Michigan
Black and Gold Invitational
House, DeGenero Earn Wins for Michigan on Final Day at Vanderbilt
3/23/2019 7:11:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
Site: Nashville, Tenn. (Vanderbilt Track)
Event: Vanderbilt Black and Gold Invitational (Day 2 of 2)
U-M Result: No team scoring
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sat., March 29-30 -- at Stanford Invitational (Palo Alto, Calif.)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The University of Michigan women's track and field team posted a pair of victories on Saturday (March 23) to close out the final day of the Vanderbilt Black and Gold Invitational.
Kathryn House pulled out a dramatic, photo-finish victory at 3,000 meters and Micaela DeGenero was the decisive winner at 800 meters as the Wolverines posted five top-three finishes on the day.
The weekend served as the outdoor debuts for all of Michigan's distance runners, throwers and jumpers who competed; more will make their first appearances of the spring next weekend at Stanford.
House provided the most exciting finish of the day -- in arguably any event -- as she emerged victorious from a group of three finishers all within half a second of one another.
She crossed the line in 9:29.46 -- better than her indoor career-best of 9:34.73 -- to just beat Lipscomb's Courtney Benner (9:29.71) and U-M teammate Anne Forsyth (9:29.95) to the finish. House and Forsyth were among five Wolverines who finished top-10, joining fourth-place Jessi Larson, fifth-place Rachel Coleman and seventh-place Faith Reynolds.
Though the 3,000-meter distance is not contested during the championships postseason, it is a good sign of things to come in the longer distances of 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
DeGenero was the class of the 800-meter field at Vanderbilt, with her 2:08.45 enough not only for the win but also for a new outdoor career best. Only two other women were even within two seconds of her.
The performance is strong for an outdoor opener, with only 13 women around the country having broken 2:09 so far this season. She is only about a half-second from the cutoff time that it took to qualify for the 48-woman NCAA East Preliminaries in 2018.
Also in good position to qualify for the NCAA East Prelims after just one meet is Chloe Foster, who finished third in the 400-meter hurdles. In her first outdoor meet after running a leg of the first team All-America distance medley relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Foster clocked 59.33 for a new career best.
The time moved her into a tie with Laura Jerman for seventh in school history.
Joining Foster on the move up the Michigan all-time top-10 lists was Jessica Mercier, who tied for third in the pole vault. Making her Michigan outdoor debut, Mercier cleared 3.85m (12 feet, 7.5 inches) on her first attempt to vault into the record books as the No. 5 outdoor performer in school history.
Though not in an official NCAA Championships-contested event, the Wolverines' scored another top-three finish by way of Megan Worrel, who took third in the 2,000-meter steeplechase. Suiting up in the maize and blue for the first time, the freshman ran 6:57.13 for the second-fastest time in the world this year on the U20 list.
The championships portion of the season, as well as the rest of the regular season, will include a 3,000-meter steeplechase event.
After leading the Wolverines on Friday with a big career best in the hammer throw, Bailey Baker doubled back on Saturday to finish sixth in the discus with another significant career best. Her best throw of 47.20m (154-10.5) was exactly three meters farther than her previous personal record entering the weekend from 2017 -- a standard she surpassed on all five of her fair throws. Baker redshirted all of the 2018 season to prepare for this redshirt senior campaign.
Jeryne Fish missed all of 2018 for a different reason -- injury -- and made a big impression in her first outdoor competition since 2017. She finished seventh overall with a leap of 5.59m (18-4.25) (-0.9m/s wind) that exactly matched her 2017 Big Ten Championships effort.
Also posting a top-10 finish on the track was Sydney McGinley, who took 10th in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.42 (-1.0m/s).
More Michigan competitors -- including several All-Americans from the current and past seasons making their 2019 outdoor debuts -- will hit the road again next weekend for the Stanford Invitational on Friday and Saturday (March 29-30) in Palo Alto, California.
Collegiate Career-Best Performances
Career debuts in events not included; indoor career bests are considered separate from outdoor, even for the same event
Bailey Baker -- 47.20m (154-10.5) / Discus (O)
Micaela DeGenero -- 2:08.45 / 800m (O)
Chloe Foster -- 59.33 / 400m Hurdles (O)
Kayla Keane -- 10:02.60 / 3000m (O)
Sydney McGinley -- 14.42 (-1.0m/s) / 100m Hurdles (O)
Full Michigan Results by Event
Q = Automatic qualifier into final; q = non-automatic qualifier into final; w = wind-aided performance (Wind readings greater than +2.0m/s are considered "wind-aided" and are not eligible for record purposes. Wind readings up to and including +4.0m/s are allowable for NCAA East Preliminaries qualifying purposes.)
100 Meters
26. Jeryne Fish / 12.56 (+0.2m/s)
31. Akili Echols / 12.71 (+0.2m/s)
37. Torisa Johnson / 12.81 (+-0.2m/s)
200 Meters (Contested Friday)
35. Akili Echols / 25.65w (+2.5m/s)
36. Torisa Johnson / 25.79w (+3.2m/s)
800 Meters
1. Micaela DeGenero / 2:08.45
9. Lexi Munley / 2:13.82
22. Carola Jansohn / 2:17.66
1,500 Meters (Contested Friday)
7. Micaela DeGenero / 4:28.17
8. Camille Davre / 4:30.31
10. Jena Metwalli / 4:31.01
12. Lexi Munley / 4:31.85
13. Audrey Belf / 4:32.60
20. Lauren Biggs / 4:35.68
25. Rachel Coleman / 4:37.20
29. Sydney Badger / 4:38.43
34. Faith Reynolds / 4:42.41
40. Carola Jansohn / 4:46.84
50. Mary Kate McNamara / 4:51.19
3,000 Meters
1. Kathryn House / 9:29.46
3. Anne Forsyth / 9:29.95
4. Jessi Larson / 9:36.68
5. Rachel Coleman / 9:38.63
7. Faith Reynolds / 9:46.29
13. Sydney Badger / 9:56.04
16. Kayla Keane / 10:02.60
100-Meter Hurdles
10. Sydney McGinley / 14.42 (-1.0m/s)
19. Theresa Mayanja / 15.05 (+1.7m/s)
24. Tiana Luton / 15.26 (+1.7m/s)
--. Lauren Rodriguez / DNF
400-Meter Hurdles
3. Chloe Foster / 59.33
14. Haley Click / 1:07.94
2,000-Meter Steeplechase
3. Megan Worrel / 6:57.13
4x400-Meter Relay
10. Michigan / 4:09.33
High Jump
7. Katt Miner / 1.61m (5-3.25)
Pole Vault
3. Jessica Mercier / 3.85m (12-7.5)
Long Jump
7. Jeryne Fish / 5.59m (18-4.25) (-0.9m/s)
--. Theresa Mayanja / NM
Shot Put (Contested Friday)
6. Briana Nelson / 14.35m (47-1)
11. Erin Connor / 13.02m (42-8.75)
Discus Throw
6. Bailey Baker / 47.20m (154-10.5)
Hammer Throw (Contested Friday)
4. Bailey Baker / 58.14m (190-9.25)
9. Briana Nelson / 52.43m (172-0.5)
10. Kayla Deering / 51.31m (168-4.25)
Players Mentioned
