemuller pitched in four points of her own in a fifth-place finish. Her 9:14.26 clocking was a career-best performance by five seconds and marked her first time scoring at the Big Ten Indoor Championships as a Wolverine.
Though the Wolverine pole vaulters did not perform up to the lofty expectations they had built for themselves this season, Tjerrild scored the first points of the weekend for the squad with a fifth-place showing for four points. She cleared 4.12m (13-6.25) on her first attempt but could not make it over at 4.22m (13-10) to battle for a medal.
Mia Manson went out at 4.02m (13-2.25) for 10th, Cate Visscher cleared a career-best 3.87m (12-8.25) for 14th, and reigning conference champion Jessica Mercier was unable to make it over her opening bar at that same height. It marked the first time she did not score at a conference meet in her career.
The Wolverines also set themselves up well for more points on Saturday with a strong showing in the preliminary qualifying rounds beyond the relay members.
BreeAna Bates'' berth to the 60-meters final came right down to the wire, as her 7.47 from the opening heat held up to earn the fourth of five non-automatic qualifying berths to the final. The margin between Bates in eighth and teammate Wilson in 10th -- who missed the nine-woman final by just one spot -- was 0.02 as Wilson clocked 7.49. Bates just missed the 200-meter final later in the meet as she posted a career-best 24.12 to finish 11th.
Aasia Laurencin, who entered ranked No. 2 in the conference in the 60-meter hurdles, earned a chance to compete for the Big Ten title in her first appearance with an 8.39 performance in the prelims. Her qualifying time was seventh-fastest in the field.
The final day of the Big Ten Indoor Championships will begin for U-M at 1 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 26) with the triple jump.
Michigan Results by Event
Q / q = qualified for final
60-meter dash
Prelims
8. BreeAna Bates / 7.47Q
10. Ameia Wilson / 7.49
15. Hannah Waller / 7.55
22. Hanna Hearn / 7.68
200-meter dash
Prelims
11. BreeAna Bates / 24.12 [New PR]
29. Hanna Hearn / 25.36
400-meter dash
Prelims
1. Ziyah Holman / 53.62Q
14. Savannah Sutherland / 55.05
19. Chika Amene / 55.95 [New PR]
600-meter run
Prelims
1. Aurora Rynda / 1:28.81q
10. Lauren Fulcher / 1:32.57 [New PR]
800-meter run
Prelims
15. Lucy Petee / 2:09.24 [New PR]
16. Amber Gall / 2:09.45
24. Eva Jansohn / 2:11.98
Mile
Prelims
1. Samantha Tran / 4:41.49Q [New PR]
9. Gabby Swider / 4:45.51 [New PR]
11. Alice Hill / 4:46.36
19. Julia Vanitvelt / 4:52.18
25. Anne Forsyth / 4:54.70
3,000-meter run
Final
5. Kayla Windemuller / 9:14.26 [4 team pts] [New PR]
10. Ericka VanderLende / 9:20.04
60-meter hurdles
Prelims
7. Aasia Laurencin / 8.39q
26. Carlita Taylor / 8.75
Distance Medley Relay
Final
1. Alice Hill, Ziyah Holman, Aurora Rynda, Samantha Tran / 11:02.72
Pole Vault
Final
5. Brooke Tjerrild / 4.12m (13-6.25) [4 team pts]
10. Mia Manson / 4.02m (13-2.25)
14. Cate Visscher / 3.87m (12-8.25) [New PR]
-- Jessica Mercier / 0.00
Long Jump
Final
2. Ameia Wilson / 6.31m (20-8.5) [8 team pts] [New PR]
10. Hannah Waller / 5.84m (19-2)
Shot Put
Final
11. Amanda Schaare / 15.85m (52-0)
25. Corinne Jemison / 13.86m (45-5.75)
Pentathlon
Final
5. Theresa Mayanja / 3662 [4 team pts] [New PR]
6. Clare McNamara / 3491 [3 team pts] [New PR]
Theresa Mayanja
60-meter hurdles / 8.61 (993 pts) / Place: 3
High Jump / 1.61m (5-3.5) (747 pts) / Place: 4
Shot Put / 12.31m (40-4.75) (682 pts) [New PR] / Place: 2
Long Jump / 5.10m (16-8.75) (587 pts) / Place: 9
800-meter run / 2:33.19 (653 pts) / Place: 8
Clare McNamara
60-meter hurdles / 9.80 (750 pts) / Place: 10
High Jump / 1.58m (5-2.25) (712 pts) [New PR] / Place: 9
Shot Put / 11.75m (38-6.5) (645 pts) [New PR] / Place: 3
Long Jump / 5.21m (17-1) (617 pts) / Place: 8
800-meter run / 2:24.20 (767 pts) [New PR] / Place: 4
Players Mentioned
