Michigan
Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational
U-M Ready for Conference Showdown at Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invite
1/17/2019 4:46:00 PM | Women'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. -- In what will be a mini-preview of the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships coming to Ann Arbor in February, the University of Michigan women will host several of the conference's best squads at the Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational on Saturday (Jan. 19).
In front of a live national television audience on Big Ten Network, Michigan will square off in the world-class U-M Indoor Track Building with the likes of 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 state-of-the-art facility's first Big Ten Indoor Championships on Feb. 22-23.
School-record weight throwers Kayla Deering and Bailey Baker will be back in action and in pursuit of another improvement on their records, and will be joined by another potential threat to the mark with Courtney Jacobsen making her 2019 debut.
The Wolverines' formidable corps of distance runners will continue to build toward the postseason, with the power trio of Hannah Meier, All-American Camille Davre and Big Ten Cross Country Freshman of the Year Anne Forsyth trying their hand at the mile for the first time this winter. Another true freshman, Aurora Rynda, will compete at 600 meters, an event in which she was the world's top-ranked U20 athlete in 2018.
Also making her 2019 in-uniform debut is Alice Hill, who finished seventh in the IAAF World U20 Championships steeplechase final to close out her 2018 track season. She will run at 800 meters.
Jade Harrison headlines the Wolverines' sprint action, as she runs in the 200 meters and makes her 2019 debut in the 4x400 relay. That relay squad will return three of the women who set the school record at the 2018 Big Ten Indoor Championships, including Julia Hall and Chloe Foster.
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
• After breaking the second-longest-standing indoor school record -- April Phillips' 2003 mark in the weight throw -- Baker may have set a record for the shortest-lived school record. One throw after she surpassed Phillips by five centimeters with a heave of 19.28m (63 feet, 3.25 inches) in the sixth-and-final round, she herself was eclipsed by teammate Deering for the record. On her final throw, she stretched the Michigan record out to 19.53m (64-1). The two now rank No. 31 and No. 33 nationally in the event.
• Though it is still early in the 2019 season and many Wolverines have not yet run in all of their intended events, Michigan is already upholding its reputation as one of the best mid-distance schools in the nation. Led by 20th-ranked Meg Darmofal, the Wolverines have six women ranked top-100 nationally in the mile. Only Indiana with eight has more at this point in the season.
• Michigan is also looking impressive early at the 3,000-meter distance with Meier, Davre and Forsyth all ranked top-30 nationally. Meier ranks No. 3 in the country and Davre is No. 9, with Forsyth ranked No. 27.
Team Outlook & Notes
• The Wolverines, led by head coaches James Henry and Jerry Clayton, will enter the season ranked No. 33 nationally in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Preseason National Track and Field Rating Index (TFRI).
• The Wolverines finished eighth with 60 points at the 2018 Big Ten Indoor Championships, missing seventh-place Wisconsin by just one point and finishing just 15 points shy of third place in a tightly fought team battle. Though the Wolverines will not have the services of 2018 champions Claire Kieffer-Wright (high jump, only has outdoor eligibility remaining) and Haley Meier (mile), they do hold the distance medley relay title and will welcome 10-time Big Ten champion Erin Finn back into the fold for one final season.
• Returning as scorers from the 2018 Big Ten Championships are Micaela DeGenero (sixth, 800 meters), Meier (seventh, mile), two of four members from the winning DMR team and three of four from the fifth-place 4x400 relay.
• Michigan does not return any NCAA Indoor Championships qualifiers from the 2018 season, but will be boosted by the return of three-time NCAA Indoor Championships runner-up Finn. She was runner-up both at 3,000 and 5,000 meters in 2016 and at 5,000 meters in 2017. She is the only woman in college history to have run 15:30 or faster in multiple NCAA 5,000-meter indoor finals.
• Returning All-Americans: Finn (indoor 3,000 and 5,000, outdoor 5,000 and 10,000, and cross country); Jade Harrison (distance medley relay)
• Returning 2018 Big Ten Indoor Championships scorers: DeGenero (800 meters); Meier (mile)
• Current school record-holders: Finn (indoor 3,000 and 5,000, outdoor 5,000 and 10,000); Chloe Foster (indoor 4x400 relay); Julia Hall (indoor 4x400 relay); Harrison (indoor 400 meters, indoor 4x400 relay)
When to Watch the Wolverines
| Wolverines Competing on Saturday | |||
| Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational | |||
| Name | Event | Round | Time (ET) |
| Theresa Mayanja | 60 meter hurdles | Prelims | 11:00 AM |
| Sydney McGinley | 60 meter hurdles | Prelims | 11:00 AM |
| Lauren Rodriguez | 60 meter hurdles | Prelims | 11:00 AM |
| Jeryne Fish | Long Jump | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Erin Connor | Shot Put | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Maegan McCarthy | Shot Put | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Briana Nelson | Shot Put | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Akili Echols | 60 meter dash | Prelims | 11:20 AM |
| Miranda Goodson | 60 meter dash | Prelims | 11:20 AM |
| Emma Bauer | Pole Vault | Final | 11:45 AM |
| Jessica Mercier | Pole Vault | Final | 11:45 AM |
| Sydney Badger | Mile | Final | 12:10 PM |
| Camille Davre | Mile | Final | 12:10 PM |
| Micaela Degenero | Mile | Final | 12:10 PM |
| Anne Forsyth | Mile | Final | 12:10 PM |
| Hannah Meier | Mile | Final | 12:10 PM |
| Jena Metwalli | Mile | Final | 12:10 PM |
| Julia Vanitvelt | Mile | Final | 12:10 PM |
| Chloe Foster | 600 meter run | Final | 1:05 PM |
| Aurora Rynda | 600 meter run | Final | 1:05 PM |
| Lauren Biggs | 800 meter run | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Haley Click | 800 meter run | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Meg Darmofal | 800 meter run | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Alice Hill | 800 meter run | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Lexi Munley | 800 meter run | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Faith Reynolds | 800 meter run | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Bailey Baker | Weight Throw | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Kayla Deering | Weight Throw | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Courtney Jacobsen | Weight Throw | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Briana Nelson | Weight Throw | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Courtney Bostic | 200 meter dash | Final | 1:47 PM |
| Akili Echols | 200 meter dash | Final | 1:47 PM |
| Miranda Goodson | 200 meter dash | Final | 1:47 PM |
| Julia Hall | 200 meter dash | Final | 1:47 PM |
| Jade Harrison | 200 meter dash | Final | 1:47 PM |
| Sydney McGinley | 200 meter dash | Final | 1:47 PM |
| Audrey Belf | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:20 PM |
| Rachel Coleman | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:20 PM |
| Kathryn House | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:20 PM |
| Raquel Powers | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:20 PM |
| Anna West | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:20 PM |
| Reid, Meier, Biggs, Hill | 4x400 relay | Final | 2:50 PM |
| Foster, Rynda, Hall, Harrison | 4x400 relay | Final | 3:15 PM |
Players Mentioned
