Weekly Release #5
2/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sat., Feb. 7-8 -- at Meyo Invitational (South Bend, Ind.), 6 p.m./10:30 a.m.
Fri-Sat., Feb. 14-15 -- at Sykes-Sabok Challenge Cup (State College, Pa.), 5:30 p.m./10 a.m.
This Week: At the Meyo Invitational
The University of Michigan men's track and field team will compete in the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 7-8) at the Loftus Sports Complex in South Bend, Ind. Friday's competition will begin at 6 p.m. and Saturday's events are scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. start. The Wolverines will compete against squads from Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Georgetown, Michigan State and Windsor.
Last Time Around: adidas Boston Indoor Games
The Michigan men's track and field team automatically qualified its distance medley relay team for the 2003 NCAA Indoor Championships with a runner-up time of 9:35.80 on Saturday (Feb. 1) at the adidas Boston Indoor Games. The Wolverines team of Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS), who ran the 1,200-meter first leg, Seth Waits (Grand Rapids, Ohio/Otsego HS) (400), Andrew Ellerton (Windsor, Ontario/Confederation HS) (800) and Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) (1,600) finished less than a second behind Arkansas, which set a meet record at 9:34.76.
Good Will Hunting
Freshman Nick Willis has had a successful start to his collegiate track career. In just three races, Willis has posted three NCAA-eligible times, most recently at the adidas Boston Indoor Games with Michigan's distance medley relay team. With wins in two other individual events, Willis 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 (Jan. 25) was an NCAA provisional mark. Willis earned the first win of his indoor career with a NCAA provisional mile of 4:04.59 at the Michigan Quadrangular (Jan. 18).
Wait of the World
Prior to running the second leg of the distance medley relay at the adidas Boston Indoor Games, sophomore Seth Waits posted a team-best time in the 600 meters at the Red Simmons Invitational (Jan. 25), 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).
First Things First
Sophomore DarNell Talbert earned the first win of his college career in the 60-meter hurdles at the Red Simmons Invitational (Jan. 25). 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.
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 3/4.
The Road To Fayetteville
In four weeks of competition, Michigan athletes have posted four NCAA Championships-eligible times. Last Saturday at the adidas Boston Indoor Games the U-M distance medley relay team surpassed the NCAA automatic mark. Individual qualifiers are sophomore Nate Brannen, who has recorded an automatic qualifying time in the 800 meters, and freshman Nick Willis, who posted provisional times in the mile and 3,000-meter run this season. 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 |
| DMR (9:36.00/9:45.75) | Brannen, Waits, Ellerton, Willis | 9:35.80 | 2/1 adidas Boston Indoor Games |
Telling Time
Nate Brannen and Nick Willis have posted some of the NCAA's top times in the young 2003 season. As of Jan. 24, Brannen owns the nation's top mark in the 800-meter run at 1:48.80, while Willis has the third-fastest time in the mile at 4:04.59.
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 Wolverines will head to State College, Pa., for the Sykes-Sabok Challenge Cup on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 14-15) at Penn State's Ashenfelter Track. Friday's competition is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start and Saturday's action kicks off at 10 a.m.
Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
