Michigan
NCAA Mideast Regional Championships (Day 1)
U-M Eighth After Day One of NCAA Mideast Regional
5/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Site: Louisville, Ky. (Cardinal Park)
Event: NCAA Mideast Regional (Day 1)
U-M Team Standing: Tie-8th Place of 24 Teams (8 Points) After Day 1
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 30 -- at NCAA Mideast Regional (Louisville, Ky.), 1 p.m.
Photo Gallery
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Senior/junior Lex Williams(Ann Arbor, Mich./Dexter) finished second in the 5,000-meter run on Friday (May 29), scoring eight team points and propelling the University of Michigan track and field team into an eighth-place tie after day one of the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships at Louisville's Cardinal Park.
Williams crossed the line in 14:08.56 to claim second, the highest regional championship finish of his career. Williams finished at the head of a pack of four runners who finished within two seconds of the winner, Alabama's Tyson David.
In the only other final of the afternoon, senior/junior Sean Pruitt(Cato, Wis./Valders) competed in the shot put, the first of three events he is scheduled to compete in during the two-day event. The Cato, Wis., native finished just outside the top eight in ninth place with a throw of 57-4 1/2 (17.48m).
Sophomore Carl Buchanon(South Bend, Ind./Clay) shined in the track preliminaries as he continued his strong running by finishing first in the preliminaries of the 400-meter hurdles. Competing in the second of four heats, Buchanon blazed around the track and finished in 50.90, breaking the previous track record of 51.20. Buchanon then watched as his time held up through the final two heats of competition. Meanwhile, fifth-year senior Dan Harmsen(Rockford, Mich./Rockford) also qualified for the finals with the third-fastest time (51.12) in winning the fourth and final heat.
Senior Adam Harris(Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) was the third and final Maize and Blue runner to qualify for the finals, punching his ticket in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Harris began the day by competing in the 100-meter dash prelims, where he qualified in the No. 5 spot with a season-best time of 10.28, the third-fastest time of the day. Competing in the fourth and fastest heat, Harris finished in second behind the No. 1 qualifier, Auburn's Marcus Rowland. Despite finishing with the third-fastest time, Harris qualified in the fifth spot behind the winners of the four heats.
Harris followed up his performance in the 100-meter dash with an equally-impressive showing in the 200-meter dash as the senior qualified in the No. 2 spot with a season-best time of 10.77. Harris easily won the sixth heat, finishing 18-hundreths of a second ahead of the field. This is the second consecutive season Harris has reached the regional final in the 200-meter dash; he is the only U-M athlete to ever reach the final in the event.
Top 10 Teams (After Day 1)
1. Mississippi 17 2. Auburn 16 3. Louisville 11 Indiana 11 5. Wisconsin 10 Alabama 10 Kentucky 10 8. MICHIGAN 8 Northwestern State 8 10. Louisiana-Monroe 7
Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day 1)
4x100-meter Relay (Prelims) 1. LSU 39.32Q 11. MICHIGAN 40.54 (Kyle Terpak, Troy Woolfolk, Andre Barnes, Adam Harris)
100-meter Dash (Prelims) 1. Marcus Rowland, Auburn 10.16Q 5. Adam Harris, U-M 10.28q 400-meter Hurdles (Prelims) 1. Carl Buchanon, U-M 50.90Q! 3. Dan Harmsen, U-M 51.12Q 200-meter Dash (Prelims) 1. Gavin Smellie, Western Kentucky 20.43Q 2. Adam Harris, U-M 20.77Q 5,000-meter Run 1. Tyson David, Alabama 14:07.22! 2. Lex Williams, U-M 14:08.56 14. Sean McNamara, U-M 14:44.16 17. Brandon Fellows, U-M 14:58.99 Shot Put 1. Rashaud Scott, Kentucky 62-1.25 (18.93m) 9. Sean Pruitt, U-M 57-4.25 (17.48m) Qq Qualification to final round ! Cardinal Park Record
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Fred LaPlante
On the team's performance... "It went well for us today. Lex Williams really controlled his race, it was pretty impressive what he did. Him qualifying was great, he has had a great season. With the guys that qualified for the finals, we told them today to not think about nationals, just think about advancing. The competition is very strong so you need to treat these races like finals. Adam had a good day in the 100 and 200. In the 400-meter hurdles, Carl and Dan both ran well, they both won their heats so they will get good lane draws. I am sure they have some confidence knowing they are right in there. I think we have a good shot in all three races, the 100, the 200 and the 400-meter hurdles tomorrow."
Players Mentioned
