Woods Shines in Middle Distances at Pan American Juniors
7/31/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
WINDSOR, Ontario -- Sophomore Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS), a member of the University of Michigan men's track and field team, dominated the middle-distance events at the Pan American Junior Championships, held July 28-31, at the University of Windsor Stadium, capturing the 1,500-meter title just three days after blazing a new Canadian junior record with the first sub-4:00 mile of his career.
Woods, who served as the Canadian team captain, boasted a meet record 3:45.72 to lead a 1-2 Canadian finish in the 1,500-meter event. The performance was a improvement over his third-place finish at the 2003 Pan American Juniors.
During Thursday's opening ceremonies, Woods clocked 3:57.48 to earn runner-up honors in the 'Miracle Mile' -- the evening's showcase event -- and shave 0.60 seconds from the 22-year national junior mile record, previously held by Mark Olsen. The performance was the first sub-4:00 mile of Woods' career as the Wolverine runner trimmed four seconds from his previous best (4:01.56).
Woods used a huge surge in the final lap to pull even with former-Colorado standout Adam Goucher around the final bend, but Goucher kicked away from the Wolverine in the final homestretch, winning the race with a time of 3:56.15. Senior Andrew Ellerton (Sudbury, Ontario/Confederation HS), who has battled a nagging hamstring injury over the last several weeks, placed fifth in 4:02.72.
Held every two years since 1980, the four-day event featured over 600 athletes aged 19-and-under, representing 45 different countries in the Pan-American region. Wood's claimed one of two gold medals for the Canadian team -- sophomore Alyson Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick's HS) claimed the other -- which finished second in the final medal standings with 18. The United States boasted the most total medals (57) with 22 gold, 24 silver and 11 bronze.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Woods, who served as the Canadian team captain, boasted a meet record 3:45.72 to lead a 1-2 Canadian finish in the 1,500-meter event. The performance was a improvement over his third-place finish at the 2003 Pan American Juniors.
During Thursday's opening ceremonies, Woods clocked 3:57.48 to earn runner-up honors in the 'Miracle Mile' -- the evening's showcase event -- and shave 0.60 seconds from the 22-year national junior mile record, previously held by Mark Olsen. The performance was the first sub-4:00 mile of Woods' career as the Wolverine runner trimmed four seconds from his previous best (4:01.56).
Woods used a huge surge in the final lap to pull even with former-Colorado standout Adam Goucher around the final bend, but Goucher kicked away from the Wolverine in the final homestretch, winning the race with a time of 3:56.15. Senior Andrew Ellerton (Sudbury, Ontario/Confederation HS), who has battled a nagging hamstring injury over the last several weeks, placed fifth in 4:02.72.
Held every two years since 1980, the four-day event featured over 600 athletes aged 19-and-under, representing 45 different countries in the Pan-American region. Wood's claimed one of two gold medals for the Canadian team -- sophomore Alyson Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick's HS) claimed the other -- which finished second in the final medal standings with 18. The United States boasted the most total medals (57) with 22 gold, 24 silver and 11 bronze.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
Middle Distance
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