Michigan
NCAA East Preliminaries
East Preliminaries to Kick Off NCAA Postseason for Wolverine Women
5/22/2018 8:44:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
» UPDATE: As of Wednesday afternoon, a majority of the events scheduled on Thursday through Saturday have been moved forward several hours in an attempt to avoid inclement weather expected to move through the weekend.
» Michigan will have a combined 13 entries from 12 individuals at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds, which serve as the qualifying gateway to the NCAA Championships on June 6-9.
» Claire Borchers, Erin Finn, and Aaron Howell are all looking for return trips to the NCAA Championships
THIS WEEK
Thu-Sat, May 24-26 -- NCAA East Preliminary Rounds (Tampa, Fla.), 1 p.m. (Thu.) | 1:45 p.m. (Fri.) | 8:45 a.m. (Sat.)
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- With the Big Ten Championships in the rearview mirror, the University of Michigan women's track and field team is set to begin its run to the NCAA Outdoor Championships starting with this weekend's NCAA East Preliminary Rounds on Thursday through Saturday (May 24-26) in Tampa, Fla.
The road to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 6-9, runs directly through Tampa for the Wolverine women as they take aim at securing berths to NCAAs in their respective events by way of their results this weekend at South Florida's USF Track and Field Stadium.
Action for the Michigan women kicks off at 1 p.m. on Thursday, with Friday's schedule for the Wolverines starting as early as 1:45 p.m. Saturday's final day of competition begins at 8:45 a.m. A full schedule of events for Wolverine athletes can be found below.
Leading the way for the Wolverines are a corps of All-Americans and Big Ten champions looking to make a splash on the national stage for the Wolverines at the NCAA meet.
Distance runner Erin Finn is looking to return to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2015, while steeplechaser Claire Borchers will seek to close out her track career with a second consecutive trip to NCAAs.
Finn and Borchers both claimed Big Ten titles two weekends ago, as did Jamie Morrissey, an indoor distance medley relay All-American who is looking to make her first individual nationals appearance at 1,500 meters. Haley Meier claimed the indoor equivalent Big Ten title in the mile and will be looking for her first NCAA Outdoor appearance for Michigan at 1,500 meters.
While Aaron Howell did not advance to nationals in her signature combined events -- she won the 2017 Big Ten heptathlon title -- she will get one more shot at advancing in the high jump.
Those five will be joined by seven teammates seeking out their first individual trips to nationals in sprinter Jade Harrison, hurdler Chloe Foster, thrower Courtney Jacobsen, distance runners Hannah Meier, Madeline Trevisan and Sarah Zieve, and high jumper Katt Miner.
Unlike the Wolverines' last outing at the Big Ten Championships, no team score will be kept at this weekend's East Prelims. Rather, this meet serves as a qualifying-round extension of the NCAA Championships.
From each individual event, only the top 12 finishers -- from among the event's 48 qualifiers -- will book their tickets to Eugene. For the field events and the 10,000 meters on the track, this simply means those who finish in places one through 12. Throwers only get three attempts (no additional three-round finals will be conducted) to post their best marks, while action in the vertical jumps continues only to the point of whittling down the field to 12 qualifiers.
For the remainder of the track events, competitors can advance by earning automatic berths by virtue of finishing between top-three or top-five in their quarterfinal or semifinal heats (depending on event) or among the two or three fastest non-automatic qualifiers.
Of relevance to the Michigan women:
• 200 meters -- Automatic: Top-three in one of the three quarterfinal heats / Non-automatic: The three fastest among those who did not earn automatic berths
• 400 meters -- Automatic: Top-three in one of the three quarterfinal heats / Non-automatic: The three fastest among those who did not earn automatic berths
• 1,500 meters -- Automatic: Top-five in one of the two quarterfinal heats / Non-automatic: The two fastest among those who did not earn automatic berths.
• 400-meter hurdles -- Automatic: Top-three in one of the three quarterfinal heats / Non-automatic: The three fastest among those who did not earn automatic berths.
• 3,000-meter steeplechase -- Automatic: Top-three in one of the three quarterfinal heats / Non-automatic: The three fastest among those who did not earn automatic berths.
The meet can be watched live online via FloTrack, and live results are available from Flash Results. Stay tuned to the program's official social media platforms for the most up-to-date results throughout the weekend.
WHEN TO FOLLOW THE WOLVERINES
As of Wednesday afternoon, times have been updated due to inclement weather expected in the area throughout the weekend.
| Wolverines Competing This Weekend | |||
| THURSDAY, MAY 24 | |||
| Name | Event | Round | Time (ET) |
| Chloe Foster | 400 meter hurdles | First Round | 1:00 PM |
| Aaron Howell | High Jump | First Round | 2:00 PM |
| Katt Miner | High Jump | First Round | 2:00 PM |
| Haley Meier | 1500 meter run | First Round | 2:00 PM |
| Hannah Meier | 1500 meter run | First Round | 2:00 PM |
| Jamie Morrissey | 1500 meter run | First Round | 2:00 PM |
| Jade Harrison | 400 meter dash | First Round | 3:45 PM |
| Erin Finn | 10,000 meter run | Semifinal | 9:40 PM |
| Madeline Trevisan | 10,000 meter run | Semifinal | 9:40 PM |
| FRIDAY, MAY 25 | |||
| Name | Event | Round | Time (ET) |
| Jade Harrison * | 400 meter dash | Quarterfinal | 1:45 PM |
| Chloe Foster | 400 meter hurdles | Quarterfinal | 3:15 PM |
| Jade Harrison | 200 meter dash | First Round | 3:55 PM |
| Claire Borchers | Steeplechase | Quarterfinal | 8:40 PM |
| Sarah Zieve | Steeplechase | Quarterfinal | 8:40 PM |
| SATURDAY, MAY 26 | |||
| Name | Event | Round | Time (ET) |
| Courtney Jacobsen | Hammer Throw | First Round | 8:45 AM |
| Haley Meier * | 1500 meter run | Quarterfinal | 1:15 PM |
| Hannah Meier * | 1500 meter run | Quarterfinal | 1:15 PM |
| Jamie Morrissey * | 1500 meter run | Quarterfinal | 1:15 PM |
| Jade Harrison | 200 meter dash | Quarterfinal | 2:20 PM |
* = Pending advancement from the first round
MICHIGAN'S TOP CONTENDERS
Women's Distance
Seven of Michigan's 13 entries on the weekend come in the distance events, with multiple Wolverines in the 1,500 meters, the 10,000 meters and the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Michigan sends three women to the Prelims in the 1,500 meters, with outdoor Big Ten 800-meter champion Jamie Morrissey, indoor Big Ten mile champion and two-time Big Ten finalist Hannah Meier all in the field for the Wolverines. Morrissey showed this season that she has the wheels to run with anyone in the country, entering this weekend seeded fourth with her 4:11.48 from April. The Meier twins are a bit farther back in the seeding at No. 33 (Haley) and No. 37 (Hannah), but both have momentum with Haley Meier having taken silver at Big Tens two weekends ago and Hannah running her best time of the season thus far in the same meet. Both Morrissey and Haley Meier advanced to this meet a year ago, with Meier missing nationals by just three spots in the standings.
Erin Finn is back on the outdoor national scene, entering the weekend as the top overall seed in the East at 10,000 meters with her gutsy 32:45.51 to win the Big Ten title two weekends ago. She will be joined in the event by freshman Madeline Trevisan, who is seeded 40th.
As a freshman herself in 2014, Finn was the victor in the 10,000-meter qualifying race in 33:13.46. She would go on to finish sixth at nationals for first team All-America honors. After not competing at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in either 2016 or 2017, her most recent nationals appearance came in a fifth-place showing over 5,000 meters in 2015.
Michigan also has two women in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, led by reigning Big Ten champion Claire Borchers and joined by bronze medalist Sarah Zieve. In taking down defending champ Madeline Strandemo of Minnesota, Borchers was the wire-to-wire leader always in command of the Big Ten final en route to a 9:58.36 clocking. Zieve ran the fastest last lap of anyone in the field to move from sixth to third over the final 400+ meters of that race. Frontrunning should once again pay off for Borchers at the Prelims, while Zieve will be best served to stay within striking distance of the front group to take full advantage of her devastating final kick.
Borchers was 17th at NCAAs a year ago in her first individual nationals appearance, while Zieve is trying to break through for her first trip to Eugene. The past two seasons, times faster than 10:06 have advanced to nationals, though it took faster than 10:01 in 2015. Either way, both will need to be on top of their game to both make it through.
Women's Sprints and Hurdles
For the second year in a row, Jade Harrison advanced to the Prelims in both the 200- and 400-meter distances -- the lone double-event competitor for Michigan this weekend -- and will be joined this season by first-year 400-meter hurdler Chloe Foster.
An eighth-place Big Ten finalist at 200 meters two weekends ago, Harrison enters the weekend seeded No. 43 at 200 meters in 23.57 and No. 47 at 400 meters with her outdoor career-best 53.72 from the Big Ten prelims.
After becoming just the second first-year Wolverine to crack 60 seconds in the 400 hurdles at Big Tens in 59.72 (No. 46 seed), she will have at least one more opportunity to go for the Michigan first-year record of 59.45 set by Katie LaValley in 2006.
Women's Jumps
Despite two-time Big Ten high jump champion Claire Kieffer-Wright taking a redshirt season this spring, the Wolverines will still be represented in the high jump by a pair of women in Katt Miner and Aaron Howell.
Miner is coming off a career day at the Big Ten Championships, taking eighth with a personal-record 1.76m (5 feet, 9.25 inches) clearance, while Howell tied her personal record in the heptathlon high jump at 1.75m (5-8.75). Miner is seeded in a tie at 28th overall with Howell not far back at No. 31. Both women will need another breakthrough at the Prelims to make it through to NCAAs, with nothing less than 1.79m having made it through the past three seasons.
Women's Throws
For the second year in a row, Courtney Jacobsen scored for the Wolverines at the Big Ten Championships with an eighth-place hammer throw finish, and for the second year in a row she will go on to represent Michigan at the NCAA East Prelims.
Currently seeded No. 31 with her career-best throw of 59.86m (196-5) from late April, Jacobsen is in good form to make a run at her first-ever NCAA berth. Two times at Big Tens she surpassed 59 meters and four others she went farther than 58 meters; in the last two seasons, crossing 59 meters has been enough to ensure berths to the national meet.
Players Mentioned
