Michigan
Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational
Wolverines Excel in First Test Against Big Ten Competition
1/19/2019 6:44:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (U-M Indoor Track Building)
Event: Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational
U-M Result: No team scoring
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sat., Jan 25-26 -- John Thomas Terrier Classic (Boston, Mass.); Fri-Sat., Jan. 25-26 -- Jet's Pizza Invitational (University Center, Mich.)
• Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- With six individual event wins and numerous career-best showings, the University of Michigan men's track and field team acquitted itself well at Saturday's (Jan. 19) Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational in what was its first big test of the 2019 season.
Facing conference rivals Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Nebraska and Maryland in front of a live television audience on Big Ten Network, the Wolverines -- led by event winners Daniel Butael, Joe Ellis, Cole Johnson, Taylor McLaughlin, John Meyer and Brandon Piwinski -- also racked up three more runner-up finishes and 23 total top-five efforts.
Michigan won six of the 14 individual events on the day.
Ellis, a two-time indoor All-American, kicked off the day with a win for the Wolverines in his signature weight throw event. With a sixth-round throw of 22.74m (74-7.25), Ellis broke his own meet record and came just four centimeters shy of the meet record, taking down national No. 6 Morgan Shigo of Penn State by nearly seven feet in the process.
Ellis himself bolstered his position at No. 3 nationally with the season's best effort, as of publication. He was followed in the event standings on the day by third-place Manning Plater and fourth-place Andrew Liskowitz.
Soon after, high jumper Piwinski kept the momentum rolling in the field with a 2.15m (7.05) clearance in the high jump for his first-ever seven-foot clearance during the indoor season -- and on his first attempt at that bar, no less. That first-try make ended up being the deciding factor in a tiebreaker over Nebraska's Miles Griffith, who also cleared the same height but needed all three of his attempts.
Piwinski -- who did not miss through all four of the heights he successfully attempted -- becomes just the 13th man in school history to surpass seven feet indoors, and currently stands tied with Ben Ludka at No. 8 in school history. The mark also places him tied for No. 18 on the national list, with the top 16 at season's end qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
With the bar for Michigan excellence raised early in the field events, the ensuing action on the track did not disappoint.
The Wolverines started off well with three finalists in the 60-meter hurdles, led by third-place Roland Amarteifio, who tied his career best for the second weekend in a row at 8.03.
Freshman Asani Hampton, making his Michigan debut, followed him up in the open 60-meters final, blazing to an 6.81 clocking for fourth. The mark not only tied him for the best-ever freshman debut in the event with Khoury Crenshaw in 2015, but also tied him for No. 9 on the all-time Michigan list with former Wolverine quarterback Denard Robinson.
Ben Hill and cross country All-American Jack Aho showed out strong for Michigan in the mile, clocking second- and third-place finishes, respectively, in 4:05.64 and 4:06.46, respectively, in their 2019 debuts.
Another All-American made his 2019 debut one event later as school record-holder McLaughlin got the win in the 400 meters in 47.64.
Alex Schwedt, a fellow 400-meter specialist for much of his time at Michigan, continued to find his groove in the longer 600-meter event. He broke 1:20 for the first time, taking second with a 1:19.98 performance that made his 17th man in school history to dip beneath that threshold.
Perhaps the most dramatic moment on the track of the entire day followed one event later as freshman Johnson claimed a thrilling come-from-behind victory at 800 meters in his Michigan debut. Running in a group of four coming around the final turn with less than 40 meters to go, Johnson swung out wide into lane two and overtook the Penn State duo of Gary Ross and Drew Maher right at the line.
Tweet of the Meet
Cole Johnson comes from behind to win the Men's 800 m with a time of 1:52.321! pic.twitter.com/l8M5Pyn4Ue
— Michigan Track & Field / Cross Country (@UMichTrack) January 19, 2019
Johnson crossed in 1:52.33, less than a quarter-second clear of both Ross and Maher. Teammate and fellow true freshman Derrick Simmons took fourth in a close 1:52.66 after winning a separate heat, while Ryan Wilkie was fifth in 1:52.78 in Johnson's race.
Meanwhile in the field, Butael made a successful 2019 debut that saw him travel 15.36m (54-4.75) for the win in the triple jump.
The last round of fireworks on the day for the Wolverine men also came from the field as freshman John Meyer three times surpassed the previous Michigan freshman record in the shot put to take the win in the final round over school-record teammate Andrew Liskowitz, who finished runner-up.
After breaking the 18.00m (59.075) freshman record of Cody Riffle's that had stood since 2011 with a first-round heave of 18.29m (60.025), he also added a fifth-round mark of 18.07m (59-3.5). But after round five it was Liskowitz who had taken the lead at 18.57m (60-11.25) while Meyer had fallen to third.
Liskowitz extended his lead out to 18.72m (61-5) on his sixth-and-final throw, but Meyer had one more big throw in him. The true freshman lobbed a mark of 18.74m (61-5.75) on his final attempt to take the lead, and clinched it after Nebraska's Grady Leonard could not surpass him on the event's final throw.
Meyer now ranks No. 5 on the all-time Michigan list, No. 15 nationally for the 2019 season and No. 1 among all freshmen for the current indoor season. With Liskowitz also ranked No. 7 nationally, Michigan is one of just two schools (Kentucky being the other) that has two top-15 shot putters.
The regular season continues next weekend as select student-athletes head off to Boston to chase fast times in the distance events and to Saginaw Valley State in search of more competition experience. Track and field returns to Ann Arbor in two weekends for the Power Five Invitational on Feb. 1-2, the third and final home meet of the year leading up to the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 22-23 in Ann Arbor.
Michigan Results
COLLEGIATE CAREER-BEST PERFORMANCES
Career debuts not included
Jack Aho -- 4:06.46 / Mile (I)
Roland Amarteifio -- 8.03 / 60m Hurdles (I)
Jacob Branch -- 8:32.34 / 3000m (I)
Noah Caudy -- 8.16q / 60m Hurdles (I)
Ben Hill -- 4:05.64 / Mile (I)
Sean Marshall -- 50.45 / 400m (I)
John Meyer -- 18.74m (61-5.75) / Shot Put (I)
Brandon Piwinski -- 2.15m (7-0.5) / High Jump (I)
Joost Plaetinck -- 8:30.46 / 3000m (I)
Alex Schwedt -- 1:19.98 / 600m (I)
Lewis Tate -- 8:30.64 / 3000m (I)
Max Wagner -- 2.05m (6-8.75) / High Jump (I)
FULL MICHIGAN RESULTS BY EVENT
60 Meters
FINAL
4. Asani Hampton / 6.81
PRELIMS
4. Asani Hampton / 6.87q
9. Desmond Nicholas / 7.00
11. Joe McCarthy / 7.01
12. Stephen Hagen / 7.03
18. Jack Lint / 7.26
19. Cassidy Henshaw / 7.45
200 Meters
5. Joe McCarthy / 21.90
12. Stephen Hagen / 22.54
400 Meters
1. Taylor McLaughlin / 47.64
9. Desmond Melson / 49.05
10. Blake Washington / 49.47
14. Sean Marshall / 50.45
600 Meters
2. Alex Schwedt / 1:19.98
8. Matt Plowman / 1:22.17
800 Meters
1. Cole Johnson / 1:52.33
4. Derrick Simmons / 1:52.66
5. Ryan Wilkie / 1:52.78
8. Anthony Berry / 1:54.25
Mile
2. Ben Hill / 4:05.64
3. Jack Aho / 4:06.46
6. Will Landowne / 4:15.05
7. Luke Wallace / 4:15.34
8. Jacob Lee / 4:15.36
11. John Tatter / 4:18.62
13. Jared Hill / 4:19.90
14. Anthony Giannobile / 4:20.47
15. Evan Meyer / 4:21.09
17. Austin Remick / 4:22.43
3000 Meters
6. Gabe Mudel / 8:27.76
8. Joost Plaetinck / 8:30.46
9. Lewis Tate / 8:30.64
10. Jacob Branch / 8:32.34
11. Kevin Hall / 8:32.77
13. Dominic Dimambro / 8:36.95
18. Christian Hubaker / 8:47.68
60-Meter Hurdles
FINALS
3. Roland Amarteifio / 8.03
6. Noah Caudy / 8.23
7. Job Mayhue / 8.24
PRELIMS
3. Roland Amarteifio / 8.05q
4. Noah Caudy / 8.16q
6. Job Mayhue / 8.27q
4x400 Relay
5. Marshall, Mayhue, McCarthy, Caudy / 3:31.52
7. Melson, Schwedt, Washington, Amarteifio / 3:25.70
High Jump
1. Brandon Piwinski / 2.15m (7-0.5)
7. Max Wagner / 2.05m (6-8.75)
Pole Vault
5. Nick Burkhalter / 4.77m (15-7.75)
Long Jump
5. Jack Lint / 6.87m (22-6.50)
7. Cassidy Henshaw / 6.61m (22-6.5)
Triple Jump
1. Daniel Butael / 15.36m (50-4.75)
Shot Put
1. John Meyer / 18.74m (61-5.75)
2. Andrew Liskowitz / 18.72m (61-5)
15. Cassidy Henshaw / 8.46m (27-9.25)
Weight Throw
1. Joe Ellis / 22.74m (74-7.25)
3. Manning Plater / 18.97m (62-3)
4. Andrew Liskowitz / 18.03m (59-2)
10. John Meyer / 16.10m (52-10)
Players Mentioned
