Wolverines Impress on Final Day of Road Swing

Saturday, January 25

Lexington, Ky.

12:30 PM

Michigan

Rod McCravy Memorial

Devin Meyrer (Michigan Photography)

1/25/2020 7:53:00 PM | Men's Track & Field

By: Kyle Terwillegar

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team turned in strong performances both in Boston, Massachusetts, and Lexington, Kentucky, on Saturday (Jan. 25) as they closed out their first road trip of the 2020 indoor season.

Distance runners Devin Meyrer and Anthony Berry headlined the action at the Boston U. John Thomas Terrier Classic, while hurdler Josh Zeller and Ian Davis were the highlights of the second-and-final day of competition at the Kentucky Rod McCravy Memorial.

The Wolverines will return to the confines of the world-class U-M Indoor Track Building next weekend as they host the two-day Power Five Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 31-Feb. 1). Expected to compete against Michigan are Louisville, Michigan State, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Wisconsin.

Boston U. John Thomas Terrier Classic

Site: Boston, Mass. (Boston U. Track and Tennis Center)
Event: Boston U. John Thomas Terrier Classic
U-M Result: No team scoring
Next U-M Event: Fri- Sat., Jan. 31-Feb. 1 -- host, Power Five Invitational (U-M Indoor Track Building)

BOSTON, Mass. -- The top members of the University of Michigan men's distance corps began their 2020 indoor season in earnest on Saturday as they chased fast times on the steep banked track at Boston University at the John Thomas Terrier Classic.

Anthony Berry came close to the hallowed sub-four-minute mile territory -- within two seconds -- and Devin Meyrer posted a strong performance over 3,000 meters to lead a contingent of 10 Wolverines in action in Beantown.

As close as Berry came to cracking four minutes in the mile, Meyrer was even closer, proportionally, to going under eight minutes for 3,000 meters.

Meyrer chopped 19 seconds off of a two-year-old career-best at the distance, clocking 8:01.91 for fifth in his section and fifth overall.

He ran strong near the front from the gun, remaining near the lead even as the pack started to thin late in the race. He was part of a five-man lead pack in the final kilometer, hanging tough with the leaders until less than a quarter mile to go.

Teammate Jacob Lee followed in the next race with a personal best of his own, clocking 8:14.19 to take 21st overall. Gabe Mudel made it three races in a row with a Michigan personal record in the event, taking nearly eight seconds off his previous best with a 8:19.84 to finish 31st overall.

Though the Wolverines could not crack the four-minute barrier on Saturday, they were frequently on or near pace to do so in the first two sections of the event.

Berry came closest with a career-best 4:01.77 clocking in the second section, with Cole Johnson next-fastest for Michigan in a career-best 4:05.32 and Ben Hill just behind at 4:05.56.

Johnson led the way through much of the first three-quarters of the race, but it was Berry who took over at the front with a quarter-mile to go, still just under sub-four pace at 2:59.9. Berry was still there as he took the final bell lap at around 3:30, but did not quite have the speed over the final 200 meters to beat the clock.

Hill was at or near the lead for much of the fast section, as well, coming through nearly three-quarters of the race in the lead and at sub-four pace before being overtaken by a group led by eventual winner and Nike professional Craig Engels. Unable to respond to the move, Hill finished 10th in the race.

Closing out the Boston meet and the entire weekend on the road was Joost Plaetinck, who did so in career-best fashion. Last week's Simmons-Harvey Invitational 3,000-meter champion followed up that win with a 14:14.53 over 5,000 meters on Saturday.

After coming through the 3,000-meter split in about 8:31 -- just seven seconds shy of his best at that distance -- he held his momentum through the finish to shed nearly 15 seconds from his lifetime best in the 5,000. He would finish seventh in his section.

Kentucky Rod McCravy Memorial

Site: Lexington, Ky. (Nutter Field House)
Event: Kentucky Rod McCravy Memorial
U-M Result: No team scoring
Next U-M Event: Fri- Sat., Jan. 31-Feb. 1 -- host, Power Five Invitational (U-M Indoor Track Building)

• Complete Results (PDF)

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Michigan's sprint and hurdles corps turned in strong performances on the final day of the Rod McCravy Memorial at Kentucky on Saturday.

Hurdler Josh Zeller and 400-meter runner Ian Davis finished seventh overall in their respective events to lead the way for Michigan, with fellow hurdler Sierra Hendrix-Williams a close eighth.

Zeller ran the fifth sub-eight-second race of his career in as many races as a Michigan Wolverine, clocking 7.92 to finish seventh overall in the final. He was just narrowly beat to the line for sixth by .003 of a second by Iowa's Jamal Britt.

Hendrix-Williams followed shortly thereafter in 8.08, good for eighth overall.

In the semifinals, Zeller won his heat -- the faster of the two from top-to-bottom -- in 7.94, with Hendrix-Williams sixth in 8.03. The duo finished fourth and ninth overall in the prelims, respectively, to advance to the final. Job Mayhue just missed the nine-man final with an 11th-place effort in 8.11.

The three sub-eight-second performances for Zeller on the weekend came after two more in his collegiate debut two weeks ago, giving him five total for his young career. For reference, eventual school-record holder Jeff Porter closed out his 2004 freshman season with a consecutive streak of nine such races.

Davis made his 2020 debut in the event, clocking 47.94 to finish runner-up in his heat and seventh overall. Davis had a slight edge over the pack coming off the final turn, but was overtaken from the outside on the homestretch and missed the section win by just .09 of a second.

Vail Hartman and Roland Amarteifio also posted top-15 finishes and sub-49-second efforts to take 12th and 13th, respectively. Both men ran 48.52 and both men won their respective sections, with both aggressively taking the lead at the cut-in point and never relinquishing around the final curve and down the homestretch.

The performance was particularly impressive for Amarteifio, who lowered his personal record in the event by more than a second. With the goal of making a run for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this summer in his outdoor specialty 400-meter hurdles, the early-season show of speed is a promising sign.

Amarteifio, Davis and Hartman returned later in the afternoon to close out the weekend at Kentucky for the Wolverines as part of the 4x400 relay. Along with Mayhue, the quartet combined to go 3:14.84 for seventh overall.

Collegiate Career Bests

Roland Amarteifio -- 48.52 / 400m (I)
Anthony Berry -- 4:01.77 / Mile (I)
Cole Johnson -- 4:05.32 / Mile (I)
Jacob Lee -- 8:14.19 / 3000m (I)
Devin Meyrer -- 8:01.91 / 3000m (I)
Gabe Mudel -- 8:19.84 / 3000m (I)
Joost Plaetinck -- 14:14.53 / 5000m (I)

Michigan Results by Event

400 Meters (at Kentucky)
7. Ian Davis / 47.94
12. Vail Hartman / 48.52
13. Roland Amarteifio / 48.52
27. Desmond Melson / 50.06

600 Meters (at Kentucky) [FRIDAY]
-- Alex Schwedt / DNS

Mile (at Boston U.)
10. Anthony Berry / 4:01.77
16. Cole Johnson / 4:05.32
17. Ben Hill / 4:05.56
21. Thomas Shilgalis / 4:07.57
32. Derrick Simmons / 4:10.65
42. Nick Foster / 4:15.08