Michigan
NCAA East Preliminaries
Four Wolverines Qualify for NCAAs on Final Day at East Prelims
5/27/2022 10:12:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex)
Event: NCAA East Preliminary Rounds (Day 2 of 2)
U-M Result: No team scoring
Next U-M Event: Wednesday and Friday, June 8 and 10 -- at NCAA Outdoor Championships (Eugene, Ore.)
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Four individuals from the University of Michigan track and field team advanced to the national championships after posting qualifying performances Friday (May 27) on the final day of men's competition at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds at the University of Indiana.
Joshua Zeller (110-meter hurdles), Dubem Amene (400 meters), Miles Brown (800 meters) and Christian Hubaker (3,000-meter steeplechase) all clinched berths to the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 8 and 10 at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore.
It will mark a second-straight year at NCAA Outdoors for Zeller, Hubaker and Amene, and the first outdoor nationals for the first-year collegian Brown. Zeller, Amene and Brown all also competed for the Wolverines at the NCAA Indoor Championships this past winter.
Zeller was playing catch-up through the first three hurdles before pulling even with Jayden Smith of Davidson on the fourth of 10 hurdles. It was not until between the seventh and eighth hurdles that the Englishman started to create some separation from the rest of the field, and by the ninth barrier he was powering ahead to a full step advantage. No one was able to catch him as he strode over the final hurdle and charged to the finish line.
Running into a stiff 1.9m/s headwind in wet, rainy conditions, Zeller nonetheless managed the second-fastest time of his career. Adjusting for wind conditions, the performance may have been superior to his Big Ten record-setting run of 13.19 (+1.6m/s) at the conference meet two weekends ago.
He will get a chance to surpass both efforts in Eugene in less than two weeks, as well as seek a measure of redemption after crashing out in the semifinals in his debut NCAA Championships appearance in 2021.
He will be among the favorites for top spots at nationals, as only NCAA leader Trey Cunningham of Florida State was faster at 13.07.
While Zeller left no doubt in the closing stages of his qualifying run, Amene and Brown left their status in the air until the closing meters in their respective races.
Coming off the final curve onto the homestretch in the 400-meter quarterfinals, Amene was narrowly in fourth as a tightly packed field battled for three automatic berths to nationals in the last 100 meters.
He pulled into third with about 70 meters to go, and surged into second with less than 30 meters left before the finish line. Amene continued to power through the line as he crossed second in a significant career-best 45.51, comfortably ahead of what was a photo finish for the third-and-final automatic qualifying spot in the heat.
The performance -- a personal record by just over half a second -- was good for sixth overall in the field, just 0.02 of a second behind Big Ten champion Tyler Johnson of Ohio State and just 0.04 shy of the school record that has been held by Todd Steverson since 1985. It also moved him to No. 18 in Nigerian history.
After previously qualifying to the NCAA Indoor Championships individually at 400 meters and in the distance medley relay, as well as part of the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships-qualifying 4x400 relay team, this will be his first outdoor nationals appearance at 400 meters.
Brown appeared to be in even more dire straits as he rounded the bend in his 800-meter quarterfinal in sixth place, on the outside of a seven-man pack all chasing three automatic berths. He threw in a surge to move up to fifth with 70 meters to go, and simultaneously overtook two more runners to move into third with less than 50 to go.
He did not stop there, as he pushed into the lead a few steps later and created daylight between him and the rest of the field as he crossed in 1:48.73 for the heat win and the automatic berth.
Like Amene, this will be his third NCAA Championships berth this year, after making the indoor meet at 800 meters and in the distance medley relay.
Hubaker was the first Wolverine to clinch his trip to nationals, and the only one to do so without an automatic berth. He ran with the lead pack throughout in the second of three heats en route to a season's best 8:41.16.
He finished fifth in his heat, putting him in line for the second of three non-automatic qualifying berths. In order to advance and have a chance to match or improve upon his second-team All-America honors, he needed four or fewer men in the last heat to run slower than him. Only three did, securing his berth to Eugene.
In the 1,500-meter quarterfinals, Tom Dodd was denied a return trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, though both he and Nick Foster were in contention well into the final lap. After both men moved to the front of the pack with a lap to go, Foster was the third of a three-wide lead group at the bell and Dodd was just off his shoulder.
Dodd began to ever so slightly pull away with a group of four heading into the final turn with 200 meters to go, and held that position as he exited the curve onto the final homestretch. He was unable to hold his position and slid outside the top-five – the only guaranteed NCAA qualifiers in the heat – down to seventh in 3:42.47. He was also eliminated from qualifying at-large, as the previous heat was the faster of the two and produced the two time qualifiers.
Those who qualified will close out their 2022 collegiate seasons at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., on June 8 and 10.
Michigan Results
Q/q = qualified for the next round
400 meter dash
Quarterfinals
6. Dubem Amene / 45.51Q [New PR]
First Round
8. Dubem Amene / 46.11Q
800 meter run
Quarterfinals
9. Miles Brown / 1:48.73Q (NCAA Qualifier)
23. Cole Johnson / 1:51.96
First Round
12. Cole Johnson / 1:49.09Q
16. Miles Brown / 1:49.33Q
1500 meter run
Quarterfinals
17. Tom Dodd / 3:42.47
21. Nick Foster / 3:44.48
First Round
9. Tom Dodd / 3:45.06Q
11. Nick Foster / 3:45.47Q
Steeplechase
Quarterfinals
11. Christian Hubaker / 8:41.16q (NCAA Qualifier)
18. Austin Remick / 8:49.88
28. Joost Plaetinck / 9:01.29
10,000 meter run
Semifinals
30. Tom Brady / 30:12.63
110 meter hurdles
Quarterfinals
2. Joshua Zeller / 13.39Q [-1.9m/s] (NCAA Qualifier)
First Round
3. Joshua Zeller / 13.47Q [+1.2m/s]
32. Job Mayhue / 13.98 [+1.2m/s]
4x400 relay
Quarterfinals
17. Jacob Koerner, Miles Brown, Lawrence Gilliam, Dubem Amene / 3:09.48
High Jump
First Round
32. Cassidy Henshaw / 2.05m (6-8.75)
Pole Vault
First Round
21. Henry Sheldon / 5.04m (16-6.5)
Triple Jump
First Round
27. Bera Ajala / 15.32m (50-3.25) [+0.3m/s]
Players Mentioned
