Michigan
Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational
Conference Preview on Tap with U-M Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invite
1/17/2019 5:33:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
» The start time for the Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational has been pushed back to 11 a.m. to keep the meet within a 12-3:30 p.m. live broadcast window on Big Ten Network. Doors will open at 10 a.m.
» The regular season ramps up Saturday for the Wolverine women as they host some of the conference's best for the Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational starting at 11 a.m.
» Michigan welcomes rivals Ohio State and Michigan State, as well as Penn State, Nebraska and Maryland, to the new U-M Indoor Track Building in a mini-preview of the Big Ten Indoor Championships.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, Jan. 19 -- Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational (Ann Arbor, Mich. / U-M Indoor Track Building) 11 a.m. ET
Meet Central | Live Results | Meet Schedule | TV: Big Ten Network
• Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team will welcome some of the conference's top teams -- including a pair of rivals -- on Saturday (Jan. 19) for a Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational that will be a sneak peek of the Big Ten Indoor Championships coming to Ann Arbor in February.
In front of a live national television audience on the Big Ten Network, Michigan will do battle in the state-of-the-art U-M Indoor Track Building against rivals Ohio State and Michigan State, as well as Penn State, Nebraska and Maryland in its first big test of the 2019 season.
Saturday's meet begins at 11 a.m. with both field events and preliminary rounds of the track events, and is expected to last until 3:30 p.m. The live broadcast window on BTN begins at noon and will last through the duration of the meet.
The start time for the meet has been pushed back from the previous 10 a.m. time to stay within the Big Ten Network broadcast window. Entry into the facility, free of charge, will begin for spectators at 10 a.m.
This will be the second of three regular-season home meets in the lead-up to the world-class facility's first Big Ten Indoor Championships on Feb. 22-23.
The Simmons-Harvey Invitational will mark the 2019 debut of Michigan's top distance runners, including cross country All-American Jack Aho and two-time 2018 Big Ten Championships scorer Anthony Berry.
Others will look to build on their strong openers from last weekend's Wolverine Invitational, including top-ranked throwers Joe Ellis and Andrew Liskowitz. Ellis, ranked No. 3 in the weight throw nationally, and Liskowitz, the reigning Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week after a school-record shot put moved him to No. 4 nationally, will look to continue to raise their national profiles.
The hurdles crew, led by Roland Amarteifio, and high jumper Brandon Piwinski also had career-best days last Saturday (Jan. 12) that they hope to replicate and improve upon one week later.
Fans unable to attend in person can watch live on Big Ten Network, follow along by way of live results from Delta Timing and get updates from the official Michigan Track and Field social media accounts on Twitter and Instagram.
Wolverine Bites
• Michigan's hurdle crew might be young -- no one member older than a junior -- but it is one of the nation's best in the early goings of this 2019 season. Led by that junior Amarteifio at 8.03, the Wolverines are one of just two schools nationwide (Oregon) with four men ranked top-100 in the 60-meter hurdles. Sophomores Sierra Hendrix-Williams (8.06) and Noah Caudy (8.14), and true freshman Job Mayhue (8.15), join with Amarteifio to give Michigan a bright present and an even brighter future in the event.
• Michigan's season debut on Saturday also put it among the best schools for the throwing events in the country. Thanks to No. 4-ranked shot putter Liskowitz and No. 3-ranked weight thrower Ellis, Michigan is the only school in the country with men ranked top-five nationally in both events. The Wolverines have three men ranked top-100 in the weight throw, a total surpassed by just six other schools, and all four of Michigan's throwers are ranked top-100 in at least one of those events.
• Teaming with Liskowitz in the shot put is John Meyer, who is the No. 2 true freshman in the nation and No. 25 overall. He is already just two centimeters shy of the Michigan freshman record of 18.00m (59 feet, 0.75 inches) set by Cody Riffle in 2011.
• Piwinski and true freshman Cassidy Henshaw had themselves a day in the high jump last Saturday, posting identical 2.10m (6-10.75) heights to tie for No. 24 nationally. Piwinski will look to break the 7-foot barrier this upcoming weekend. Such a clearance for Henshaw -- tied for No. 3 among true freshmen nationally -- later in the season would make him the fifth 7-foot freshman high jumper in Michigan history, and the first since Bradley James in 2011.
Team Outlook & Notes
• The Wolverines, led by head coaches Jerry Clayton and James Henry, will enter the season ranked No. 39 nationally in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Preseason National Track and Field Rating Index (TFRI).
• The Wolverines finished sixth at the 2018 Big Ten Indoor Championships, scoring 57 to finish 13 behind fifth-place Wisconsin. Headlined by reigning weight throw champion Joe Ellis, Michigan returns four individuals -- Ellis, Taylor McLaughlin, Anthony Berry and Andrew Liskowitz -- who combined to score 25 of those points. Michigan also returns the full 4x400 and distance medley relay teams that combined to score an additional five points.
• Led by first team All-American Ellis in the weight throw, Michigan finished in a tie for 45th at the NCAA Indoor Championships with four points. Ellis finished fifth in the weight throw, while shot putter Liskowitz and now-volunteer coach Grant Cartwright in the weight throw were second team All-Americans.
• Returning All-Americans: Ellis (weight throw, outdoor hammer throw); Liskowitz (indoor and outdoor shot put); McLaughlin (outdoor 400-meter hurdles); and Jack Aho (cross country)
• Returning Big Ten Indoor Championships scorers: Berry (mile); Ellis (weight throw champion), Liskowitz (shot put), McLaughlin (400 meters), and all four members of both the 4x400 and distance medley relays
• Current school record-holders: Chase Barnett (distance medley relay); Ellis (weight throw, outdoor hammer throw), Liskowitz (outdoor shot put); McLaughlin (400 meters, distance medley relay)
When to Watch the Wolverines
| Wolverines Competing on Saturday | |||
| Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational | |||
| Name | Event | Round | Time (ET) |
| Alex Klemm | High Jump | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Brandon Piwinski | High Jump | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Max Wagner | High Jump | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Cassidy Henshaw | Long Jump | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Jack Lint | Long Jump | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Nick Burkhalter | Pole Vault | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Joe Ellis | Weight Throw | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Andrew Liskowitz | Weight Throw | Final | 11:00 AM |
| John Meyer | Weight Throw | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Manning Plater | Weight Throw | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Roland Amarteifio | 60 meter hurdles | Prelims | 11:10 AM |
| Noah Caudy | 60 meter hurdles | Prelims | 11:10 AM |
| Sierra Hendrix-Williams | 60 meter hurdles | Prelims | 11:10 AM |
| Job Mayhue | 60 meter hurdles | Prelims | 11:10 AM |
| Stephen Hagen | 60 meter dash | Prelims | 11:30 AM |
| Cassidy Henshaw | 60 meter dash | Prelims | 11:30 AM |
| Jack Lint | 60 meter dash | Prelims | 11:30 AM |
| Joe McCarthy | 60 meter dash | Prelims | 11:30 AM |
| Desmond Nicholas | 60 meter dash | Prelims | 11:30 AM |
| Jack Aho | Mile | Final | 12:25 PM |
| Anthony Giannobile | Mile | Final | 12:25 PM |
| Ben Hill | Mile | Final | 12:25 PM |
| Jared Hill | Mile | Final | 12:25 PM |
| Will Landowne | Mile | Final | 12:25 PM |
| Jacob Lee | Mile | Final | 12:25 PM |
| Evan Meyer | Mile | Final | 12:25 PM |
| Austin Remick | Mile | Final | 12:25 PM |
| John Tatter | Mile | Final | 12:25 PM |
| Luke Wallace | Mile | Final | 12:25 PM |
| Daniel Butael | Triple Jump | Final | 12:30 PM |
| Sean Marshall | 400 meter dash | Final | 12:50 PM |
| Desmond Melson | 400 meter dash | Final | 12:50 PM |
| Blake Washington | 400 meter dash | Final | 12:50 PM |
| Matt Plowman | 600 meter run | Final | 1:17 PM |
| Alex Schwedt | 600 meter run | Final | 1:17 PM |
| Cassidy Henshaw | Shot Put | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Andrew Liskowitz | Shot Put | Final | 1:30 PM |
| John Meyer | Shot Put | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Chase Barnett | 800 meter run | Final | 1:38 PM |
| Anthony Berry | 800 meter run | Final | 1:38 PM |
| Cole Johnson | 800 meter run | Final | 1:38 PM |
| Derrick Simmons | 800 meter run | Final | 1:38 PM |
| Ryan Wilkie | 800 meter run | Final | 1:38 PM |
| Stephen Hagen | 200 meter dash | Final | 2:05 PM |
| Joe McCarthy | 200 meter dash | Final | 2:05 PM |
| Jacob Branch | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:35 PM |
| Dominic Dimambro | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:35 PM |
| Kevin Hall | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:35 PM |
| Christian Hubaker | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:35 PM |
| Gabe Mudel | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:35 PM |
| Joost Plaetinck | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:35 PM |
| Lewis Tate | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:35 PM |
| Marshall, Mayhue, Washington, Caudy |
4x400 Relay | Final | 3:02 PM |
| Melson, Schwedt, Amarteifio, McLaughlin |
4x400 Relay | Final | 3:22 PM |
