Michigan
NCAA East Preliminaries
McLaughlin, Amarteifio Earn Trips to NCAA Championships
5/24/2019 10:54:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
Site: Jacksonville, Fla. (Hodges Stadium)
Event: NCAA East Preliminaries (Day 2 of 3)
U-M Result: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 25 -- at NCAA East Preliminaries - Day Three (Jacksonville, Fla.), 2:45 p.m.
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A pair of men from the University of Michigan track and field team clinched berths to the national championships on Friday's (May 24) second day of competition at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds, bringing the total number of qualifiers up to four.
Taylor McLaughlin and Roland Amarteifio both earned invitations to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, on June 5-8 based on their performances in the 400-meter hurdles on Friday.
McLaughlin will be making his fourth-straight nationals appearance in the event, while Amarteifio will be making his first-ever trip to the NCAA Championships. The duo joins hammer thrower Joe Ellis, who qualified on Thursday (May 23), and decathlete Jack Lint. Lint secured his berth prior to this weekend's East Prelims.
Running in the same third and final quarterfinal heat, McLaughlin clocked a season-best 49.92 for the win and an automatic berth, while Amarteifio chopped more than a half-second off his career-best time from Thursday's first-round race to cross the line in 50.46 for fourth.
Overall between the three heats, McLaughlin checked in third, while Amarteifio was 10th. The two entered the weekend ranked No. 5 and No. 19 in the region.
Both men came off the final turn with 100 meters to go running first and second. McLaughlin would hold steady in the lead, but Amarteifio had opponents flank him to both his left and right over the final two hurdles. While he was ultimately overtaken at the line and pushed out of an automatic berth to nationals, his time was quick enough to garner one of three "at-large" spots on the NCAA Championships qualifying list.
For McLaughlin, his performance represents yet another large step toward the same type of fitness he displayed in two previous fifth-place NCAA Championships finishes -- despite only racing the event in three meets this outdoor season, all in the last four weeks.
He has now earned the right to finish out his Michigan career at nationals, going for his first national title and a third career first-team All-America honor.
Amarteifio, who entered this season with a 51.73 career best, has developed into an elite hurdler in his own right. In all of Michigan history, only Olympian and NCAA champion Neil Gardner, McLaughlin and All-American Ali Arastu have run faster.
Michigan athletes have now qualified in the 400-meter hurdles in seven of the last nine years.
A pair of Wolverines also came close to NCAA Championships berths in the steeplechase quarterfinals as sophomores Lewis Tate and Joost Plaetinck -- both in their first seasons running the event -- finished 14th and 17th, respectively. Tate entered the meet as the 45th seed, while Plaetinck was 47th.
Tate ran a nearly eight-second career-best 8:52.34 -- making him No. 10 in school history -- in the second of three heats to finish fourth, sticking with the leaders for two-thirds of the race. He held strong enough over the final kilometer to emerge in position to claim the third and final "at-large" berth to NCAAs.
While Plaetinck did not stick with the leaders in the third and final heat, he managed a more than three-second career-best of his own in 8:56.63 to take seventh in the heat.
Full Michigan results can be found below.
The Wolverines have several more qualifying opportunities in Saturday's final session of competition, including three-time All-American and school record-holder Andrew Liskowitz in the shot put and cross country All-American Jack Aho at 5,000 meters. Both McLaughlin and Amarteifio also could potentially be back in action with the 4x400 relay.
Saturday's action kicks off at 2:45 p.m. with Liskowitz in the shot put. Competition on the track begins at 6:45 p.m. with Ben Hill in the 1,500-meter quarterfinals. A full schedule of events for the remainder of the weekend can be found at the bottom of this story.
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.
Roland Amarteifio -- 50.46 / 400m Hurdles (O)
Joost Plaetinck -- 8:56.63 / Steeplechase (O)
Lewis Tate -- 8:52.34 / Steeplechase (O)
Full Michigan Results by Event
Q = Automatic qualifier into quarterfinal; q = non-automatic qualifier into quarterfinal; w = wind-aided performance (Wind readings greater than +2.0m/s are considered "wind-aided" and are not eligible for record purposes.)
1,500 Meters
Quarterfinals to be contested Saturday
PRELIMS (Contested Thursday)
14. Ben Hill / 3:47.85q
5,000 Meters
Semifinals to be contested Saturday
10,000 Meters
SEMIFINAL (Contested Thursday)
32. Devin Meyrer / 30:31.82
110-Meter Hurdles
PRELIMS
43. Job Mayhue / 14.25 (-0.6m/s)
400-Meter Hurdles
QUARTERFINALS
3. Taylor McLaughlin / 49.94 [Advanced to NCAA Championships]
10. Roland Amarteifio / 50.46 [Advanced to NCAA Championships]
PRELIMS (Contested Thursday)
2. Taylor McLaughlin / 50.29Q
14. Roland Amarteifio / 51.12Q
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
QUARTERFINALS
14. Lewis Tate / 8:52.34
17. Joost Plaetinck / 8:56.63
4x400-Meter Relay
Quarterfinals to be contested Saturday
High Jump
To be contested Saturday
Shot Put
To be contested Saturday
Discus Throw
42. Manning Plater / 49.31m (161-9)
Hammer Throw
Contested Thursday
7. Joe Ellis / 68.79m (225-8) [Advanced to NCAA Championships]
22. Manning Plater / 61.30m (201-1)
Updated Timetable of Michigan Competitors (Saturday)
| Saturday (May 25) | Event | Round | Time (EDT) |
| Andrew Liskowitz | Shot Put | First Round* | 2:45 PM |
| Max Wagner | High Jump | First Round* | 4:00 PM |
| Ben Hill | 1,500-meter run | Quarterfinal* | 6:45 PM |
| Jack Aho | 5,000-meter run | Semifinal* | 8:45 PM |
| Isaac Harding | 5,000-meter run | Semifinal* | 8:45 PM |
| Michigan | 4x400 relay | Quarterfinal* | 9:45 PM |
Players Mentioned
