Weekly Release #4

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Feb. 1 -- at adidas Boston Indoor Games (Roxbury, Mass.), 5 p.m.
Fri-Sat., Feb. 7-8 -- at Meyo Invitational (South Bend, Ind.), 7 p.m./1 p.m.

This Week
The University of Michigan men's track and field team has entered a four-man distance medley relay team to participate at the adidas Boston Indoor Games on Saturday (Feb. 1) at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, Mass. The meet will begin at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast live by ESPN2. Michigan will compete against Arkansas, Arizona, Boston College, Dartmouth, Kentucky, Providence College and Southern Methodist in the college distance medley relay, which is scheduled for a 5:45 p.m. start. adidas Boston Indoor Games on the Internet: www.globalathletics.com/adidasgames2003.

The DMR: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Relay
Michigan distance medley relay team would like to post a qualifying time for the NCAA Indoor Championships with its first DMR race of the season at the adidas Boston Indoor Games. A DMR race consists of four legs, each of differing lengths from 400 to 1,600 meters. Michigan's team is: Seth Waits (Grand Rapids, Ohio/Otsego HS) (400 meters), Andrew Ellerton (Windsor, Ontario/Confederation HS) (800 meters), Nathan Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) (1,200 meters) and Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) (1,600 meters). To automatically qualify for the NCAA meet the unit will have to post a time below the 9:38.25 "A" cut, however, a provisional time below 9.48.00 could also see the U-M squad through.

Last Time Around: Red Simmons Invitational
Michigan earned a total of five victories against competition from Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Michigan State and Ashland University in the Red Simmons Invitational on Saturday (Jan. 25) at the U-M Track Building. Freshman Nick Willis earned his second NCAA provisional time in just his second meet of the season with his win in the 3,000 meters. Sophomores Braylon Edwards (Detroit, Mich./Bishop Gallagher HS), DarNell Talbert (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel HS) and Seth Waits earned other individual wins for the Maize and Blue, while the Wolverines' 1,600-meter relay squad was also victorious.

Good Will Hunting
With collegiate track wins in two events for a total of two NCAA provisional times, freshman Nick Willis has made the most of his first two meets in the Maize and Blue. Willis' run of 7:59.19 in the 3,000 meters at the Red Simmons Invitational surpassed the NCAA's top mark as of Jan. 19, and could stand as the best time on this week's national time sheet. Willis earned the first win of his indoor career with a NCAA provisional mile of 4:04.59 at the Michigan Quadrangular (Jan. 18).

First Things First
Sophomore DarNell Talbert earned the first win of his college career in the 60-meter hurdles at the Red Simmons Invitational. Talbert had the fastest time of the preliminaries with an 8.42-second clocking and returned to post a career-best time of 8.34 in the finals. Talbert also ran the anchor leg of Michigan's winning 1,600-meter relay team that posted a 3:19.05 mark.

Wait of the World
Sophomore Seth Waits posted a team-best time in the 600 meters at the Red Simmons Invitational, earning his second win of the season. Waits' time of 1:21.00 was almost two full seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Waits won the 400-meter dash at the Jack Harvey Invitational (Jan. 11).

Immediate Impact
Sophomore Braylon Edwards added a second event to his resume with an appearance in the 60-meter dash in the Red Simmons Invitational. The two-sport athlete (football, track and field) placed third overall with a time of 6.92, Michigan's top mark this season. Edwards worked double duty, also taking his second high jump title of the season with a career-best leap of 6-10 .

Triple Threat
Junior/sophomore David Battani (Fraser, Mich./Fraser HS) was one of the busiest Wolverines in the Red Simmons Invitational, running in the 60-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash and 1,600-meter relay. Battani placed fourth in the 60 hurdles, finishing with a season-best 8.50 clocking, just 0.04 off his career best. Battani also ran a career-best race in the 200 meters with his result of 22.72.

Moving Day
Several Michigan runners had the opportunity to showcase their versatility in the Red Simmons Invitational by competing in different events than they had in U-M's first two meets. Nick Willis took a break from the mile to compete in the 3,000-meter run. Sophomore Seth Waits, who specializes in the 400 meters, was crowned champion of the 600-meter race, while the Wolverines' regular 600-meter competitor, freshman Andrew Ellerton, ran in the 800 meters for the first time in his career.
 
The Road To Fayetteville
In three weeks of competition, Michigan athletes have posted three NCAA Championships-eligible times. Sophomore Nate Brannen has recorded an automatic qualifying time in the 800 meters, while freshman Nick Willis has posted provisional times in the mile and 3,000-meter run. The 2003 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held March 14-15 at the Randall Tyson Indoor Track in Fayetteville, Ark. Here is a cheat sheet of Michigan's NCAA times, as of last week:

Event (Automatic/Provisional Cut)	Name	Time	Date Set
800 Meters (1:48.90/1:50.80)	Nate Brannen	1:48.80	1/18 Michigan Quadrangular
Mile (4:01.20/4:05.70)	Nick Willis	4:04.59	1/11 Jack Harvey Invitational
3,000 Meters (7:58.40/8:09.30)	Nick Willis	7:59.19	1/25 Red Simmons Invitational

Rank Me
Michigan moved up to No. 13 in the second Trackwire 25 poll of the season (Jan. 27). The Wolverines were tied at No. 24 in Trackwire's preseason rankings. The Trackwire 25 projects a hypothetical score for the NCAA meet, factoring in injury reports and other variables supported by information gathered from coaches and NCAA-qualifying competitions across the country.

Rank, Team Points 1. LSU 60 2. Arkansas 55 3. Tennessee 26 South Carolina 26 Florida 26 6. Stanford 25 7. TCU 24 Mississippi State 24 9. Villanova 23 10. Alabama 20 11. Auburn 17 12. Wisconsin 14 13. MICHIGAN 12 14. Texas 11 Purdue 11 Georgia 11 Ohio State 11 Kentucky 11 19. Indiana 10 Texas A&M 10 UCLA 10 Washington 10 Nebraska 10 Manhattan 10 25. Mississippi 9 SMU 9

Next Time Around
The Maize and Blue will travel for the first time this season for the Meyo Invitational, held Feb. 7-8 at the Loftus Sports Complex in South Bend, Ind. Competition on Friday night (Feb. 7) is slated for a 7 p.m. start, while Saturday's events kick off at 1 p.m.

Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423