Michigan
Len Paddock Open
Wolverine Women to Host Inaugural Outdoor Home Meet at New Facility
5/1/2019 3:39:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
» The Len Paddock Open returns for the first time since the 2012 season in what will be the first-ever competition at the new U-M Outdoor Track and Field Stadium.
» Among those expected to compete are All-Americans Meg Darmofal, Camille Davre, Chloe Foster, Alice Hill and Aurora Rynda.
THIS WEEK
Friday, May 3 -- host Len Paddock Open (U-M Outdoor Track and Field Stadium), 10 a.m.
Meet Info | Live Results
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Collegiate outdoor track and field returns to the University of Michigan for the first time since 2012 -- and makes its debut at the new U-M Outdoor Track and Field Stadium -- on Friday (May 3) at 10 a.m. as the Michigan women are set to host the Len Paddock Open.
In what will be the final regular-season tune-up ahead of next weekend's Big Ten Championships at Iowa, the Len Paddock Open will see many of Michigan's top competitors get one more dress rehearsal for the conference meet against the likes of Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Toledo and Western Michigan.
Among those expected to compete are All-Americans Meg Darmofal (distance), Camille Davre (distance), Chloe Foster (sprints/hurdles), Alice Hill (distance), and Aurora Rynda (mid-distance), as well as 2019 standouts Micaela DeGenero (distance), Anne Forsyth (distance), Kathryn House (distance), Bailey Baker (throws) and Kayla Deering (throws).
Also in the field are athletes from Canadian institutions Western Ontario, Windsor and York University, as well as several unattached competitors.
Field events begin at 10 a.m. with action on the track getting underway at noon. The full program for the Len Paddock Open -- which debuted in 1986 and was last held in 2012 -- is tentatively expected to conclude by around 4:30 p.m.
The meet also will mark the final home appearance for the graduating class of seniors. A Senior Day presentation will be held following the conclusion of the last event.
Spectators can attend the meet for free. Those who cannot make it to 2530 S. State Street in person can follow along via live results from Delta Timing and on the official Michigan track and field Twitter account, @umichtrack.
The full schedule of competitors can be found below, followed by news and notes from this 2019 outdoor season to date.
Wolverines to Watch
• The Wolverine women will have big concentrations of talent in the mid-distance events with numerous standouts entered in the 1,500- and 800-meter events. Both events will feature the All-Americans Davre and Hill, with the 1,500-meter race also featuring Forsyth and House, and the 800-meter race including Rynda and Darmofal. Additionally, the 800 will have former All-American Shannon Osika and former NCAA 1,500 champion Jaimie Phelan.
• Baker and Deering will make one more run at the hammer throw school record when their event goes off at 10 a.m. Already the co-school-record-holders in the indoor weight throw, both women are looking to not only go after April Phillips' 60.74m (199 feet, 3 inches) Michigan record from the 2003 Paddock Open, but also to secure their qualifying spots in what is the deepest-ever NCAA East Region hammer throw field.
• Headlining the action in the sprints is Foster, who is stepping down from her normal 400-meter distance to take a run in the 200 meters. She is also slated to halve that distance again to run a leg for Michigan in the 4x100 relay.
When to Watch the Wolverines
| Friday (May 3) | Event | Round | Time (ET) |
| Bailey Baker | Hammer Throw | Final | 10:00 AM |
| Kayla Deering | Hammer Throw | Final | 10:00 AM |
| Theresa Mayanja | Javelin | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Jeryne Fish | Long Jump | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Jessica Mercier | Pole Vault | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Christine Schultz | Pole Vault | Final | 11:00 AM |
| Bailey Baker | Discus | Final | 12:00 PM |
| 4x100 Relay | 4x100 relay | Final | 12:30 PM |
| Sydney Badger | 1500 meter run | Final | 12:40 PM |
| Rachel Coleman | 1500 meter run | Final | 12:40 PM |
| Camille Davre | 1500 meter run | Final | 12:40 PM |
| Anne Forsyth | 1500 meter run | Final | 12:40 PM |
| Alice Hill | 1500 meter run | Final | 12:40 PM |
| Kathryn House | 1500 meter run | Final | 12:40 PM |
| Jena Metwalli | 1500 meter run | Final | 12:40 PM |
| Julia Vanitvelt | 1500 meter run | Final | 12:40 PM |
| Erin Connor | Shot Put | Final | 1:00 PM |
| Briana Nelson | Shot Put | Final | 1:00 PM |
| Tiana Luton | 100 meter hurdles | Final | 1:15 PM |
| Theresa Mayanja | 100 meter hurdles | Final | 1:15 PM |
| Sydney McGinley | 100 meter hurdles | Final | 1:15 PM |
| Lauren Rodriguez | 100 meter hurdles | Final | 1:15 PM |
| Katt Miner | High Jump | Final | 1:30 PM |
| Emma Lane | 400 meter dash | Final | 1:35 PM |
| Aurora Rynda | 400 meter dash | Final | 1:35 PM |
| Tiana Luton | 100 meter dash | Final | 1:45 PM |
| Sydney McGinley | 100 meter dash | Final | 1:45 PM |
| Meg Darmofal | 800 meter run | Final | 2:00 PM |
| Camille Davre | 800 meter run | Final | 2:00 PM |
| Micaela DeGenero | 800 meter run | Final | 2:00 PM |
| Alice Hill | 800 meter run | Final | 2:00 PM |
| Carola Jansohn | 800 meter run | Final | 2:00 PM |
| Mary Kate McNamara | 800 meter run | Final | 2:00 PM |
| Lexi Munley | 800 meter run | Final | 2:00 PM |
| Faith Reynolds | 800 meter run | Final | 2:00 PM |
| Aurora Rynda | 800 meter run | Final | 2:00 PM |
| Julia Sullivan | 800 meter run | Final | 2:00 PM |
| Megan Worrel | 800 meter run | Final | 2:00 PM |
| Haley Click | 400 meter hurdles | Final | 2:25 PM |
| Jenna Reid | 400 meter hurdles | Final | 2:25 PM |
| Chloe Foster | 200 meter dash | Final | 2:40 PM |
| Kayla Keane | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:55 PM |
| Jessi Larson | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:55 PM |
| Raquel Powers | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:55 PM |
| Maddy Trevisan | 3000 meter run | Final | 2:55 PM |
| 4x400 Relay | 4x400 relay | Final | 3:10 PM |
Wolverine Bites
• Though she has raced just once in 2019 and twice in the past calendar year, 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 in the national landscape. 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 made her season debut two weekends ago with a 16:09 run over 5,000 meters at Stanford's Cardinal Classic.
• Finn is joined in the FloTrack projections by 11th-ranked Hannah Meier at 1,500 meters and 14th-ranked Alice Hill in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Hill ran her first-ever NCAA steeplechase race in 10:04.58 at the Cardinal Classic two weekends ago, in what was her first steeplechase race since finishing seventh at the IAAF World U20 Championships last August.
• Hill and Finn are among five Wolverine women currently ranked top-50 nationally, based on to-date 2019 performances.
10. Alice Hill / Steeplechase / 10:04.58
32. Chloe Foster / 400-meter hurdles / 58.60
46. Aurora Rynda / 800 meters / 2:06.35
47. Claire Kieffer-Wright / High Jump / 1.76m (5-9.25)
49. Erin Finn / 5,000 meters / 16:09.94
• 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 5,000-meter group of Finn, Anna West, Larson, House and Forsyth is sixth-best in the country; the Michigan quartet of Darmofal, Meier, Micaela DeGenero and Hill is ranked No. 10 in the country at 1,500 meters; and the 800-meter quartet of Rynda, DeGenero, Hill and Lauren Biggs is ranked No. 11 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. They are separated into five categories of likelihood of eventual qualification, based on previous years' last qualifying marks and how the events are shaping up across the region in 2019.
Locks to Qualify
7. Alice Hill, Steeplechase - 10:04.58 (2018 Final Qualifier: 10:29.51)
14. Chloe Foster, 400 hurdles - 58.60 (2018 Final Qualifier: 59.82)
Strong Position to Qualify
24. Aurora Rynda, 800 meters - 2:06.35 (2018 Final Qualifier: 2:07.96)
25. Erin Finn, 5,000 meters - 16:09.94 (2018 Final Qualifier: 16:34.22)
26. Claire Kieffer-Wright, High Jump - 1.76m (2018 Final Qualifier: 1.73m)
31. Meg Darmofal, 1,500 meters - 4:20.49 (2018 Final Qualifier: 4:24.19)
35. Hannah Meier, 1,500 meters - 4:21.14 (2018 Final Qualifier: 4:24.19)
Likely to Qualify
35. Anna West, 5,000 meters - 16:16.33 (2018 Final Qualifier: 16:34.22)
38. Kathryn House, 5,000 meters - 16:17.51 (2018 Final Qualifier: 16:34.22)
39. Anne Forsyth, 5,000 meters - 16:17.81 (2018 Final Qualifier: 16:34.22)
On the Bubble
40. Bailey Baker, Discus Throw - 49.74m (2018 Final Qualifier: 49.95m)
44. Micaela DeGenero, 800 meters - 2:07.69 (2018 Final Qualifier: 2:07.96)
44. Bailey Baker, Hammer Throw - 59.32m (2018 Final Qualifier: 57.66m)
48. Camille Davre, 5,000 meters - 16:21.81 (2018 Final Qualifier: 16:34.22)
52. Jessi Larson, 5,000 meters - 16:23.75 (2018 Final Qualifier: 16:34.22)
58. Micaela DeGenero, 1,500 meters - 4:23.03 (2018 Final Qualifier: 4:24.19)
Currently Outside the Bubble
52. Kayla Deering, Hammer Throw - 58.06m (2018 Final Qualifier: 57.66m)
• 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.
1. Alice Hill - Steeplechase
4. Aurora Rynda - 800 meters
5. Claire Kieffer-Wright - High Jump
6. Chloe Foster - 400-meter hurdles
7. Meg Darmofal - 1,500 meters
7. Erin Finn - 5,000 meters
7. Michigan - 4x400 relay
8. Chloe Foster - 400 meters
8. Hannah Meier - 1,500 meters
9. Bailey Baker - Hammer Throw
10. Anna West - 5,000 meters
10. Bailey Baker - Discus
Players Mentioned
