Maize & Blue Puts On a Show in Boston

Friday, January 27

University Center, Mich.

5:00 PM

Michigan

Saginaw Valley State Jets Pizza Invitational

1/28/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field

Jan. 28, 2017

» Aaron Baumgarten crossed the line at 3,000 meters within half a second of the 2017 national college lead.
» Ned Willig, Will Sheeran and Connor Mora all broke the prestigious four-minute barrier in the mile.
» Taylor McLaughlin nearly added the U-M indoor school record at 200 meters to his collection with a nationally prominent time.

Boston U. John Thomas Terrier Classic

• Complete Results

Site: Boston, Mass.
Event: John Thomas Terrier Classic
U-M Team Result: Non-scoring
Next U-M Events: Fri-Sat., Feb. 3-4 -- at Notre Dame Meyo Invitational Invitational, at Akron Invitational

BOSTON, Mass. -- Any day with either a sub-four-minute mile, a near national leader or a near school record is a good day in track and field.

But Saturday (Jan. 28) was not just any regular good day for the No. 24-ranked University of Michigan men's track and field team at the Boston U. John Thomas Terrier Classic. Not only did the Wolverines check all three of those boxes, they checked the first one three times.

The trio of Ned Willig, Will Sheeran and Connor Mora all dipped under the momentous four-minute threshold for the first times in their careers, Aaron Baumgarten nearly took over the national lead at 3,000 meters, and Taylor McLaughlin came within a tenth of a second of the Michigan record at 200 meters.

"It was one of those rare days when everything went really well and we couldn't have asked for a much better day," men's distance coach Kevin Sullivan - who ran five sub-four-minute miles in Boston in his illustrious career - said. "The idea was to bring a small, very elite group out and take advantage of good competition and a fast track and I thought all of our guys did a really great job of embracing that idea and coming here and putting themselves in positions to compete well and run PRs and just being engaged in the competition.

In the mile, Willig crossed first in 3:58.09, followed almost immediately by Sheeran in 3:59.15 and Mora in 3:59.36. The three were at or near the front of the pack throughout the duration of the race, with Willig running top three nearly the entire time. Sheeran and Mora made late pushes on the final lap to move up and clinch their sub-four miles.

"Outside of Mason Ferlic's national championship last year, this is probably the most exciting single moment that I've experienced," Sullivan said. "Winning a national championship, that's obviously the biggest thing we can accomplish, but having three guys break this magical barrier not only on the same day but all in the same heat is great. It was really special to see them accomplish was a really big goal for them coming into this season."

The trio checked in on the all-time U-M indoor performers lists at fifth, eighth and ninth. Prior to today, only eight U-M men had ever broken four minutes, and none had done so since Justin Switzer in 2009.

Baumgarten capped the day for Michigan with a runner-up 7:57.32 over 3,000 meters to come within a little more than a third of a second of the national leader. Running near the front of the pack the entire race, the junior put on a surge late to hold off the rest of the chase pack behind winner Julian Oakley.

The performance is a five-second career best, improving on an 8:02.89 effort from last February at Iowa State.

It was not all distance in Beantown, however. McLaughlin put on a show of his own in the sprints, first running a near season-best 47.08 over 400 meters before an hour-and-a-half later dashing 200 meters in 21.05. Not only was the latter race a career best by nearly three-quarters of a second, it put him within .06 of the school record 20.99 set in 2009 by Adam Harris.

Brennan Munley kicked off the day with a season-best 1:48.95 to finish fourth overall at 800 meters. The sophomore led for more than 790 meters of the race before being overtaken by a trio just before the finish line.

Saginaw Valley State Jets Pizza Invitational

• Complete Results

Site: University Center, Mich.
Event: Jets Pizza Invitational
U-M Team Result: Non scoring
Next U-M Events: Fri-Sat., Feb. 3-4 -- at Notre Dame Meyo Invitational Invitational, at Akron Invitational

UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- While the Wolverines' elite distance runners were out in Boston, many of the Maize and Blue's younger or less experienced athletes were gearing up for February's postseason push at the Jets Pizza Invitational.

Many took advantage of the opportunity, with several men recording top-three finishes and/or career bests.

In the field, Maximillian Wagner and Alex Klemm went 1-2 in the high jump, as both men cleared a bar of 1.98m (6-6). The mark was a career best for Wagner.

The Wolverines were just as successful in the other vertical jumps offering -- the pole vault -- as Kevin Haughn and Nick Burkhalter went 1-2 with matching heights of 4.71m (15-5).

Matthew Plowman finished second at 800 meters with a career-best 1:55.29, while Kevin Hall and Garrett McPeek went fourth and fifth in the mile in 4:14.70 and 4:15.82, respectively. McPeek's performance is a career best.

Blake Washington was the runner-up at 400 meters in 48.99, while Roland Amarteifio was fifth in 49.80.

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