Big Ten Championships Await Host Michigan Men

Friday, February 22

Ann Arbor, Mich.

10:00 AM

Michigan

Big Ten Indoor Championships

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Taylor McLaughlin

2/20/2019 9:26:00 PM | Men's Track & Field

By: Kyle Terwillegar

» UPDATE: Tickets for both days of the Big Ten Indoor Championships are officially sold out. No tickets will be available for purchase at the door.
» The University of Michigan will welcome the best student-athletes and teams from around the conference for the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 22-23).
» This will mark the first championship meet held in the new state-of-the-art U-M Indoor Track Building and the highest-profile indoor meet held in the state of Michigan since the 1983 NCAA Championships.
» Among those in action this weekend will include reigning Big Ten champion Joe Ellis, top-ranked Andrew Liskowitz, and school-record holder Taylor McLaughlin.

THIS WEEK
Fri-Sat., Feb. 22-23 -- Big Ten Indoor Championships (U-M Indoor Track Building) - 10 a.m. ET
Meet Central | Live Results | Heat Sheet
Friday, Feb. 22 -- Big Ten Indoor Championships, 10 a.m.
Saturday, Feb. 23 -- Big Ten Indoor Championships, 10 a.m.

• Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Watch Live on FloTrack: Live Stream
Watch Live on BTN Plus: Day One | Day Two

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Not since the early 1980s has as high-profile of an indoor track and field meet as the 2019 Big Ten Indoor Championships set to be hosted by the University of Michigan men's track and field team on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 22-23) been held anywhere in the state of Michigan.

The state-of-the-art U-M Indoor Track Building will put on its first championship meet as the Michigan men hope to earn their first indoor conference title since the 1994 season in front of the hometown fans.

Beginning both Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m., the meet -- held on Michigan's hydraulic-banked 200-meter track -- is expected to produce the most national-caliber performances of any competition held in the state of Michigan since the 1983 NCAA Indoor Championships were held at the Pontiac Silverdome.

Of the 18 individual and relay events to be contested this weekend, eight feature student-athletes or teams who have posted performances in 2019 that are superior to the all-time best times or marks achieved in meets held in the state of Michigan -- also known as "All-Comers Records."

Fridays action will include action in the combined events (men's heptathlon and women's pentathlon), six field event finals (three for each gender), qualifying rounds for most track events, and the day-one finale track finals in the 3,000-meter run and distance medley relay.

Saturday will cap off the championships with the conclusion of the men's heptathlon, the remaining six field-event finals and finals on the track in nine different events -- ultimately concluding in the presentation of the Big Ten team champion trophies.

All-American Joe Ellis will look to defend his 2018 conference crown in the weight throw and run Michigan's streak in the event to three consecutive seasons. He leads the conference in the event, as does his throws teammate Andrew Liskowitz, who is the Big Tens farthest shot putter for the 2019 season.

They are among nine men ranked top-eight in the conference this winter, accounting for the sprints, distance, jumps and throws.

Those Wolverines are in position to score for the Wolverines as top-eight finishers in their individual events. Event winners are awarded 10 points for their team, with each placer through eighth also accruing team points (10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1). The team with the most points at the end of Saturday will be crowned the champion.

Follow the Championships

Both Friday and Saturday are officially sold out of tickets. No tickets will be available for purchase at the door on either day.

Those who cannot make it into the U-M Indoor Track Building can keep up with all the action online via live streams, live results and social media updates.

Both days of the championships will be streamed online via the subscription services on FloTrack and Big Ten Network Plus. In addition to the main presentation of the meet that will be carried on both services, the FloTrack platform will also provide unprecedented coverage by featuring an additional five streams dedicated only to action in the field events.

Live results for the meet will be available from Delta Timing.

Updates throughout the meet on Michigan's competitors can be found on the official @umichtrack accounts on Twitter and Instagram.

Wolverine Bites

• Joe Ellis may be the reigning Big Ten weight throw champion and the runaway conference leader as the No. 2 man in the country, but his signature event is shaping up to be one of the meet's most competitive. Coming off his best meet of the year at Vanderbilt, where he tossed the conference's four farthest marks of the year, he will have his first rematch with Penn State's David Lucas. Ellis beat Lucas at last year's Big Ten meet, but the Nittany Lion got the better of Ellis at NCAAs as he won the national al title.

• Andrew Liskowitz is likewise coming off his best outing of the year at Vanderbilt and enters the weekend as the conference leader in the shot put by just over half a foot. As he searches for his first career Big Ten title and Michigan's first in the event since 1974, he will do so against a field that includes as many as six other men ranked top-50 nationally, including former conference winner Willie Morrison of Indiana and last years runner-up Reno Tuufuli of Iowa.

• The duo of Chase Barnett and Ben Hill came up just short of the sub-four-minute mile during the regular season, but both are in the running for the Big Ten title this weekend. Ranked No. 5 and No. 7, respectively, in the conference this year, they will be gunning for big points and Michigan's first mile title since 2009.

• Jack Aho is ranked top-10 in the conference both at 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters at No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, and has the potential to pick up some significant points for the Wolverines. With season bests of 7:57.54 and 14:02.28, the cross country All-American has similar credentials to what Aaron Baumgarten put up in 2017 when he was third at 3,000 meters and sixth at 5,000 meters.

• Of everyone on the roster, no one has been as consistent over the course of his career than Taylor McLaughlin. The school record-holder at 400 meters has finished third, sixth and third in the event over his three years, and is ranked ninth in the conference after a quiet regular season. He will also be called upon the meet-finale 4x400 relay.

• The hurdles crew of Roland Amarteifio, Sierra Hendrix-Williams, Job Mayhue and Noah Caudy have made a name for themselves nationally as the fifth-best hurdles quartet in the country, per the USTFCCCA. Now they look to translate that to the Big Ten level where they are ranked fifth, 10th, 16th and 18th, respectively. Both Amarteifio and Hendrix-Williams made the outdoor 110-meter hurdle final at the conference meet in 2018.

• Brandon Piwinski turned in an outdoor postseason run in 2018 that began with his first collegiate seven-foot clearance in the high jump and ended with an appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. After beginning his 2019 indoor campaign over seven feet, he has yet to return to that height. If his most recent postseason run is any indication, he could raise the bar back up when it matters most. Ranked No. 4 in the conference, he will be joined by ninth-ranked Cassidy Henshaw, a true freshman.

• Another true freshman who could make a big impact is sprinter Asani Hampton. Seeded eighth at 60 meters in 6.77, Hampton is just .02 away from the Michigan freshman record and is very much in contention to make the eight-man final and score for the Wolverines.

• Graduate transfer Jack Lint is scheduled to make his debut in the heptathlon for the Wolverines over the course of Friday and Saturday. Lint was an ACC champion in the event during his time as an undergraduate at Virginia, where he held the school record.

When to Watch the Wolverines

Friday (Feb. 22)	Event	Meet	Time (ET)
Jack Lint	60 meter dash	Heptathlon	10:00 AM
Jack Lint	Long Jump	Heptathlon	10:45 AM
Jack Lint	Shot Put	Heptathlon	12:30 PM
Roland Amarteifio	60 meter hurdles	Prelims	12:45 PM
Noah Caudy	60 meter hurdles	Prelims	12:45 PM
Sierra Hendrix-Williams	60 meter hurdles	Prelims	12:45 PM
Job Mayhue	60 meter hurdles	Prelims	12:45 PM
Asani Hampton	60 meter dash	Prelims	1:25 PM
Desmond Nicholas	60 meter dash	Prelims	1:25 PM
Jack Lint	High Jump	Heptathlon	1:45 PM
Chase Barnett	Mile	Prelims	2:15 PM
Ben Hill	Mile	Prelims	2:15 PM
Andrew Lorant	Mile	Prelims	2:15 PM
Ryan Wilkie	Mile	Prelims	2:15 PM
Ian Davis	400 meter dash	Prelims	2:55 PM
Taylor McLaughlin	400 meter dash	Prelims	2:55 PM
Desmond Melson	400 meter dash	Prelims	2:55 PM
Joe Ellis	Weight Throw	Final	3:30 PM
Manning Plater	Weight Throw	Final	3:30 PM
Anthony Berry	800 meter run	Prelims	3:45 PM
Alex Schwedt	600 meter run	Prelims	4:25 PM
Cassidy Henshaw	High Jump	Final	4:30 PM
Brandon Piwinski	High Jump	Final	4:30 PM
Max Wagner	High Jump	Final	4:30 PM
Jack Aho	3000 meter run	Final	6:15 PM
Christian Hubaker	3000 meter run	Final	6:15 PM
Will Landowne	3000 meter run	Final	6:15 PM
Gabe Mudel	3000 meter run	Final	6:15 PM
Michigan, TBD	Distance Medley Relay	Final	6:55 PM
Saturday (Feb. 23)	Event	Meet	Time (ET)
Jack Lint	60 meter hurdles	Heptathlon	10:00 AM
Jack Lint	Pole Vault	Heptathlon	11:00 AM
Daniel Butael	Triple Jump	Final	11:00 AM
Andrew Liskowitz	Shot Put	Final	11:10 AM
Finals on the track begin at 1:15 p.m. for the men. Michigan participants in the 60, 400, 600, 800, mile and 60 hurdles will be determined by who qualifies from Friday's preliminary rounds.
Jack Lint	1000 meter run	Heptathlon	2:05 PM
Jack Aho	5000 meter run	Final	3:55 PM
Isaac Harding	5000 meter run	Final	3:55 PM
Jacob Lee	5000 meter run	Final	3:55 PM
Devin Meyrer	5000 meter run	Final	3:55 PM
Michigan, TBD	4x400 relay	Final	4:40 PM