Michigan
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Rynda Reigns on Final Day of Big Tens
5/15/2022 8:14:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (University of Minnesota Track and Field Stadium)
Event: Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships (Day 3 of 3)
U-M Result: 7th of 13 teams (57 points)
Next U-M Event: Wed-Sat., May 25-28 -- at NCAA East Preliminaries (Bloomington, Ind.)
• Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Led by a dramatic comeback title defense for Aurora Rynda, the University of Michigan women's track and field team finished seventh overall on the final day at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships on Saturday (May 15) at the University of Minnesota Track and Field Stadium.
After losing her lead late, Rynda stormed back in the closing meters to defend her conference title at 800 meters, headlining a day that also featured a silver medal for Ziyah Holman at 400 meters and a career-best run for Aasia Laurencin in a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles.
The Wolverines also got scoring performances from Rynda and Holman in the fifth-place 4x400 relay, a sixth-place showing from triple jumper Riley Ammenhauser, and seventh-place finishes from Kayla Windemuller at 5,000 meters and the 4x100 relay team.
An additional eight points were taken off the board after apparent 1,500-meter silver medalist Sam Tran was later disqualified.
Altogether between Sunday's performances and those from the first two days of the meet, the Wolverines scored 57 points, just two shy of Iowa. Ohio State won the title with 185.5 points.
Rynda's victory was not as decisive as her 2021 title as she needed a late comeback and some crafty maneuvering on the homestretch to take it in 2:05.88 by .24 of a second.
Through 509 meters the reigning champ led the field, but lost her lead on the backstretch. She made the turn for home with 100 meters to go in a group of four women at the front, seemingly boxed in. She found an opening to her right with less than 50 meters to go and pushed to the front and regained the lead with less than 20 meters to go, where she remained as she raised her arms in celebration across the line.
In addition to the title defense and 10 crucial points for Michigan, Rynda also likely punched her ticket to the NCAA East Preliminaries later this month, reserved for the top 48 per event in the NCAA East Region. She had previously been outside the projected qualifying bubble with only this last chance remaining.
Holman came up just .03 of a second shy of defending her 400-meter title and extending her Big Ten 400 winning streak to four straight. In a battle that went all the way to the line, Holman clocked a season's best 51.75 but was just edged out by Ohio State's Bryannia Murphy.
Her run was still with a silver medal and eight big points for Michigan, and it was the second-fastest time in school history to her 51.41 record a year ago.
Both women returned later for the 4x400 relay with Savannah Sutherland and Chika Amene, clocking 3:38.22 for a fifth-place finish that was later upgraded to a fourth-place result after a disqualification of Purdue.
Laurencin finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with an all-conditions career-best 13.12 (+2.4 meters per second [m/s] wind reading), making her the fastest woman in school history not named "Ofili".
The run was worth five team points for Michigan, and built on a debut season at Michigan that also includes a Big Ten indoor silver medal.
Ammenhauser unfurled one of the longest triple jump marks in school history, riding an aiding wind to a 12.92m (42-4.75, +3.2m/s) leap that held up for sixth place and three team points. All four of her measured jumps went farther than 41 feet in tricky wind conditions, continuing a trend of consistency she has demonstrated all spring.
After battling to a steeplechase silver medal less than 24 hours earlier, Windemuller returned to run 16:29.87 for two more points for the Michigan team effort. She scored 10 points in total for the Wolverines.
The track session began with a seventh-place showing in the 4x100 relay, as the quartet of Ameia Wilson, Hanna Hearn, Hannah Waller and BreeAna Bates crossed in 45.28 for two points.
Michigan came agonizingly close to adding two more points, as school record shot putter Corinne Jemison finished just outside the eight scoring positions in ninth place. Her best of 16.27m (53-4.5) just missed eighth place by a single centimeter in a very deep competition.
Eight points were taken off the board as Tran was disqualified after a silver-medal run at 1,500 meters. She made a late move to break free of a big pack on the final turn, but created the necessary space by making too much contact with and pushing competitors.
Select members of the squad will continue their seasons in two weekends' time at the NCAA East Preliminaries at Indiana on May 25-28. Qualifiers will be announced this week.
Full Michigan results from the weekend to this point can be found below.
Michigan Results
Q/q = qualified for the next round
100 meter dash
Prelims
16. BreeAna Bates / 11.71 (+1.8m/s]
24. Hanna Hearn / 11.99 (+1.9m/s]
200 meter dash
Prelims
10. BreeAna Bates / 24.06 (+1.0m/s]
18. Chika Amene / 24.47 (+0.2m/s]
400 meter dash
Final
2. Ziyah Holman / 51.75
Prelims
1. Ziyah Holman / 52.61Q
800 meter run
Final
1. Aurora Rynda / 2:05.88
Prelims
6. Aurora Rynda / 2:08.62q
13. Amber Gall / 2:10.95
1500 meter run
Final
10. Julia Vanitvelt / 4:28.03
--. Sam Tran / DQ
Prelims
8. Julia Vanitvelt / 4:23.44Q [New PR]
11. Samantha Hastie / 4:27.54
15. Sam Tran / 4:30.38Q
16. Gabby Swider / 4:30.43
26. Eva Jansohn / 4:35.16
Steeplechase
Final
2. Kayla Windemuller / 10:02.49
5. Alice Hill / 10:18.50
5000 meter run
Final
7. Kayla Windemuller / 16:29.87
22. Julia Vanitvelt / 17:19.29
--. Sam Tran / DNF
100 meter hurdles
Final
4. Aasia Laurencin / 13.12 (+2.4m/s] [New PR]
Prelims
4. Aasia Laurencin / 13.47q (+2.8m/s]
17. Carlita Taylor / 13.93 (+2.9m/s] [New PR]
400 meter hurdles
Prelims
10. Savannah Sutherland / 58.99
15. Lauren Fulcher / 60.75
4x100 relay
Final
7. Ameia Wilson, Hanna Hearn, Hannah Waller, BreeAna Bates / 45.28
4x400 relay
Final
4. Chika Amene, Ziyah Holman, Aurora Rynda, Savannah Sutherland / 3:38.22
Pole Vault
Final
9. Jessica Mercier / 4.08m (13-4.75)
11. Mia Manson / 3.98m (13-0.75)
14. Brooke Tjerrild / 3.98m (13-0.75)
15. Cate Visscher / 3.83m (12-6.75)
Long Jump
Final
4. Ameia Wilson / 6.08m (19-11.25) [+2.4m/s]
14. Hannah Waller / 5.69m (18-8) [+0.9m/s]
Triple Jump
Final
6. Riley Ammenhauser / 12.92m (42-4.75) [+3.2m/s] [New PR]
Shot Put
Final
9. Corinne Jemison / 16.27m (53-4.5)
17. Amanda Schaare / 14.80m (48-6.75)
Discus
Final
7. Corinne Jemison / 53.09m (174-2) [New PR] (Two points)
11. Amanda Schaare / 49.02m (160-10)
Heptathlon
Final
7. Theresa Mayanja / 4,882 points (Two points)
100 meter hurdles / 14.04 [+1.2m/s] (973 pts) / Place: 4
High Jump / 1.59m (5-2.5) (724 pts) / Place: 10
Shot Put / 12.07m (39-7.25) (666 pts) / Place: 4
200 meter dash / 25.89 [+1.2m/s] (807 pts) / Place: 8
Long Jump / 4.93m (16-2) [+3.2m/s] (540 pts) / Place: 11
Javelin / 32.76m (107-6) (529 pts) / Place: 5
800 meter run / 2:34.09 (643 pts) / Place: 8
8. Clare McNamara / 4,826 points (One point)
100 meter hurdles / 16.60 [+0.1m/s] (642 pts) / Place: 11
High Jump / 1.62m (5-3.75) (759 pts) [New PR] / Place: 8
Shot Put / 12.67m (41-6.75) (706 pts) [New PR] / Place: 2
200 meter dash / 26.52 [+1.3m/s] (752 pts) [New PR] / Place: 11
Long Jump / 5.29m (17-4.25) [+3.0m/s] (640 pts) / Place: 7
Javelin / 33.74m (110-8) (548 pts) / Place: 4
800 meter run / 2:23.29 (779 pts) / Place: 4
Players Mentioned
