Michigan
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
VanderLende, Saenz Lead Way for Third-Place Wolverines on First Day of B1G Championships
5/12/2023 11:55:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Billy Hayes Track & Field Complex)
Event: 2023 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships (Day 1 of 3)
U-M Result: T3rd of 13 teams (16 points) after Day 1
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 13 -- at Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships - Day Two (Bloomington, Ind.), 11:30 a.m.
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Ericka VanderLende and Samantha Saenz of the University of Michigan women's track and field team finished second and third, respectively, in the 10,000 meters to highlight the first day of the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Friday (May 12) at the Billy Hayes Track and Field Complex on the campus of Indiana.
In addition to the distance duo's performance, five Wolverines advanced to event finals and an additional two saw top-three finishes. Michigan is tied for third place with Ohio State with 16 points. Nebraska (46 points) leads the team standings.
In the 10,000 meters, VanderLende finished second in 34:44.64 and Saenz finished third in 34:49.52. The pair traded the lead for the first 9,000 meters of the race, but with 1,000 meters to go, Ohio State's Addie Engel picked up the pace, took the lead and held off both Wolverines to win. Saenz's finish was a marked improvement over her 20-place finished at last year's championships.
In the 1,500-meter preliminaries, Sam Tran led the race wire-to-wire, dominating the second heat to finish in 4:17.70 -- the top time of the day to push her to Sunday's (May 14) final. She will be joined in the final by Anna Juul, who finished first in the third heat and fourth overall with a time of 4:18.49. Cassie Kearney and Katelynn Hart competed in the second heat along with Tran. Kearney (career-best 4:23.73) finished seventh in the heat and 17th overall, while Hart finished 30th overall in 4:36.64.
Two more Wolverines advanced in the 400-meter hurdles, with Savannah Sutherland and Nikki Stephens finishing first and fourth, respectively, in the event trial. Sutherland, who holds the second-fastest mark in the NCAA this season, won her heat and the group with a time of 56.51 seconds. Stephens claimed the fourth-place spot after putting on a strong race with a season-best time of 57.48. Both times were Michigan program top-10 marks and both advanced to Sunday's event final.
Ziyah Holman qualified for the event final of the 200-meter dash, finishing first in the third heat in 23.46 and sixth overall. She now holds the top three 200-meter marks in Michigan program history. Trinity Henderson made her outdoor Big Ten Championship debut in the same event, finishing 22nd in a career-best 24.53.
In her first outdoor Big Ten Championship, Emma Yungeberg took seventh in the javelin, scoring two points for Michigan. Her best throw of 47.11 meters (154 feet, 6 inches) came on her fifth throw to pick up her fourth program top-10 mark this season.
Theresa Mayanja closed day one of the heptathlon in fourth place with a 3,271 points. Her highest finish came in a second-place showing in the shot pot, where she picked up 717 points. Her best throw of 12.85 meters (42 feet, 2 inches) was a career-best, accomplished on her first throw. Mayanja's next best finish was in the 100-meter hurdles, where she ran a time of 14.15, taking fifth to grab 957 points towards her total score. She also finished sixth in the high jump (1.65m; 5 feet, five inches) to collect 795 points and 10th in the 200 meters (25.94, 802 points). Mayanja will compete in the remaining three events -- the long jmp, the javelin and 800 meter run -- on Saturday (May 13).
Day two of the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships continue with day two on Saturday, beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the Billy Hayes Track and Field Complex with Mayanja opening competition for the Wolverines in the heptathlon long jump at 12:15 p.m.
Players Mentioned
