Michigan
Jesse Owens Classic
U-M Hits Four Qualifying Marks at Jesse Owens Classic
5/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team registered four NCAA regional qualifying performances and claimed three event victories on Friday and Saturday (April 30-May 1) at the Jesse Owens Memorial Track Classic at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The 800-meter run was the showcase event for the Maize and Blue as athletes instructed by head coach Ron Warhurst claimed the top-five positions. Junior Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS), competing unattached in his first race since capturing the NCAA indoor 800-meter title, won the event with a time of 1:48.01.
Freshman Sebastien Lounis (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Seaholm HS), who finished ninth overall after winning his heat during Friday's competition, set the early pace in Saturday's invitational race, running 0:51 through the first lap before dropping out at the 500-meter mark. After staying with the pack for most of the first 400 meters, Brannen moved up to Lounis' heels at the midway point and took off when the Wolverine freshman ducked out.
With a sizable lead, Brannen stayed ahead of the field in the sprint to the finish line, but sophomore Andrew Ellerton (Windsor, Ontario/Confederation HS) and sophomore Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS), also competing unattached, narrowed the gap down the final stretch to finish second and third, respectively. Ellerton clocked a personal-best 1:48.13 in his runner-up performance, shaving 0.92 seconds from his previous record, which he set just two weeks ago at the EMU Twilight Meet (April 17). Rounding out the top five were Paul McMullen, a former Eastern Michigan standout who currently runs for the U.S. Coast Guard, and fifth-year senior Dan Cooke (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney HS), who clocked his best time of the season at 1:50.70.
Junior Seth Waits (Grand Rapids, Ohio/Ostego HS) earned his third regional-qualifying time of the season in the 400-meter hurdles, claiming seventh place in the event with a time of 52.36.
U-M fell just short of qualifying for the NCAA Mideast Regional in another pair of events as the 4x100-meter relay captured first place and freshman Stann Waithe (Towson, Md./Loch Raven HS) placed third in the 400-meter dash. The 4x100 squad, consisting of junior Nathan Taylor (Courtenay, B.C./Georges P. Vanier HS), freshman Jeff Porter (Somerset, N.J./Franklin HS), junior/sophomore Braylon Edwards (Detroit, Mich./Bishop Gallagher HS) and Waithe, posted a season-best time of 40.70 in its first-place performance, finishing 0.30 seconds quicker than runner-up Findlay but falling 0.04 seconds short of the qualifying standard. Waithe missed his necessary mark by an even narrower margin in the 400m, clocking a personal-best time of 47.28, just 0.02 seconds shy of the qualifying standard.
Freshman Michael Whitehead (East Norristown, Pa./Norristown Area HS) and senior Joe Baldwin (Petersburg, Mich./Ida HS) paced the Wolverines in the field events, hitting qualifiying marks in the triple jump and long jump, respectively. Whitehead earned his fifth collegiate victory with a jump of 49-7, bettering the qualifying mark by more than an inch, while Baldwin claimed third place in the long jump with a mark of 24-1 3/4.
Sophomore Joe Schramski (Troy, Mich./Avondale HS) fought through building rainfall to record a personal-best 3:55.79 in the 1,500-meter run, pacing the second heat of the event. His time stood as the fastest of the meet as the third and final heat was cancelled due to the heavy rain.
U-M volunteer assistant coach Tim Broe was also victorious over the weekend, winning the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:00.16. Broe paced the 16-man field, finishing 15.50 seconds quicker than runner-up Steve Scherer of Michigan State.
The Wolverines will return to action next Friday and Saturday (May 7-8) at the Len Paddock Invitational -- Michigan's lone home meet of the outdoor season -- at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor, Mich. Competition is slated to begin at 9 a.m. CDT on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Event Winners/U-M Finishes
100-meter Dash 1. LaShaunte Edwards, RoosTC 10.33 10. Nathan Taylor, U-M 10.79 12. Braylon Edwards, U-M 10.88 21. Francis Legasse, U-M 11.53 200-meter Dash 1. LaShaunte Edwards, RoosTC 20.42 14. Nathan Taylor, U-M 22.41 22. Francis Legasse, U-M 23.02 400-meter Dash 1. Deon Minor, USA High Performance 46.76 3. Stann Waithe, U-M 47.28 9. John D'Arcy, U-M 48.90 17. Kaj Johansson, U-M 50.08 800-meter Run 1. Nate Brannen, unattached 1:48.01 2. Andrew Ellerton, U-M 1:48.13# 3. Nick Willis, unattached 1:49.23 5. Dan Cooke, U-M 1:50.70 9. Sebastien Lounis, U-M 1:52.69 1,500-meter Run 1. Joe Schramski, U-M 3:55.79 3. Todd Iacovelli, U-M 3:57.50 3,000-meter Steeplechase 1. Aaron Fisher, Ohio State 8:37.33# 11. Andrew Bauer, U-M 9:36.62 5,000-meter Run 1. Tim Broe, adidas 14:00.16 110-meter Hurdles 1. Joel Brown, Ohio State 13.56# 5. Jeff Porter, U-M 14.65 7. DarNell Talbert, U-M 14.92 400-meter Hurdles 1. Brandon Hon, Indiana Invaders 50.53 7. Seth Waits, U-M 52.36# 10. DarNell Talbert, U-M 53.05 12. David Battani, U-M 53.75 4x100 Relay 1. Michigan 'A' 40.70 (Nathan Taylor, Jeff Porter, Braylon Edwards, Stann Waithe) High Jump 1. Henry Patterson, unattached 7-3 (2.21m) 5. Darren Adams, U-M 6-6 3/4 (2.00m) 7. Brad Miller, U-M 6-4 3/4 (1.95m) -- Adam Kring, U-M NH Long Jump 1. Sean Robbins, Ashland Elite 25-8 (7.82m) 3. Joe Baldwin, U-M 24-1 3/4# (7.36m) 4. Adam Kiesler, U-M 22-11 1/4 (6.99m) Triple Jump 1. Michael Whitehead, U-M 49-7# (15.11m) 8. Brad Miller, U-M 44-6 (13.56m) Pole Vault 1. Brad GeBauer, Michigan State 16-8 3/4# (5.10m) 6. Craig Theissen, U-M 15-5 (4.70m) 6. Spencer Dowdall, U-M 15-5 (4.70m) Shot Put 1. Dan Taylor, Ohio State 67-8# (20.62m) 12. Brad Hoffman, U-M 47-7 (14.50m) Hammer Throw 1. Derek Woodske, Ashland Elite 230-10 (70.37m) 11. Chris McHugh, U-M 171-7 (52.29m) # NCAA Regional Qualifier
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
