Willis, Half-Milers Qualify for NCAA Regional Event Finals

Friday, May 30

Columbus, Ohio

Noon

Michigan

NCAA Mideast Regional (Day 1)

Willis, Half-Milers Qualify for NCAA Regional Event Finals

5/30/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team had 12 athletes compete during the first night of competition (Friday, May 30) at the 2003 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships held at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Three members of the Maize and Blue qualified for Saturday (May 31) finals in their respective events, including freshman Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS), who enters the 1,500-meter final as the No. 1 seed.

Willis won his preliminary heat by nearly two seconds.

Sophomore Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) and freshman Andrew Ellerton (Windsor, Ontario/Confederation HS), who recently finished one-two at the Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championships (May 16-18), also qualified for competition tomorrow by posting two of the top eight times in the 800-meter run.

Willis posted the fastest 1,500-meter time of his U-M career with a mark of 3:46.09, outpacing the rest of the field by 1.85-second margin. Running in the third and final heat, Willis cruised to more than a two-second victory over his nearest competitor.

Five sections of the 800-meter run were contested Friday, with the five winners earning automatic berths in the final, and the other three berths going to the next three fastest qualifiers. Both Brannen and Ellerton advanced on the merit of their times, as each finished second in his respective heat. Brannen will enter the final as the sixth seed despite posting the fourth-fastest preliminary time (1:48.35), less than half a second behind Tennessee's Marc Sylvester. Ellerton earned the eighth and final spot in the field with his mark of 1:49.51, though his time was actually the seventh-fastest qualifying time in the field.

Redshirt freshman Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS) just missed the cut for the 12-person 1,500-meter final. His time of 3:49.71 was actually the 11th-fastest time posted in the event, however, the top three finishers in each heat advance automatically regardless of time, bumping Ruff off the final start list.

Willis will look to maintain his position atop the 1,500 field at the NCAA Regional when the final begins tomorrow at 6:23 p.m. Brannen and Ellerton will look to move into the top five in order to earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, scheduled for June 11-14 in Sacramento, Calif., when the final of the 800-meter run kicks off at 7:23 p.m.

Additionally, senior/junior Ryan Hesselink (Freeport, Mich./Thornapple-Kellogg HS), sophomore Tarn Leach (East Jordan, Mich./East Jordan HS) and senior Alex L'Heureux (Weedon, Quebec/Palm Beach Gardens HS, Fla.) will also take to the track tomorrow evening at 8:30 p.m. for the sectional final of the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Friday Results

800-meter Run (Preliminaries) Heat 1 1. Robbie Stevens, Arkansas 1:49.05Q 2. Andrew Ellerton, U-M 1:49.51q Heat 2 1. Dan Murray, Wisconsin 1:49:02Q 4. Jeremy Schneider, U-M 1:52.22 8. Dan Cooke, U-M 1:56.20 Heat 3 1. Marc Sylvester, Tennessee 1:47.87Q 2. Nate Brannen, U-M 1:48.35q 1,500-meter Run (Preliminaries) Heat 1 1. Mike Taylor, Arkansas 3:47.94Q 4. Rondell Ruff, U-M 3:49.71 10. Brian Turner, U-M 4:02.18 Heat 3 1. Nick Willis, U-M 3:46.09Q 8. Tom Greenless, U-M 3:59.88 5,000-meter Run 1. Boaz Cheboiywo, Eastern Mich. 13:45.42 11. Nick Stanko, U-M 14:56.19 High Jump 1. Cedric Norman, Southern Miss. 7-1 (2.16m) -- Braylon Edwards, U-M NH -- Jeong-Hwan Kang, U-M NH -- Adam Kring, U-M NH Qq indicates qualification for final