Michigan
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Brady Finishes Top-Five to Headline Opening Day at Big Tens
5/13/2022 10:37:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (University of Minnesota Track and Field Stadium)
Event: Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships
U-M Result: 7th of 13 teams (four points)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 14 (Big Ten Championships Day Two)
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Distance runner Tom Brady posted a top-five finish to cap the University of Michigan men's track and field team's first day of competition at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships at Minnesota on Friday (May 13).
Brady put on a late surge to finish fifth in the day-one-finale 10,000-meter final at the University of Minnesota Outdoor Track and Field Stadium, crossing the line in 29:09.53 to earn four points for Michigan in the team standings.
The points came in Michigan's lone track final of the day, putting the Wolverines in seventh place overall. Several more scoring opportunities present themselves on Saturday, with a bulk of the scoring set to take place Sunday.
Brady hovered around in the middle of the lead pack throughout the first two-thirds of the race. When a breakaway group of three took control of the race, Brady hung in with a chase pack that at times had as many as seven men battling for five scoring spots.
Running in seventh with 800 meters to go, Brady made a move and came through at the bell in fourth place, though he would ultimately fall to fifth.
The time is nearly identical to the 29:10.41 performance a year ago that earned him a silver medal. It will also put him on the bubble of qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds, reserved for the top 48 individuals in each event in the NCAA East Region.
Friday's session also included qualifying rounds in other track events.
Running in the same qualifying heat of the 1,500 meters, 2021 finalists Nick Foster and Tom Dodd clinched return trips to Sunday's 2022 final with automatic berths by virtue of top-three finishes in their race. Top three proved to be a difficult task, as the top four finishers were all separated by only 0.28 of a second.
After trading turns at the front of the reasonably fast race – it was the fastest of the three qualifying heats – Foster and Dodd emerged off the final turn in a four-man pack battling for three guaranteed automatic berths. Foster was edged out by 0.006 of a second for the win in 3:45.05 but still finished second, and Dodd got the third spot by .08 of a second in 3:45.25.
The Wolverines nearly got a third qualifier for the 1,500-meter final in Will Landowne, who was beaten to the line for the third-and-final spot in his heat by 0.14 seconds in 3:52.32. His time was not fast enough to earn an at-large berth to the final.
After not finishing his only attempt at the decathlon earlier this year, returning scorer Mason Mahacek finds himself in strong position after the first five events of the 10-event, two-day competition. At 3,834 points, he is just nine points shy of fourth place and 66 behind former teammate Heath BaIdwin of Michigan State for third.
Mahacek got off to a quick start with a career-best 10.94 (+1.8 meters per second [m/s] wind), and followed with a solid 6.44m (21-1.5, +1.1m/s) mark in the long jump. He was within a foot of his career-best in the shot put with a 12.48m (40-11.5) mark and turned in a strong high jump at 2.00m (6-6.75). He closed out the day with a 49.51 clocking for 400 meters, the third-best in the field.
The second day at the Big Ten Championships gets underway Saturday at 10 a.m. CT as Mahacek resumes action in the decathlon. The first field event will be 2:30 p.m. with the shot put, and the track session is set to begin at 4:15 p.m.
Full Michigan results from the weekend can be found below.
Michigan Results by Event
Q/q = qualified for the next round
200 meter dash
Prelims
20. Jacob Koerner / 21.57 (+0.9m/s]
22. Ryan McCloskey / 21.70 (+1.6m/s]
1500 meter run
Prelims
3. Nick Foster / 3:45.05Q
4. Tom Dodd / 3:45.25Q
12. Anthony DeKraker / 4:38.62
17. Anthony Hancock / 3:51.93 [New PR]
21. Will Landowne / 3:52.32
10,000 meter run
Final
5. Tom Brady / 29:09.53 (5 team points)
11. Devin Meyrer / 29:42.98
17. Zach Stewart / 30:04.59
400 meter hurdles
Prelims
20. Gabe Piepergerdes / 54.66
Hammer Throw??
Final
21. Tony Sommers / 55.91m (183-5)
Decathlon
Through five of 10 events
5. Mason Mahacek / 3,834 points 100 meter dash / 10.94 [+1.8m/s] (874 pts) [New PR] / Place: 4
Long Jump / 6.44m (21-1.5) [+1.1m/s] (684 pts) / Place: 8
Shot Put / 12.48m (40-11.25) (636 pts) / Place: 6
High Jump / 2.00m (6-6.75) (803 pts) / Place: 2
400 meter dash / 49.51 (837 pts) / Place: 3
Players Mentioned
