Michigan
Virginia Challenge
Michigan's 5,000m Crew Leads the Way at Stanford
4/19/2019 11:57:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
• Virginia Challenge coverage
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team opened its final road trip of the 2019 outdoor regular season at both Stanford and Virginia on Friday (April 19).
Michigan's distance crew got the Wolverines off to a strong start at Stanford's Cardinal Classic with several personal-best performances by Jack Aho, Devin Meyrer and others that put them in strong postseason position.
Friday's action at the Virginia Challenge was cut dramatically short by inclement weather, though a few Michigan men put in strong performances before the storms rolled in.
More information on both meets can be found below.
Cardinal Classic
Site: Palo Alto, Calif. (Cobb Track & Angell Field)
Event: Stanford Cardinal Classic (Day 1 of 2)
U-M Result: No team scoring
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 20 -- Stanford Cardinal Classic - Day Two (Palo Alto, Calif.), 4:59 p.m. PDT
An impressive showing by Michigan's distance squad at 5,000 meters on Friday (April 19) resulted in at least two performances worthy of NCAA East Prelims consideration and several career-best efforts.
Thanks to a big kick on the final lap, Jack Aho cracked 14 minutes for the first time in his career with a 13:59.37 for third in section two of the event. Teammate Devin Meyrer nearly followed him under 14 minutes for the first time in his career, clocking 14:00.91 for fourth. Both were joined in the top-10 by Isaac Harding in a career-best 14:07.09.
Both Aho and Meyrer are in strong position to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminaries as one of the top 48 in the NCAA East Region for the event. Harding also made a case for his inclusion, as no one in the East who has run faster than 14:09 has ever been left out of the meet, which serves as the opening rounds of the NCAA Championships.
Aho, Meyrer and Harding all ran top 10 in the race for much of the proceedings, with Aho and Meyrer emerging at the front of the pack once the pacesetters stepped off the track in the final mile.
Stanford's Clayton Mendez made a move past Aho and Meyrer with two laps to go, but the Michigan duo was able to reclaim the lead within 150 meters. By the time the three passed the finish line with a lap to go, Meyrer had taken over the lead.
Mendez reclaimed the lead from Meyrer with 200 meters to go, with Aho in fourth with 150 to go. Aho would charge past Meyrer into third, with Meyrer taking fourth.
In the only other race of the day for the men at Stanford, Matt Plowman took the victory in the second section of the 800 meters in a career-best 1:51.06. Teammate Derrick Simmons was fourth in 1:52.56 after leading much of the race.
Full Michigan results can be found at the bottom of the article.
Action resumes at the Cardinal Classic on Saturday (April 20) at 4:59 p.m. PDT with the steeplechase.
Virginia Challenge
Site: Charlottesville, Va. (Lannigan Field)
Event: Virginia Challenge (Day 1 of 2)
U-M Result: No team scoring
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 20 -- Virginia Challenge – Day Two (Charlottesville, Va.), 9 a.m.
With the threat of inclement weather forcing the postponement of Friday's evening session of action at the Virginia Challenge, only a handful of Michigan's men competed for the Wolverines on Friday (April 19) in the morning session.
Jack Lint, competing in an individual event rather than his signature decathlon, began the day for the Wolverines with a significant lifetime-best 4.67m (15 feet, 3.75 inches) in the pole vault. This career-best mark came on what his third and final attempt at the height.
Desmond Nicholas led the Wolverines on the track with a 10.90 (+1.9m/s) clocking for 22nd overall at 100 meters.
Full Michigan results can be found below.
With the postponement of Friday's evening session, Saturday has turned into a day-long affair beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding after 8 p.m.
Collegiate Career-Best Performances
Career debuts in events not included; indoor career bests are considered separate, even for the same event; wind-aided performances (greater than +2.0m/s) are not included.
Jack Aho -- 13:59.37 / 5000m (O)
Isaac Harding -- 14:07.09 / 5000m (O)
Cassidy Henshaw -- NM / Long Jump (O)
Jack Lint -- 4.67m (15-3.75) / Pole Vault (O)
Devin Meyrer -- 14:00.91 / 5000m (O)
Matt Plowman -- 1:51.06 / 800m (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 (at Virginia)
22. Desmond Nicholas / 10.90 (+1.9m/s)
31. Joe McCarthy / 11.02 (+0.4m/s)
39. Stephen Hagen / 11.21 (+0.8m/s)
200 Meters (at Virginia)
To be contested Saturday
400 Meters (at Virginia)
To be contested Saturday
800 Meters (at Stanford)
SECTION 2
1. Matt Plowman / 1:51.06
4. Derrick Simmons / 1:52.56
1,500 Meters (at Stanford)
To be contested Saturday
5,000 Meters (at Stanford)
SECTION 2
3. Jack Aho / 13:59.37
4. Devin Meyrer / 14:00.91
10. Isaac Harding / 14:07.09
17. Gabe Mudel / 14:24.02
18. Will Landowne / 14:31.55
22. Jacob Lee / 15:01.90
110-Meter Hurdles (at Virginia)
To be contested Saturday
400-Meter Hurdles (at Virginia)
To be contested Saturday
3,000-Meter Steeplechase (at Stanford)
To be contested Saturday
4x100-Meter Relay
To be contested Saturday
4x400-Meter Relay (at Virginia)
To be contested Saturday
High Jump (at Virginia)
To be contested Saturday
Pole Vault (at Virginia)
OPEN SECTION
12. Jack Lint / 4.67m (15-3.75)
Long Jump (at Virginia)
To be contested Saturday
Triple Jump (at Virginia)
To be contested Saturday
Shot Put (at Virginia)
To be contested Saturday
Discus Throw (at Virginia)
To be contested Saturday
Hammer Throw (at Virginia)
To be contested Saturday
Decathlon (at Virginia)
Through Day One (5 of 10 events completed)
12. Cassidy Henshaw / 2,290 points
100-meter dash / 11.70 (+0.4m/s) (711 points)
Long Jump / NM (0 points)
Shot Put / 8.31m (27-3.25) (385 points)
High Jump / 1.71m (5-7.25) (552 points)
400-meter dash / 53.94 (642 points)
110-meter hurdles / To be contested Saturday
Discus / To be contested Saturday
Pole Vault / To be contested Saturday
Javelin / To be contested Saturday
1,500-meter run / To be contested Saturday
Players Mentioned
