Michigan
Triton Invitational
Wolverine Women Set for Split Weekend in Louisville, San Diego
4/11/2019 5:07:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
» The University of Michigan women's track and field team is splitting up Saturday, with the sprinters, distance runners and jumpers competing at the Louisville Invitational and the throwers in action at the UC San Diego Triton Invitational.
» Two-time Big Ten champion Claire Kieffer-Wright and All-Americans Chloe Foster, Alice Hill, Meg Darmofal and Aurora Rynda headline the contingent at Louisville.
» Thrower Bailey Baker leads the small group of competitors at UC San Diego on Friday and Saturday.
THIS WEEK
Fri-Sat., April 12-13 -- UCSD Triton Invitational (San Diego, Calif.)
Friday, April 12 -- Day 1, 9:30 a.m. PDT
Saturday, April 13 -- Day 2, 2 p.m. PDT
Meet Info | Live Results
Saturday, April 13 -- Louisville Invitational (Louisville, Ky.), 12:15 p.m.
Meet Info | Live Results
• Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The countdown to the Big Ten Outdoor Championships is down to one month, which means the regular season is going to heat up for the University of Michigan women's track and field team starting this weekend at both the Louisville Invitational and the UC San Diego Triton Invitational.
The Wolverine women's sprinters, distance runners and jumpers will be competing Saturday (April 13) at the Louisville Invitational against the likes of Louisville, Michigan State, Purdue and Notre Dame, while the Michigan throwers head west for the Triton Invitational on Friday and Saturday (April 12-13).
This weekend's split road trip and next weekend's to Virginia and Stanford are the final two frames of top-level competition for the Wolverines ahead of the conference championships at Iowa on May 10-12. Michigan will host its first-ever outdoor home meet at the new Michigan Track and Field Stadium -- the Len Paddock Open -- on Friday, May 3, in what will serve as a final tune-up for the postseason.
Michigan's weekend commences Friday at 9:30 a.m. PDT as its highest-ranked thrower, Bailey Baker, competes in the invitational section of the hammer throw. Friday will be exclusively dedicated to the discus and hammer throw for the Michigan women.
Saturday sees the rest of the Michigan squad jump into action at Louisville, starting with heptathlete Theresa Mayanja in the javelin at 10:30 a.m. Track events for the Wolverines start at noon in the 100-meter hurdles, and are expected to conclude by 5:15 p.m.
Those in action for Michigan on Saturday in Louisville include two-time Big Ten champion high jumper Claire Kieffer-Wright and all four members of the first team All-American indoor distance medley relay team in Chloe Foster, Alice Hill, Meg Darmofal and Aurora Rynda, all in different events.
Saturday in San Diego will have Briana Nelson and Erin Connor continuing career-best seasons in the shot put at 2 p.m. PDT.
Whether at Louisville or UC San Diego, among the goals for the Wolverines this weekend is to continue putting up marks that will ultimately rank them among the top 48 in their respective events in the NCAA East Region. Those ranked top-48 after the Big Ten Championships in May will be assured of qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds in late May, which serve as the feeder meet into the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June.
Fans can follow along with both competitions via live results throughout the day. FM Timing will provide results for the Louisville Invitational, while Finished Results will carry the results for the UC San Diego Triton Invitational. Live updates can also be found on the official Michigan track and field Twitter account, @umichtrack.
Wolverines to Watch
• After making a 2019 outdoor debut at Stanford two weeks ago that marked her first competitive action since the winter of 2018, Kieffer-Wright will continue to raise the bar in the high jump Saturday in Louisville starting at 4 p.m. Her season-opening clearance of 1.76m (5 feet, 9.25 inches) is her best-ever outdoor debut, topping 1.75m (5-8.75) openers from 2017 and 2016.
• Foster already has a career best to her credit this outdoor campaign, and she is aiming to keep lowering it in her signature 400-meter hurdles event in Louisville on Saturday at 3:40 p.m. After running a personal-record 59.33 three weekends ago at Vanderbilt, Foster could become the fifth woman in school history to crack 59 seconds this weekend -- all but assuring her a berth to the NCAA East Prelims.
• The Wolverines' largest collection of star power this weekend is concentrated in the 1,500 meters at 1:40 p.m. in Louisville. The event features Hill as she gears up for her steeplechase debut in the coming weeks; Big Ten Cross Country Freshman of the Year Anne Forsyth, fresh off a 37th-place finish at the IAAF World U20 Cross Country Championships two weekends ago; and cross country All-American Camille Davre.
• Rynda will be fine-tuning her speed this week as she drops down from 800 meters -- the distance at which she ran Michigan's fastest-ever freshman debut in the event two weekends ago -- to 400 meters at 2:40 p.m. She could potentially become the first woman in school history to crack 2:07 at 800 meters and 55 seconds at 400 meters.
• Headlining the contingent at UC San Diego is Baker, who is the team's leading hammer thrower and discus thrower. Her career-best 58.14m (190-9) in the hammer from three weekends ago has her ranked 47th in the NCAA East Region. Though that mark has historically qualified for the NCAA East Prelims, this season has been especially competitive in the event, so Baker will be looking to build on that performance when the invitational hammer throw gets underway Friday at 9:30 a.m. PDT.
When to Watch the Wolverines
| Friday (April 12) | Event | Round | Time (ET) | Meet |
| Bailey Baker | Hammer Throw | Invitational Final | 12:30 PM | Triton Invitational |
| Kayla Deering | Hammer Throw | Invitational Final | 12:30 PM | Triton Invitational |
| Briana Nelson | Hammer Throw | Invitational Final | 12:30 PM | Triton Invitational |
| Bailey Baker | Discus | Open Final | 6:00 PM | Triton Invitational |
| Saturday (April 13) | Event | Round | Time (ET) | Meet |
| Theresa Mayanja | Javelin | Final | 10:30 AM | Louisville Invitational |
| Theresa Mayanja | 100 meter hurdles | Prelims | 12:00 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Sydney McGinley | 100 meter hurdles | Prelims | 12:00 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Jeryne Fish | Long Jump | Final | 12:00 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Relay, 4x100 | 4x100 relay | Final | 1:30 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Sydney Badger | 1500-meter run | Final | 1:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Audrey Belf | 1,500-meter run | Final | 1:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Rachel Coleman | 1,500-meter run | Final | 1:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Camille Davre | 1,500-meter run | Final | 1:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Anne Forsyth | 1,500-meter run | Final | 1:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Alice Hill | 1,500-meter run | Final | 1:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Jena Metwalli | 1,500-meter run | Final | 1:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Lexi Munley | 1,500-meter run | Final | 1:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Faith Reynolds | 1,500-meter run | Final | 1:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Julia Vanitvelt | 1,500-meter run | Final | 1:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Megan Worrel | 1,500-meter run | Final | 1:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Finalist TBD | 100-meter hurdles | Final | 2:20 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Julia Hall | 400-meter dash | Final | 2:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Jade Harrison | 400-meter dash | Final | 2:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Emma Lane | 400-meter dash | Final | 2:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Aurora Rynda | 400-meter dash | Final | 2:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Jessica Mercier | Pole Vault | Final | 3:00 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Christine Schultz | Pole Vault | Final | 3:00 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Audrey Belf | 800-meter run | Final | 3:15 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Micaela DeGenero | 800-meter run | Final | 3:15 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Carola Jansohn | 800-meter run | Final | 3:15 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Mary Kate McNamara | 800 meter run | Final | 3:15 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Julia Sullivan | 800 meter run | Final | 3:15 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Chloe Foster | 400 meter hurdles | Final | 3:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Sydney McGinley | 400 meter hurdles | Final | 3:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Jenna Reid | 400 meter hurdles | Final | 3:40 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Claire Kieffer-Wright | High Jump | Final | 4:00 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Katt Miner | High Jump | Final | 4:00 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Jade Harrison | 200 meter dash | Final | 4:10 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Theresa Mayanja | 200 meter dash | Final | 4:10 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Sydney Badger | 3,000 meter run | Final | 4:30 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Meg Darmofal | 3,000 meter run | Final | 4:30 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Kayla Keane | 3,000 meter run | Final | 4:30 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Raquel Powers | 3,000 meter run | Final | 4:30 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Relay, 4x400 | 4x400 relay | Final | 5:00 PM | Louisville Invitational |
| Briana Nelson | Shot Put | Invitational Final | 5:00 PM | Triton Invitational |
Wolverine Bites
• Though she has not yet debuted in 2019, the potential of Erin Finn looms large. With her collegiate career in its waning weeks, Finn is pegged by FloTrack at No. 6 over 10,000 meters and at No. 8 over 5,000 meters. The 10-time Big Ten champion and nine-time All-American is nearing the end of her sixth-and-final year of eligibility -- granted by the NCAA -- and could debut in the coming month.
• Finn is joined in the FloTrack projections by 12th-ranked Hannah Meier at 1,500 meters and 13th-ranked Alice Hill in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. While Meier has competed once in her event this year, Hill has not competed in the steeplechase since finishing seventh at the 2018 IAAF U20 World Championships last August.
• Meier is among seven Wolverine women ranked top-50 nationally, based on to-date 2019 performances. Meg Darmofal and Meier are ranked No. 22 and No. 25 at 1,500 meters; Aurora Rynda is No. 25 at 800 meters; Claire Kieffer-Wright is No. 29 in the high jump; Chloe Foster is No. 31 in the 400-meter hurdles; and Anna West and Jessi Larson are No. 32 and No. 41, respectively, at 5,000 meters.
• The Michigan distance squad is living up to its billing as one of the nation's best. In the USTFCCCA Event Squad Rankings, which rank programs based on the cumulative performances of their top-four competitors in each event. The Michigan quartet of Darmofal, Meier, Micaela DeGenero and Hill is ranked No. 4 in the country at 1,500 meters; the 5,000-meter group of West, Larson, Kathryn House and Maddy Trevisan is fifth-best in the country; and the 800-meter quartet of Rynda, DeGenero, Hill and Lauren Biggs is No. 6 nationally.
• These student-athletes and more are hoping to qualify for the NCAA Championships, they will first have to make it through the NCAA East Preliminaries in late May. Qualification for the East Prelims requires a student-athlete to be among the 48 highest-ranked athletes in the East Region who declare to compete in a given event. With some who choose to not declare -- for instance, those who rank highly in multiple events who choose to focus on a different event -- the actual rank of those who qualify can dip into the 50s and potentially the 60s.
• Below is a list of where Michigan women rank in the NCAA East Region, along with the performance that ultimately served as the 48th-and-final performance accepted into the Prelims for context.
In Strong Position to Qualify
12. Aurora Rynda, 800 meters - 2:06.35 (2018 Final Qualifier: 2:07.96)
15. Meg Darmofal, 1,500 meters - 4:20.49 (2018 Final Qualifier: 4:24.19)
16. Anna West, 5,000 meters - 16:16.33 (2018 Final Qualifier: 16:34.22)
16. Hannah Meier, 1,500 meters - 4:21.14 (2018 Final Qualifier: 4:24.19)
16. Claire Kieffer-Wright, High Jump - 1.76m (2018 Final Qualifier: 1.73m)
16. Chloe Foster, 400 hurdles - 59.33 (2018 Final Qualifier: 59.82)
22. Jessi Larson, 5,000 meters - 16:23.75 (2018 Final Qualifier: 16:34.22)
On the Bubble
36. Kathryn House, 5,000 meters - 16:34.94 (2018 Final Qualifier: 16:34.22)
47. Bailey Baker, Hammer Throw - 58.14m (2018 Final Qualifier: 57.66m)
Currently Outside the Bubble
39. Micaela DeGenero, 800 meters - 2:08.45 (2018 Final Qualifier: 2:07.96)
40. Maddy Trevisan, 5,000 meters - 16:38.32 (2018 Final Qualifier: 16:34.22)
42. Rachel Coleman, 5,000 meters - 16:40.08 (2018 Final Qualifier: 16:34.22)
42. Micaela DeGenero, 1,500 meters - 4:25.45 (2018 Final Qualifier: 4:24.19)
45. Alice Hill, 1,500 meters - 4:25.91 (2018 Final Qualifier: 4:24.19)
45. Jessica Mercier, Pole Vault - 3.85m (2018 Final Qualifier: 3.98m)
• Numerous Wolverines are ranked top-10 among Big Ten competitors so far this young season. Student-athletes who finish top-eight in their respective events at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in May will earn points for their teams in the overall standings that decide the team champion. Below is a list of where the Wolverines are currently ranked relative to their conference rivals so far this season.
3. Aurora Rynda - 800 meters
4. Claire Kieffer-Wright - High jump
5. Meg Darmofal - 1,500 meters
5. Michigan - 4x400 relay
6. Hannah Meier - 1,500 meters
6. Chloe Foster - 400-meter hurdles
7. Anna West - 5,000 meters
8. Jessi Larson - 5,000 meters
9. Bailey Baker - Hammer throw
10. Jessica Mercier - Pole vault
Players Mentioned
