Young and Incoming Wolverines Excel at USA Juniors and New Balance
6/18/2018 12:17:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Based on the performances of both current University of Michigan track and field underclassmen and incoming future Wolverines this past weekend, the program's future is looking bright.
Two current Wolverines qualified to the IAAF World Junior Championships by way of top-two finishes at the USATF Junior Championships on Friday and Saturday (June 15-16) and the incoming recruiting class amassed eight All-America honors at New Balance Nationals Outdoors on Friday through Sunday (June 15-17).
At the USATF Junior meet, both Alice Hill and Jack Aho took runner-up honors in their respective 3,000-meter steeplechase and 10,000-meter finals to earn the right to represent Team USA in Tampere, Finland, on July 10-15.
Hill's time of 10:31.07 in the steeplechase moved her to No. 3 all-time for first-year Michigan women and No. 9 overall in program history. Aho clocked 32:07.08 in his first 10,000-meter race on the track.
Incoming shot putter John Meyer of Lockport (Illinois) High School just missed the top-two cutoff for inclusion on Team USA's World Junior roster, taking third at 20.14m (66 feet, 1 inch) to become an alternate for the squad.
Rising sophomore Noah Caudy was a finalist in the 400-meter hurdles, taking eighth in 53.73 seconds.
Michigan's incoming class of recruits had a strong showing at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor meet, coming away with two event titles and two more runner-up finishes among eight All-America distinctions.
Future Wolverine Maddy Denner of Oak Ridge (California) High School won a close three-way two-mile championship race in 10:04.53, good for No. 7 in the country. Fellow incoming Wolverine Olivia Theis was sixth in the race and was in contention with a lap-and-a-half remaining, but suffered an unfortunate fall and dropped back to sixth overall. Both women earned All-America honors.
Theis would come back to help her 4xMile relay team take third overall in the championship section for her second All-America honor of the week. In that same competition, the relay team featuring Megan Worrel of Troy (Michigan) High took sixth overall to also earn All-America honors.
Incoming distance runner Anthony DeKraker of Saline (Michigan) High accounted for both a national title in the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay and a runner-up finish in the championship section of the mile.
DeKraker first anchored his team to victory in the relay, running a 1:52.79 800-meter anchor leg to hold onto a one-second lead his first three teammates handed off to him and ultimately running to a win of nearly three seconds. He came back the next day to run a career-best 4:13.40 for runner-up honors in the mile, charging hard down the homestretch to make a move from third to second.
Job Mayhue of East Kentwood (Michigan) High led the way for the future Michigan sprinters, earning runner-up honors in the 110-meter hurdles. After running 13.91 (-0.8m/s) in the prelims, Mayhue dropped a career-best 13.75 (-0.5m/s) in the final to move to No. 6 in Michigan history in the event. The performance ranks him No. 13 among all high schoolers this year, and No. 6 among graduating seniors.
Rounding out the All-America honors for Michigan was Gabriel Mudel of Novi (Michigan) High, who earned the award with a sixth-place finish in the distance medley relay.
Full results of current and future Wolverines from both meets can be found below.
USATF JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Men's 10,000 Meters
2. Jack Aho / 32:07.08
Women's 100-Meter Hurdles
15. Michaiah Thomas / 14.53 (+0.2m/s)
Men's 400-Meter Hurdles
8. Noah Caudy / 53.84q (prelims)
8. Noah Caudy / 53.73 (final)
Women's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase
2. Alice Hill / 10:31.07
Men's Shot Put
3. John Meyer / 20.14m (66-1)
NEW BALANCE NATIONALS
Boys 800 Meters (Emerging Elite)
34. Austin Remick / 1:58.75
Boys Mile (Championship)
2. Anthony DeKraker / 4:13.40
Boys Mile (Emerging Elite)
32. Austin Remick / 4:25.71
Girls Mile (Championship)
15. Maddie Brand / 5:02.19
Boys Two-Mile (Championships)
19. Gabriel Mudel / 9:50.07
Girls Two-Mile (Championships)
1. Maddy Denner / 10:04.53
6. Olivia Theis / 10:21.76
Boys 110-Meter Hurdles (Championships)
2. Job Mayhue / 13.75 (-0.5m/s) (Final)
4. Job Mayhue / 13.91q (-0.8m/s) (Prelims)
Boys 110-Meter Hurdles (Emerging Elite)
37. Cassidy Henshaw / 14.88 (+1.0m/s)
Boys 4x800 Relay (Championship)
16. Anthony DeKraker / 7:48.32
28. Gabriel Mudel / 7:56.28
Girls 4x800 Relay (Championship)
12. Megan Worrel / 9:16.35
Girls 4xMile Relay (Championship)
3. Olivia Theis / 20:50.41
6. Megan Worrel / 20:55.52
Boys Distance Medley Relay (Championship
6. Gabriel Mudel / 10:08.92
Girls Distance Medley Relay (Championship)
11. Megan Worrel / 12:19.91
Boys Sprint Medley Relay (Championship)
1. Anthony DeKraker / 3:25.05
Boy's High Jump (Championship)
31. Cassidy Henshaw / 1.94m (6-4.25)
Girls Pole Vault (Championship)
18. Jessica Mercier / 3.72m (12-2.5)
Boys Shot Put (Championship)
28. Jack Boyle / 16.79m (55-1)
Players Mentioned
