Michigan
Stanford Invitational
Wolverines Strong on First Day at Stanford
3/30/2019 8:18:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Site: Palo Alto, Calif. (Cobb Track & Angell Field)
Event: Stanford Invitational (Day 1 of 2)
U-M Result: No team scoring
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 30 -- at Stanford Invitational - Day 2 (Palo Alto, Calif.) 1 p.m. PDT
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Several student-athletes from the No. 21 University of Michigan men's track and field team turned in performances on day one of the Stanford Invitational on Friday (March 29) that will put them in the running for NCAA postseason berths.
Distance runners Ben Hill, Jack Aho and Devin Meyrer all posted times in their respective 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter events that put them on the bubble for NCAA East Preliminary Round qualifications, as they led a Michigan effort on Friday that produced 10 career-best performances.
Behind a signature furious kick down the final 150 meters, Hill charged to a two-second career-best 3:44.97 to take fifth in the second-fastest section of the event.
Though his postseason qualifying status will depend on results throughout the remainder of the season, no one who has ever declared to compete at 1,500 meters at the NCAA East Preliminaries with a seed time faster than 3:45 has ever been left out of the meet.
The top 48 student-athletes in the NCAA East Region for each event qualify to the Prelims -- what is essentially the opening rounds of the NCAA Championships -- in May.
Cross country All-American Aho also posted a time of 14:09.26 for 17th in the invitational section of the 5,000-meter run that would have qualified him for the NCAA East Preliminaries in eight of the past nine seasons. Though he has run faster indoors, the performance was an outdoor personal best for the sophomore.
Closing out the night for the Wolverines was Meyrer, who clocked 29:17.48 for 19th place in the invitational section of the 10,000-meter run. Though he was disconnected with the main pack for much of the race, he ran well enough to post a nearly two-second career-best performance and put himself well within the historical 29:50 threshold for qualifying to the East Prelims.
Elsewhere in the distance events, Lewis Tate ran a strong 9:03.31 career debut in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for fifth in his section. That is a time that would have qualified to the NCAA East Prelims in each of the past two seasons, but not the three seasons prior to that. All will be determined by results around the region for the next month-and-a-half.
In an earlier section of the 1,500, Cole Johnson ran a career-best 3:49.16 for third in a section five race that saw him take the lead early, fall back to seventh at the bell for one lap to go, and then charge back to the lead with just over 100 meters to go.
After posting a win and a runner-up finish in his outdoor debut a week ago, Roland Amarteifio followed it up on Friday with a pair of top-10 finishes in the hurdles. The junior finished seventh in the 400-meter hurdles in 52.75, hours after running to a wind-aided 14.42 (+2.1m/s) for ninth in the 110-meter hurdles final.
He made the 110-meter hurdles final with teammate Job Mayhue, who clocked a wind-aided 14.34 (+2.1m/s) for eighth after running a career-best 14.28 (+1.8m/s) in the prelims.
The Wolverines very nearly made up a third of the nine-man final in the event, as Sierra Hendrix-Williams was 10th in 14.46 (+1.5m/s).
Michigan also picked up a pair of top-10 finishes at 400 meters, where two-time Big Ten champion 400-meter hurdler Taylor McLaughlin made his 2019 outdoor debut in ninth. He clocked 48.17, followed directly in the standings by teammate Ian Davis' 48.21 for 10th overall in a separate section.
Headlining action in the field was Daniel Butael, who claimed the victory in the collegiate, non-invitational section of the long jump. His slightly wind-aided 7.31m (23-11.75) leap was the best of his Michigan career so far.
Manning Plater got a career-best of his own in the discus as he threw 50.66m (166-2) for sixth place.
Full Michigan results can be found below.
The second-and-final day at Stanford begins Saturday at 1 p.m. PDT in the field and at 1:37 p.m. on the track. With a majority of the Wolverines' entries competing on Friday, the squad will compete in only seven different events throughout the afternoon.
COLLEGIATE CAREER-BEST PERFORMANCES
Career debuts in events not included; indoor career bests are considered separate, even for the same event
Jack Aho -- 14:09.26 / 5000m (O)
Daniel Butael -- 7.31mw (23-11.75) (+2.4m/s) / Long Jump (O)
Isaac Harding -- 14:17.49 / 5000m (O)
Cassidy Henshaw -- 15.09 (+1.8m/s) / 110m Hurdles (O)
Ben Hill -- 3:44.97 / 1500m (O)
Cole Johnson -- 3:49.16 / 1500m (O)
Job Mayhue -- 14.28 (+1.8m/s) / 110m Hurdles (O)
Devin Meyrer -- 29:17.48 / 10,000m (O)
Manning Plater -- 50.66m (166-2) / Discus (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
PRELIMS
14. Desmond Nicholas / 10.83w (+2.8m/s)
26. Joe McCarthy / 11,05 (-1.6m/s)
29. Stephen Hagen / 11.08 (+1.7m/s))
200 Meters
To be contested Saturday
400 Meters
9. Taylor McLaughlin / 48.17
10. Ian Davis / 48.21
19. Vail Hartman / 49.17
21. Desmond Melson / 49.26
23. Alex Schwedt / 49.33
800 Meters
To be contested Saturday
1,500 Meters
Event contested in multiple sections with no overall standings. Results below are sorted by finishing time.
5. Ben Hill / 3:44.97 (Section 2)
3. Cole Johnson / 3:49.16 (Section 5)
5,000 Meters
Event contested in multiple sections with no overall standings. Results below are sorted by finishing time.
17. Jack Aho / 14:09.26 (Invite Section)
9. Isaac Harding / 14:17.49 (Section 3)
12. Jacob Lee / 14:26.31 (Section 3)
13. Will Landowne / 14:28.10 (Section 3)
21. John Tatter / 14:46.12 (Section 3)
10,000 Meters
19. Devin Meyrer / 29:17.48 (Invite Section)
110-Meter Hurdles
FINAL
8. Job Mayhue / 14.34w (+2.1m/s)
9. Roland Amarteifio / 14.42w (+2.1m/s)
PRELIMS
8. Job Mayhue / 14.28q (+1.8m/s)
9. Roland Amarteifio / 14.35q (+1.5m/s)
10. Sierra Hendrix-Williams / 14.46 (+1.5m/s)
18. Cassidy Henshaw / 15.09 (+1.8m/s)
400-Meter Hurdles
7. Roland Amarteifio / 52.75
15. Noah Caudy / 54.18
17. Job Mayhue / 54.43
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
Event contested in multiple sections with no overall standings. Results below are sorted by finishing time.
5. Lewis Tate / 9:03.31 (Section 3)
13. Christian Hubaker / 9:15.21 (Section 2)
4x100-Meter Relay
To be contested Saturday
4x400-Meter Relay
To be contested Saturday
High Jump
5. Alex Klemm / 1.96m (6-5) (Invite Section)
7. Max Wagner / 1.96m (6-5) (Invite Section)
Long Jump
1. Daniel Butael / 7.31mw (23-11.75) (+2.4m/s)
3. Cassidy Henshaw / 6.93m (22-9) (+0.3m/s)
Triple Jump
To be contested Saturday
Discus Throw
6. Manning Plater / 50.66m (166-2)
Hammer Throw
To be contested Saturday
Players Mentioned
