Wolverines Claim Victories and Records at Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invite

Saturday, January 19

Ann Arbor, Mich.

11:00 AM

Michigan

Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational

Aurora Rynda

Wolverines Claim Victories and Records at Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invite

1/19/2019 7:39:00 PM | Women's Track & Field

By: Kyle Terwillegar

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 -- at SVSU Jet's Pizza Invitational (University Center, Mich.)

• Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's track and field team executed a clean sweep of all events ranging from 600 meters through the mile at Saturday's (Jan. 19) Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invitational and added a school record in the field events to boot.

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 Aurora Rynda, Alice Hill, Hannah Meier and the 4x400 relay team -- also racked up an additional pair of runner-up finishes and 13 total top-five efforts.

Michigan claimed titles in four of the 15 events contested on the day, while weight thrower Bailey Baker tied her teammate Kayla Deering's school record in the weight throw -- one week after holding the record for less than a minute before Deering established her mark.

Rynda, just a freshman, was perhaps the unofficial "most valuable performer" of the meet as she claimed the individual title at 600 meters and doubled back later to help the 4x400 relay team to another Wolverine win.

The Canadian was the world's fastest teenager over 600 meters during the 2018 indoor season as a high schooler, and she backed up those credentials Saturday with a Michigan freshman-record 1:29.55 clocking for a wire-to-wire win. She won her heat by more than two seconds over Ohio State's Annie Ubbing, with runner-up teammate Chloe Foster -- who won the preceding heat -- the only other woman in the field within two seconds with a 1:31.45, very quick in its own right.

Only two other women nationally had broken 1:30 in the event prior to Saturday's competition, and the performance moved her up to No. 4 at U-M behind only school record-holder and four-time 600-meter Big Ten champion Katie Erdman, NCAA champion Jaimie Phelan and Olympian Geena Gall.

Rynda and Foster, a graduate of Ann Arbor Pioneer High School, later teamed up with Julia Hall and Jade Harrison to score a decisive victory in the 4x400 relay to close out the competition. Strong opening legs by the 600-meter standouts gave Michigan the lead by a second over Nebraska and Ohio State halfway through as Hall took the baton, and she only extended that lead with a strong sub-55-second split by the time Harrison's turn as the anchor arrived. A quick 54.14 split by the indoor 400-meter school record-holder sealed the deal with a meet-record 3:39.67.

The time is the fifth-fastest in school history and -- in a sign of good things to potentially come -- the first instance in school history of a sub-3:40 performance in the month of January. Foster, Hall and Harrison all ran legs of the school-record team from last year's Big Ten Championships.

Michigan finished its first track final of the day the same way it finished its last: with a win. Meier got things going for the Wolverines as she clocked a quick 4:40.35 to claim the victory over MSU's Annie Fuller by nearly two full seconds. The two were neck-and-neck with just one 200-meter lap remaining in the race, but Meier put the pedal to the metal with about 150 meters to go and pulled away on the strength of a 31.98-second final lap.

The performance ranks her No. 7 nationally as of publication, to go along with a 3,000-meter performance from last weekend that rates No. 3 in the country. Freshman Anne Forsyth clocked an impressive 4:47.44 for third that ranks her No. 24 overall nationally and No. 1 among freshmen so far in 2019.

The closest race of the day for the Wolverines was the 800 meters, claimed by Hill. Running third behind competitors from Penn State and Ohio State with just over 100 meters to go, Hill made a strong move around the outside of both runners on the final turn, finally overtaking and striding away from Penn State's Victoria Tachinski in the final 40 meters for a 2:09.96 clocking.

Alice Hill comes from behind to win the Women's 800 m with a time of 2:09.957! pic.twitter.com/1MWe5ZLm57
— Michigan Track & Field / Cross Country (@UMichTrack) January 19, 2019

Hill's head-to-head advantage over Tachinski was close -- just over half a second -- but it was just wide enough for three women from the first heat to slot in between. Freshman Lauren Biggs, a transfer from Army, very nearly took the overall win with a strong 2:09.99 run in the first section.

The two become the 32nd and 33rd women to break 2:10 in the legendarily deep Michigan mid-distance program history.

Headlining the action in the field was Baker in the weight throw. One week after setting the school record only to see it eclipsed by teammate Deering on the very next attempt, Baker is now sharing the spotlight with Deering in a different way. On her penultimate fifth throw, Baker launched the 20-pound weight out to a distance of 19.53m (64-1) -- exactly tying Deering's record mark from last Saturday.

Baker ultimately finished third overall in the competition, with Deering fifth at 18.98m (62-3.25).

Elsewhere in the field, high jumper Katt Miner came up just a centimeter shy of her indoor personal best at 1.70m (5-7) with a third-attempt clearance for fourth, and freshman pole vaulter Jessica Mercier cleared 3.83m (12-6.75) to move to No. 8 in school history in the event.

The regular season will continue next weekend as select student-athletes head 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.

Collegiate Career-Best Performances

Career debuts not included

Bailey Baker -- 19.53m (64-1) / Weight Throw (I)
Lauren Biggs -- 2:09.99 / 800m (I)
Haley Click -- 2:23.32 / 800m (I)
Rachel Coleman -- 9:44.60 / 3000m (I)
Erin Connor -- 13.84m (45-5) / Shot Put (I)
Chloe Foster -- 1:31.45 / 600m (I)
Jade Harrison -- FS / 200m (I)
Alice Hill -- 2:09.96 / 800m (I)
Theresa Mayanja -- 9.18 / 60m Hurdles (I)
Hannah Meier -- 4:40.35 / Mile (I)
Jessica Mercier -- 3.83 (12-6.75) / Pole Vault (I)
Briana Nelson -- 14.38m (47-2.25) / Shot Put (I)
Julia Vanitvelt -- 4:58.53 / Mile (I)

Michigan Results

60 Meters
12. Akili Echols / 7.85
15. Miranda Goodson / 8

200 Meters
11. Julia Hall / 25.56
12. Miranda Goodson / 25.61
13. Akili Echols / 25.61
--. Jade Harrison / FS

400 Meters
9. Jenna Reid / 58.16

600 Meters
1. Aurora Rynda / 1:29.55
2. Chloe Foster / 1:31.45

800 Meters
1. Alice Hill / 2:09.96
2. Lauren Biggs / 2:09.99
4. Meg Darmofal / 2:10.50
8. Lexi Munley / 2:13.30
9. Faith Reynolds / 2:14.35
16. Haley Click / 2:23.32

Mile
1. Hannah Meier / 4:40.35
3. Anne Forsyth / 4:47.44
11. Julia Vanitvelt / 4:58.53
14. Micaela Degenero / 5:02.20
16. Jena Metwalli / 5:02.32
20. Sydney Badger / 5:06.96

3,000 Meters
3. Kathryn House / 9:34.73
7. Anna West / 9:43.82
8. Rachel Coleman / 9:44.60
12. Audrey Belf / 9:53.85
15. Raquel Powers / 9:56.25