Michigan
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Big Ten Championships Await Wolverine Women
5/9/2018 3:46:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
» Michigan will look to reclaim the Big Ten team title it last won in 2016.
» For the first time, Michigan will have its full complement of All-American-caliber distance runners -- Claire Borchers, Erin Finn, Haley Meier, Hannah Meier, Jamie Morrissey, Jaimie Phelan, Gina Sereno and Sarah Zieve -- all in action at the same Big Ten Outdoor Championship meet.
» The Wolverines are also looking for big points from reigning Big Ten heptathlon champion Aaron Howell, as well as from returning scorers Courtney Jacobsen and Sarah Uhlian.
THIS WEEK
Fri-Sun., May 11-13 -- Big Ten Outdoor Championships (Bloomington, Ind.)
Friday, May 11 -- at Big Ten Outdoor Championships (Bloomington, Ind.), noon
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Saturday, May 12 -- at Big Ten Outdoor Championships (Bloomington, Ind.), 11:15 a.m.
Meet Homepage | Live Results | Watch Live on Flotrack Pro & BTN Plus
Sunday, May 13 -- at Big Ten Outdoor Championships (Bloomington, Ind.), 12:45 p.m.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Just in time for the arrival of the postseason with this weekend's Big Ten Outdoor Championships from Friday through Sunday (May 11-13), the University of Michigan women's track and field team is ready to field one of the deepest distance corps in the country in unison for the very first time.
The combination of nine-time Big Ten champion Erin Finn; five-time Big Ten champion Gina Sereno; national champion Jaimie Phelan; two-time Big Ten champion Haley Meier; and Big Ten distance medley relay champions Jamie Morrissey, Claire Borchers and Hannah Meier -- as well as steeplechase scorer Sarah Zieve -- will all compete in the same outdoor meet for the first time in their careers, boosting Michigan's chances of reclaiming the Big Ten team title it last won in 2016.
With those women expected to rack up the points in the five races spanning from 800 meters through 10,000 meters, Michigan is also looking for significant output from returning Big Ten heptathlon champion Aaron Howell in her signature seven-event outdoor competition.
The Wolverines are also looking to get contributions from returning indoor/outdoor scorers in Jade Harrison (sprints), Courtney Jacobsen (hammer throw) and Sarah Uhlian (pole vault).
Reigning Big Ten high jump champion Claire Kieffer-Wright is redshirting the 2018 outdoor season.
With such individual firepower returning for the Wolverines, a very real possibility exists that Michigan women's track and field could claim its 100th Big Ten outdoor event title in the 40th anniversary year of the program's founding in 1978. The Wolverines sit at 99 total titles, including relays, and 98 non-relay individual titles.
The first two days of the meet on Friday and Saturday are comprised largely of track-event preliminaries with a long-distance final each night and assorted field events throughout the day. While there are relatively few point-scoring opportunities on Friday and Saturday, it will be crucial for the Wolverines to advance as many women as possible from the preliminary rounds -- contested in of all the events shorter than 1,500 meters -- on to Sunday's finals-only program for maximum-points potential.
Action on Friday's opening day kicks off for the U-M women in the field at noon with the hammer throw, followed 15 minutes later by the start of Howell's day-one heptathlon events. The track program gets rolling for Michigan at 5:35 p.m. Point-scoring opportunities for the women on Friday include the hammer, the pole vault at 1:30 p.m. and the 10,000-meter final at 7:30 p.m.
The start of Howell's second day in the heptathlon at 11:15 a.m. kicks off Saturday's action, which also includes the women's high jump final and a track program that starts at 4 p.m. and concludes with the 3,000-meter steeplechase final at 6:40 p.m.
Sunday is "moving day" as the entries Michigan hopes to have advanced from prelims on Friday and Saturday look to put big points on the board for the Wolverines' team prospects. The day begins for Michigan's women with track finals at 12:45 p.m.
Sunday's finals include (in chronological order) the 4x100 relay, the 1,500 meters, the 110-meter hurdles, the 400 meters, the 100 meters, the 800 meters, the 400-meter hurdles, the 200 meters, the 5,000 meters and the 4x400 relay.
The team title will be awarded to the school that accrues the most points over the course of the championship's 19 different individual or relay events. Points are awarded to the top eight individuals or relay teams in every event based on how they finish, with the winner earning the most points.
Event champions earn 10 points for their team, with eight going to the runner-up. Third place earns six points, fourth gets five, fifth earns four, sixth gets three, seventh earns two and eighth gets one.
Fans can watch the meet live online via webstreams from FloTrack and BTN Plus, and live results are available from PTTiming. Follow the official social media platforms of the program for the most up-to-date information throughout the weekend.
WHEN TO FOLLOW THE WOLVERINES
| Wolverines Competing This Weekend | |||
| FRIDAY, MAY 11 | |||
| Name | Event | Round | Time (ET) |
| Courtney Jacobsen | Hammer Throw | Final | 12:00 PM |
| Aaron Howell | 100 meter hurdles | Heptathlon (1/7) | 12:15 PM |
| Aaron Howell | High Jump | Heptathlon (2/7) | 12:50 PM |
| Sarah Uhlian | Pole Vault | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Aaron Howell | Shot Put | Heptathlon (3/7) | 2:50 PM |
| Aaron Howell | 200 meter dash | Heptathlon (4/7) | 4:00 PM |
| Chloe Foster | 400 meter hurdles | Prelims * | 5:35 PM |
| Jenna Reid | 400 meter hurdles | Prelims * | 5:35 PM |
| Jade Harrison | 200 meter dash | Prelims * | 6:15 PM |
| Alice Hill | 1500 meter run | Prelims ^ | 6:45 PM |
| Haley Meier | 1500 meter run | Prelims ^ | 6:45 PM |
| Hannah Meier | 1500 meter run | Prelims ^ | 6:45 PM |
| Jamie Morrissey | 1500 meter run | Prelims ^ | 6:45 PM |
| Sophie Linn | 10,000 meter run | Final | 7:30 PM |
| Erin Finn | 10,000 meter run | Final | 7:30 PM |
| Gina Sereno | 10,000 meter run | Final | 7:30 PM |
| Madeline Trevisan | 10,000 meter run | Final | 7:30 PM |
| SATURDAY, MAY 12 | |||
| Name | Event | Round | Time (ET) |
| Aaron Howell | Long Jump | Heptathlon (5/7) | 11:15 PM |
| Aaron Howell | Javelin | Heptathlon (6/7) | 12:30 PM |
| Katt Miner | High Jump | Final | 2:15 PM |
| Aaron Howell | 800 meter run | Heptathlon (7/7) | 2:45 PM |
| Julia Hall | 400 meter dash | Prelims * | 4:00 PM |
| Jade Harrison | 400 meter dash | Prelims * | 4:00 PM |
| Akili Echols | 100 meter dash | Prelims * | 4:40 PM |
| Torisa Johnson | 100 meter dash | Prelims * | 4:40 PM |
| Meghan Marias | 100 meter dash | Prelims * | 4:40 PM |
| Lauren Morgan | 100 meter dash | Prelims * | 4:40 PM |
| Lauren Rodriguez | 100 meter hurdles | Prelims * | 5:10 PM |
| Michaiah Thomas | 100 meter hurdles | Prelims * | 5:10 PM |
| Mallory Barrett | 800 meter run | Prelims * | 5:40 PM |
| Carola Jansohn | 800 meter run | Prelims * | 5:40 PM |
| Jaimie Phelan | 800 meter run | Prelims * | 5:40 PM |
| Jamie Morrissey | 800 meter run | Prelims * | 5:40 PM |
| Claire Borchers | Steeplechase | Final | 6:40 PM |
| Sarah Zieve | Steeplechase | Final | 6:40 PM |
| SUNDAY, MAY 13 | |||
| Name | Event | Round | Time (ET) |
| Johnson, Marias, Morgan, Harrison |
4x100 relay | Final | 12:45 PM |
| TBD Finalists | 1500 meter run | Final | 1:05 PM |
| TBD Finalists | 100 meter hurdles | Final | 1:25 PM |
| TBD Finalists | 400 meter dash | Final | 1:40 PM |
| TBD Finalists | 100 meter dash | Final | 1:50 PM |
| TBD Finalists | 800 meter run | Final | 2:03 PM |
| TBD Finalists | 400 meter hurdles | Final | 2:18 PM |
| TBD Finalists | 200 meter dash | Final | 2:35 PM |
| Rachel Coleman | 5000 meter run | Final | 2:49 PM |
| Meg Darmofal | 5000 meter run | Final | 2:49 PM |
| Kathryn House | 5000 meter run | Final | 2:49 PM |
| Erin Finn | 5000 meter run | Final | 2:49 PM |
| Foster, Hall, Reid, Harrison |
4x400 relay | Final | 3:33 PM |
* = Nine qualifiers advance to Sunday final
^ = 12 qualifiers advance to Sunday final
* = Nine qualifiers advance to Sunday final
^ = 12 qualifiers advance to Sunday final
MICHIGAN'S TOP CONTENDERS
Women's Distance
The distance crew has had unprecedented success in its events at the Big Ten Championships in recent years. The Wolverines have won four consecutive 10,000-meter titles, three of the last four at 5,000 meters and two in a row at 1,500 meters.
Erin Finn will be back on the track for an outdoor Big Ten Championships meet for the first time since 2015, when she won the 10,000 meters and took third over 5,000 meters. Having already run a conference-best 15:33.15 over 5,000 meters this season, she will take aim at the same 5K/10K sweep she pulled off as a freshman in 2014.
Finn stands tied with jumper/multi-eventer Tania Longe from the late 1990s atop the list of Big Ten individual champions in Michigan history. Both Finn and Longe have claimed nine non-relay Big Ten titles in their careers (including cross country for Finn). A win in either event for Finn would make her the first double-digit conference champion in school history.
In Finn's absence from the Big Ten Outdoor scene in both 2016 and 2017, it was teammate Gina Sereno who dominated the long-distance events at the conference meet. Now in her final season of eligibility, Sereno will be making her injury-delayed 2018 outdoor debut in the 10,000 meters -- an event she has won in back-to-back seasons. Friday will mark the first time Finn and Sereno have run alongside one another at this distance since Finn was the champion and Sereno was seventh at the 2015 conference meet.
In addition to their hunt for the conference crown at 10,000 meters, both Finn and Sereno will also be looking to clock times -- likely in the mid-34-minute range or faster -- that would advance them to the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds for a shot at moving on to the NCAA Championships.
Chasing qualifying times is something with which Jamie Morrissey need not busy herself this weekend, as she has already sealed up NCAA Prelims berths both at 800 meters (No. 23 nationally) and 1,500 meters (No. 5 nationally). Instead, she will be focusing on pursuing her first individual conference title in both events, entering as the second seed at both distances.
She has shown in 2018 the wheels to keep up with nearly anyone in the country -- a career-best 4:11.48 in the 1,500 meters and a near-PR 2:05.11 at 800 meters, not to mention an All-America cross country showing at six kilometers -- but this weekend will be her first major test of the year in the tactics that will play such a crucial role in her hopeful NCAA postseason run.
Morrissey will have Big Ten champion-caliber reinforcements at both distances with reigning national 1,500-meter champion Jaimie Phelan running alongside her at 800 meters and 2018 Big Ten Indoor mile champion Haley Meier with her at 1,500 meters.
Phelan, in just her second competition of the year after a long recovery from injury, will forego the opportunity to defend her 1,500-meter NCAA title in the hopes of making a more significant contribution to the Big Ten team effort. The 800-meter distance is better-suited to her current fitness, and gives her a better shot at scoring points for the Wolverines -- she was third in this event in 2017 -- and qualifying for the East Prelims with a time in the high 2:07 range.
Meier is the reigning indoor mile champion and was fifth at 1,500 meters a year ago, but will be looking to bounce back from an up-and-down regular season. She has shown strength and speed with a 16:07.20 run over 5,000 meters and a season's best 4:22.13 over 1,500 meters. Twin sister Hannah Meier -- seventh in the Big Ten Indoor mile -- will be looking to improve on her season's best 4:24.00 to both score points for U-M and secure her berth to the NCAA Prelims.
Claire Borchers was the third Michigan scorer alongside the Meier twins in the Big Ten Indoor mile -- she took fourth -- but she and Sarah Zieve have shifted their attention to their signature 3,000-meter steeplechase event. Borchers and Zieve were runner-up and fourth, respectively, in last year's race, and are looking to improve on those finishes in 2018.
The duo has run just one steeplechase this year -- a 10:04.85 for Borchers and a career-best 10:11.07 for Zieve in early April -- but both women have been in fine form in their off events with career-best performances at 1,500 meters for both.
Borchers and Zieve are looking to join former collegiate record-holder Anna Willard (2007) as the only Michigan women to win the Big Ten title in this event, and Saturday could mark the first time two Michigan women crack 10 minutes in the same steeplechase race. In Michigan history, only Willard and Borchers have accomplished that feat, 10 years apart.
Heptathlon
Coming off a career-best 5,541-point score in her only heptathlon of the 2018 season, Howell will once again need to be in career-best form to mount a successful defense of her Big Ten title from a year ago. As the reigning champion, Howell is the top returner from last year's meet, but is ranked third so far in 2018 as this weekend sees the return of 2018 Big Ten leader Georgia Ellenwood of Wisconsin (5,983 points) and second-ranked Madeline Holmberg of Penn State (5,736 points).
Howell has excelled in the throws this year, launching career-best marks of 13.44m (44-1.25) and 42.39m (139-1) in the shot put and javelin, respectively, while also tying her outdoor career best in the high jump at 1.75m (5-8.75).
Keeping consistent with those marks -- in conjunction with shaving a few fractions off her times in the 100-meter hurdles and 200 meters, and adding a foot or so in the long jump -- could put her in the running to upset the pre-meet favorites Ellenwood and Holmberg. In doing so, she would become the only other Michigan woman alongside Tania Longe (1996-98) to win consecutive Big Ten heptathlon titles.
Sprints
Jade Harrison leads the sprints corps with opportunities to score in as many as four different events on the weekend. Individually, Harrison will contend for points at both 200 and 400 meters, while also anchoring the Wolverines' 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
School records could be in the offing for Harrison this weekend, which would add to the U-M indoor 400-meter standard she set a year ago and the indoor 4x400 relay record she anchored home at Big Ten indoors. The most likely record to fall is the 4x100 relay, set at 45.01 at the Big Ten Championships 20 years ago in 1998. The 2018 squad of Harrison, Torisa Johnson, Meghan Marias and Lauren Morgan has already clocked the No. 2 time in school history this season at 45.21.
Hammer
Courtney Jacobsen contributed to Michigan's team effort right away as a freshman in 2017, scoring a point as the eighth-place finisher in the hammer throw final. Coming off a career-best 59.86m (196 feet, 5 inches) performance in her last outing at Arkansas' National Relay Championships, Jacobsen is once more poised to score points for the Wolverines. Her mark from two weekends ago would have been good enough for fourth at last year's Big Ten final, though she enters the conference meet this year again ranked No. 8.
Also in striking distance for Jacobsen is the school record of 60.74m (199-3) set by April Phillips 15 years ago today (May 9) and the opportunity to become Michigan's first 200-foot hammer thrower.
Pole Vault
Another field-event athlete who contributed to last year's team score was pole vaulter Sarah Uhlian, who took eighth in the 2017 final in her signature event. Uhlian cleared 3.88m (12-8.75) on her third attempt to secure her podium finish, and actually exceeded that mark at the 2018 Big Ten Indoor championships with a career-best 3.98m (13-0.75) mark for ninth.
Uhlian enters this Big Ten Outdoor Championship meet with an outdoor season's best of 3.72m (12-2.5) from Arkansas' National Relay Championships just two weekends ago.
WOLVERINES IN THE BIG TEN RANKINGS
The table below details how the Wolverines' entries for the Big Ten Championships are ranked in their respective events heading into the conference weekend.
| Name | Event | Rank |
| Jade Harrison | 200 Meters | 8 |
| Jade Harrison | 400 Meters | 13 |
| Jamie Morrissey | 800 Meters | 2 |
| Jamie Morrissey | 1500 Meters | 2 |
| Haley Meier | 1500 Meters | 8 |
| Hannah Meier | 1500 Meters | 14 |
| Alice Hill | 1500 Meters | 16 |
| Erin Finn | 5000 Meters | 1 |
| Michaiah Thomas | 100 Hurdles | 13 |
| Chloe Foster | 400 Hurdles | 18 |
| Claire Borchers | Steeplechase | 2 |
| Sarah Zieve | Steeplechase | 3 |
| Michigan | 4x100 Relay | 8 |
| Michigan | 4x400 Relay | 8 |
| Katt Miner | High Jump | 19 |
| Sarah Uhlian | Pole Vault | 19 |
| Courtney Jacobsen | Hammer | 8 |
| Aaron Howell | Heptathlon | 3 |
Players Mentioned
