Michigan
NCAA Mideast Regional (Day 2)
Willis, Ellerton Earn Wins; U-M Qualifies Five to NCAAs
5/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Junior/sophomore Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) and junior Andrew Ellerton (Sudbury, Ontario/Confederation HS) earned individual victories as the University of Michigan men's track and field team claimed seventh place (39 points) at the NCAA Mideast Regional on Saturday (May 28). With five individual qualifers heading to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in two weeks, the Wolverines will boast its largest contigent at the annual outdoor meet in 10 years.
Competing in just the second 5,000-meter race of his running career, Willis posted a personal-best 13:54.14 to capture his second NCAA Mideast Regional crown in three seasons, adding to his 1,500-meter title from 2003. Willis immediately dropped to the rear of the 31-man field at the gun and held to the last position through the opening mile. With the pack still clumped tightly together, the Wolverine used the outside lane to steadily cruise into the top 10 down the backstretch. As the frontrunners -- largely consisting of Wisconsin and Arkansas competitors -- picked up the pace to string out the field, Willis responded in kind, rounding out the lead group in the sixth spot. Willis picked up another position as Arkansas' Seth Summerside fell off the back, and at the bell, the U-M sophomore took off to move into the second position around the bend. Willis exchanged words and a laugh with Indiana's Stephan Haas as he passed the leader early in the backstretch and continued to pull away through the last 300 meters, beating Haas to the line by more than three seconds.
Ellerton defended his NCAA Mideast Regional crown in the 800-meter run, using his kick down the final stretch to win the event with a time of 1:48.79. The Wolverine hung in the outside lane, near the back of the eight-man pack, before pulling into the top five at the halfway point with a 53.56 split at the 400-meter mark. Ellerton pushed through a tight pack into second place as he entered the final curb and kicked into another gear down the home straighaway to nip Auburn's Sherridan Kirk 20 meters before the finish line.
Michigan qualified a pair of individuals in the 1,500-meter run as freshman Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS) and senior/junior Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS) rounded out the top five, finishing in fourth and fifth place, respectively, with times of 3:45.92 and 3:46.90. As Arkansas' Adam Perkins and South Alabama's Harry Larubi sprinted to the front at the gun to clock 1:01.3 through 400 meters and put 50 meters on the remainder of the 12-man field, the Wolverines' representatives settled into the rear of the chase pack. Entering the bell lap, Ruff and Woods moved toward the front of the chase group, following Indiana's Sean Jefferson around the bend as the pack caught Larubi with 250 meters remaining. The U-M pair kicked into the top five down the final straightaway and held off the competition as each qualified for his first NCAA Outdoor Championships. Both runners drastically bettered their seeds as Woods entered the regional competition seeded 11th while Ruff ranked 22nd overall.
Sophomore Michael Whitehead (East Norristown, Pa./Norristown Area HS) boasted a personal-best 52-7 to shatter his own U-M outdoor triple jump record and round out the Wolverines' NCAA qualifiers. Entering the regional meet as the eighth seed, Whitehead claimed fourth place in the competition after earning his best mark with his third jump, a mark he needed to qualify for the final round. The Wolverine sophomore added a full foot to his school record, which he registered at the Big Ten Championships two week ago. Whitehead also added 10 1/2 inches to his all-time personal best in the event.
Despite registering his second personal best of the weekend, sophomore Stann Waithe (Towson, Md./Loch Raven HS) narrowly missed qualifying in the 400-meter dash with a sixth-place finish out of lane eight. Waithe posted a time of 46.36, trimming 0.09 seconds off of yesterday's preliminary performance, but could not hold his initial advantage as five runners made up the stagger around the final bend.
U-M won its sectional in the 4x400-meter relay and placed seventh overall, as sophomore John D'Arcy (Clayton, Ohio/Norhmont HS), freshman Andrew Wechter (Shelby, Ohio/Shelby HS), senior Seth Waits (Grand Rapids, Ohio/Ostego HS) and Waithe combined for the second-fastest time in U-M school history at 3:06.95. Waithe blazed into first place in the backstretch on the anchor leg and battled Indiana's David Neville around the final bend, pulling away from the Hoosier with 20 meters remaining to clock a 45.25 split.
Rounding out U-M's second-day competitors, junior/sophomore Andrew Bauer (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) claimed 13th place in the first heat of the 3,000-meter steeplechase, running a time of 9:22.18.
The Wolverines have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, scheduled for June 8-11 in Sacramento, Calif.
Final Team Standings (Top 10)
1. Arkansas 94.5 2. Auburn 58 3. Louisiana State 50 4. Wisconsin 49 5. Tennessee 45 6. Indiana 40 7. MICHIGAN 39 8. Mississippi State 35 9. Mississippi 24 10. Illinois 20
Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 2)
4x400 Meter Relay 1. Louisiana State 3:03.30* 7. Michigan 3:06.95 (John D'Arcy, Andrew Wechter, Seth Waits, Stann Waithe) 400-Meter Dash 1. Miles Smith, SE Missouri 45.16* 6. Stann Waithe, U-M 46.36 800-Meter Run 1. Andrew Ellerton, U-M 1:48.79* 1,500-Meter Run 1. Adam Perkins, Arkansas 3:44.53#* 4. Michael Woods, U-M 3:45.92* 5. Rondell Ruff, U-M 3:46.90* 9. Victor Gras, U-M 3:47.81 3,000-Meter Steeplechase 1. Peter Kosgei, Arkansas 8:38.55* 27. Andrew Bauer, U-M 9:22.18 5,000-Meter Run 1. Nick Willis, U-M 13:54.14* Triple Jump 1. Aarik Wilson, Indiana 55-3 3/4* (16.86m) 4. Michael Whitehead, U-M 52-7 1/4* (16.03m) * Qualified for NCAA Championships # NCAA Mideast Regional record
Day 1 Results
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
