Michigan
Michigan State, Central Michigan
Okenwa Leads Michigan to First Outdoor Team Victory
4/14/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's track and field was victorious in its first home outdoor meet of the season today (Saturday, April 14) in the Michigan Triangular at Ferry Field. The Wolverines won 11 of the 19 events on the day, including both relays. Junior Ike Okenwa (San Diego, Calif./Morse HS) was part of three of those victories as he won the 100- and 200-meter dashes and was the second leg of the 400-meter relay team.
Michigan took the top two spots in the 400-meter dash as senior Ravi Smith (Southfield, Mich./Lathrup HS) and sophomore Tony Wishart (Yellow Springs, Ohio/Bellview HS) came in first and second, respectively. Freshman Anthony Beal (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington HS) placed second to Okenwa in the 200 as well.
In the middle-distance events, the Wolverines continued their dominance. Junior Kevin Rogan (Grass Lake, Mich./Grass Lake) and sophomore Phil Stead (Dearborn, Mich./Divine Child HS) took first and third, respectively, in the 800-meter run. The duo of freshman Mason Ward (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain HS) and senior Steve Lawrence (Consecon, Ontario/East Northumberland HS) took the top two spots in the 1,500, respectively. In addition, Michigan claimed first and second again in the 3,000 as freshman Brian Turner (Omaha, Neb./Millard North HS) and junior Mike Wisniewski (Temperance, Mich./Bedford HS) came across the finish line in that order.
Michigan had another one-two finish in the 400-meter hurdles as senior co-captain Josh Sellers (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee HS) and redshirt freshman Andrew Ochs (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) claimed the top two spots, respectively.
In only his second appearance in the event, redshirt freshman Ryan Hesselink (Freeport, Mich./Thornapple-Kellogg HS) placed runner-up in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The field events were highlighted by another one-two finish, in the triple jump. Senior Oded Padan (Tel Aviv, Israel/Alliance HS) and freshman Terrence Walcott (St. Albans, N.Y./Science Skills HS) leaped to the two farthest marks, respectively. Padan followed that with a second place in the long jump.
The other first-place finish in the field was from senior co-captain Andy Derr (Lititz, Pa./Warwick HS), who won his first javelin competition of the 2001 outdoor season, with sophomore Ryan Stevenson (Harrison, Ohio/St. Xavier HS) taking third. Junior Robert Arnold (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty HS) had a personal best in the high jump (6-9 3/4) for a runner-up in the event. In the pole vault, senior Charles DeWildt (Wyoming, Mich./Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) produced a second-place finish for the Maize and Blue.
The Wolverines will travel to the Mt. SAC Relays next weekend (April 20-22) in Walnut, Calif.
Contact: Steve Grialou (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
