Michigan
Tyson Invitational
Michigan Men Ready for Last Big Regular-Season Test
2/12/2020 4:17:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
THIS WEEK
Fri- Sat., Feb. 14-15 -- at Arkansas Tyson Invitational (Fayetteville, Ark.), Friday 2 p.m. CST / Saturday 12 p.m. CST
TV: SEC Network+ (Fri.) | Live Results | Live Video | Meet Information
Fri-Sat., Feb. 14-15 -- at Iowa State Classic (Ames, Iowa), Friday 5 p.m. CST / Saturday 1 p.m. CST
TV: Flotrack | Live Results | Live Video | Meet Information
Fri-Sat., Feb. 14-15 -- at Vanderbilt Music City Challenge (Nashville, Tenn.), Friday 7 p.m. CST / Saturday 1:50 p.m. CST
Live Results | Meet Information
• Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team is embarking on its last big regular-season road trip of the 2020 indoor season this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 14-15), split between three different meets at Arkansas, Iowa State and Vanderbilt.
With the Big Ten Championships just two weekends away on Feb. 28-29, Michigan is scattered across the Central time zone seeking out the best competition for their respective event groups. This will be the Wolverines' last chance for national-level competition ahead of the conference meet, with many of the top student-athletes not expected to compete next weekend.
The Wolverines' sprinters and jumpers will be at the Arkansas Tyson Invitational, with the 60-meter hurdles quartet of Josh Zeller, Roland Amarteifio, Job Mayhue and Sierra Hendrix-Williams -- ranked top-five nationally as a group by the USTFCCCA -- all competing in the same meet for the first time this winter.
The distance squad is set to compete at the Iowa State Classic, led by cross country All-American Devin Meyrer and another sub-four-minute mile attempt by 2020's top mid-distance runner in Anthony Berry.
Michigan's throwers will be in action at the Vanderbilt Music City Challenge, headlined by a pair of national top-10 athletes in shot putter Andrew Liskowitz and weight thrower Manning Plater.
Live results are available for all three meets. Live video from both days of the Iowa State Classic will be broadcast online via Flotrack's subscription streaming service, while Friday's session at Arkansas will be carried online via SEC Network Plus.
What to Know for the Arkansas Tyson Invitational
• Friday will be the main day of competition at Arkansas, with action beginning for Michigan as early as 2 p.m. CST and concluding as late as 7:30 p.m. CST. A reduced schedule on Saturday will see the Wolverines in competition starting as early as noon CST and going through as late as 3:30 p.m. CST.
• After a season's best weekend for Zeller and Amarteifio in the 60-meter hurdles at the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational last week, Michigan's 60-meter hurdles group -- also including Mayhue and Hendrix-Williams -- is now ranked fourth in the USTFCCCA Event Squad Rankings. Michigan is one of just three teams nationally with four hurdlers or more at or below 8.00 in 2020. They will attempt to navigate as many as three rounds of competition (depending on seeding) on Friday, with qualifying rounds at 3 p.m. CST, prelims at 5 p.m. CST and the final at 6:15 p.m. CST.
• Zeller is now the fourth-fastest freshman in the nation at 7.86 seconds, which sits him at No. 35 nationally. He is just .04 seconds away from the current Michigan freshman record set by Jeff Porter to win the 2004 Big Ten title.
• Michigan's 4x400 relay team will have a chance to improve its national rank and recapture the spark that carried it to second team All-America honors outdoors in 2019. The relay will be the Wolverines' last event of the weekend -- regardless of location -- Saturday at 3:25 p.m. CST, and could feature a lineup of Amarteifio, Ian Davis, Vail Hartman and Desmond Melson. Davis will be in action one week after setting a new collegiate best at 400 meters in 47.80 and making the all-time Michigan top-10 at 600 meters in his debut for the event in 1:19.01. The latter three will all run the 400 meters on Friday at 5 p.m. CST.
• Top sprinter Asani Hampton will look to navigate as many as three rounds of qualifying in the 60 meters on Friday -- 3:30 p.m. CST, 5:35 p.m. CST and 6:25 p.m. CST -- as he starts to wind up for an effort to repeat as a Big Ten Indoor Championships scorer in the event.
• Headlining the group in the field is 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships qualifier Brandon Piwinski in the high jump, who will be making his 2020 debut and competing for the first time since last indoor season. Depending on seeding, he will compete in either the unseeded section at 11:30 a.m. CST on Saturday or in the invitational section later in the day at 2:30 p.m. CST.
What to Know for the Iowa State Classic
• Race assignments have not yet been released for the Iowa State Classic, but the Wolverines are tentatively expected to begin competing in Ames on Friday night at 5 p.m. CST through 7:30 p.m. CST. Saturday's session should begin for Michigan just after 1 p.m. CST and continue through about 4:30 p.m. CST.
• Meyrer will make his 2020 debut at 5,000 meters on Friday, hoping to replicate the success he found at 3,000 meters earlier this season. At Boston University in January, he took about 19 seconds off his best in the event to go 8:01.91. Though his indoor 5,000-meter best is a more robust 14:08.73 from two years ago, he will look to slash a big chunk off it and dip into 13-minute territory for the first time in his career. Only 10 other men have done that in Michigan history indoors.
• Also on Friday, Will Landowne will look to replicate the 8:06.55 he ran for 3,000 meters at the Power Five Invitational while unattached two weekends ago. A similar time will once again make him a candidate to score at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, just as he did at this distance last winter.
• With personal records separated by just .01 seconds, Ben Hill (4:01.76) and Berry (4:01.77) will both take what likely will be their last attempts at sub-four-minute miles this winter on Saturday afternoon beginning as early as 1 p.m. CST. With championship-season racing often more tactical than quick-paced, the pair will be looking to etch their names in the sub-four club that is currently 11 men deep in Michigan history.
What to Know for the Vanderbilt Music City Challenge
• Currently ranked No. 8 nationally in the weight throw, Plater will get back at it Friday night starting at 7 p.m. as he returns after a week away from competition. He is the top-seeded entrant in the field, with three other men farther than or near 21 meters.
• National No. 5 shot putter Liskowitz will get a rematch with Purdue's Jalil Brewer to headline his event at 2 p.m. CST on Saturday. Liskowitz defeated Brewer for the 2019 Big Ten Indoor title with a then-school-record throw on his second-to-last attempt, while Brewer came back to win the Big Ten Outdoor title in the spring over third-place Liskowitz. John Meyer, ranked 25th nationally, also will look to edge closer to the top-16 nationally and a trip to the NCAA Championships.
Wolverine Bites
• The Wolverines, led by head coaches Jerry Clayton and James Henry, checked in at No. 37 nationally in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Track and Field Rating Index (TFRI) that was released Monday (Feb. 10).
• The Wolverines finished eighth at the 2019 Big Ten Indoor Championships, scoring 52 points. With defending shot put champion Andrew Liskowitz leading nine more returning individual scorers from a year ago, the Wolverines put 34 of those points back on the board in 2020. The Wolverines' relay teams -- 4x400 and distance medley -- also scored seven points, with the 4x4 squad having earned outdoor second team All-America honors since last winter. Both teams return three of four members from their 2019 Big Ten roster, with many additional parts to fill the voids.
• Current school record-holders: Liskowitz (indoor and outdoor shot put)
Michigan Student-Athletes Ranked Top-50 Nationally
| Name | Event | Rank |
| Ian Davis | 600m | 36 |
| Anthony Berry | 800m | 36 |
| Anthony Berry | Mile | 31 |
| Devin Meyrer | 3,000m | 28 |
| Joost Plaetinck | 5,000m | 29 |
| James Gedris | 5,000m | 43 |
| Josh Zeller | 60H | 35 |
| Andrew Liskowitz | Shot Put | 5 |
| John Meyer | Shot Put | 25 |
| Manning Plater | Weight Throw | 8 |
| Mason Mahacek | Heptathlon | 29 |
| Heath Baldwin | Heptathlon | 35 |
Michigan Student-Athletes Ranked Top-10 in the Big Ten
| Name | Event | Rank |
| Andrew Liskowitz | Shot Put | 2 |
| Manning Plater | Weight Throw | 2 |
| Joost Plaetinck | 5,000m | 3 |
| James Gedris | 5,000m | 5 |
| Josh Zeller | 60m Hurdles | 5 |
| Anthony Berry | Mile | 6 |
| Devin Meyrer | 3,000m | 7 |
| John Meyer | Shot Put | 7 |
| Michigan | 4x400 Relay | 8 |
| Mason Mahacek | Heptathlon | 8 |
| Roland Amarteifio | 60m Hurdles | 9 |
| Heath Baldwin | Heptathlon | 9 |
| Tom Brady | 5,000m | 10 |
| Daniel Butael | Triple Jump | 10 |
When to Watch the Wolverines
Times are subject to change as final schedules are published.
| Friday Competitors | ||||
| Name | Event | Round | Time (CT) | Meet |
| James Gedris | 5000 meter run | Final | 1:05 PM | Iowa State |
| Gabe Mudel | 5000 meter run | Final | 1:05 PM | Iowa State |
| Heath Baldwin | Long Jump | Final | 2:00 PM | Arkansas |
| Mason Mahacek | Long Jump | Final | 2:00 PM | Arkansas |
| Job Mayhue | 60 meter hurdles | Qualifying Round | 3:00 PM | Arkansas |
| Sierra Hendrix-Williams | 60 meter hurdles | Qualifying Round | 3:00 PM | Arkansas |
| Josh Zeller | 60 meter hurdles | Qualifying Round | 3:00 PM | Arkansas |
| Roland Amarteifio | 60 meter hurdles | Qualifying Round | 3:00 PM | Arkansas |
| Asani Hampton | 60 meter dash | Qualifying Round | 3:30 PM | Arkansas |
| Heath Baldwin | 60 meter dash | Qualifying Round | 3:30 PM | Arkansas |
| Mason Mahacek | 400 meter dash | Final | 4:00 PM | Arkansas |
| Desmond Melson | 400 meter dash | Final | 4:00 PM | Arkansas |
| * Roland Amarteifio | 60 meter hurdles | Prelims | 5:00 PM | Arkansas |
| * Sierra Hendrix-Williams | 60 meter hurdles | Prelims | 5:00 PM | Arkansas |
| * Job Mayhue | 60 meter hurdles | Prelims | 5:00 PM | Arkansas |
| * Josh Zeller | 60 meter hurdles | Prelims | 5:00 PM | Arkansas |
| * Heath Baldwin | 60 meter dash | Prelims | 5:35 PM | Arkansas |
| * Asani Hampton | 60 meter dash | Prelims | 5:35 PM | Arkansas |
| 60 meter hurdles | Final | 6:15 PM | Arkansas | |
| * Sierra Hendrix-Williams | 60 meter hurdles | Final | 6:15 PM | Arkansas |
| * Job Mayhue | 60 meter hurdles | Final | 6:15 PM | Arkansas |
| * Josh Zeller | 60 meter hurdles | Final | 6:15 PM | Arkansas |
| Devin Meyrer | 5000 meter run | Final | 6:25 PM | Iowa State |
| * Heath Baldwin | 60 meter dash | Final | 6:25 PM | Arkansas |
| * Asani Hampton | 60 meter dash | Final | 6:25 PM | Arkansas |
| Ian Davis | 400 meter dash | Final | 6:40 PM | Arkansas |
| Isaac Harding | 5000 meter run | Final | 6:45 PM | Iowa State |
| Jacob Lee | 5000 meter run | Final | 6:45 PM | Iowa State |
| Joe McCarthy | 200 meter dash | Final | 7:15 PM | Vanderbilt |
| Will Landowne | 3000 meter run | Final | 7:25 PM | Iowa State |
| Manning Plater | Weight Throw | Final | 7:45 PM | Vanderbilt |
| Saturday Competitors | ||||
| Name | Event | Round | Time (CT) | Meet |
| Cassidy Henshaw | High Jump | Final | 11:30 AM | Arkansas |
| Brandon Piwinski | High Jump | Final | 11:30 AM | Arkansas |
| Max Wagner | High Jump | Final | 11:30 AM | Arkansas |
| Daniel Butael | Triple Jump | Final | 12:00 PM | Arkansas |
| Desmond Melson | 200 meter dash | Final | 1:00 PM | Arkansas |
| Ian Davis | 200 meter dash | Final | 1:00 PM | Arkansas |
| Asani Hampton | 200 meter dash | Final | 1:00 PM | Arkansas |
| Nick Foster | Mile | Final | 1:15 PM | Iowa State |
| Thomas Shilgalis | Mile | Final | 1:15 PM | Iowa State |
| Cole Johnson | Mile | Final | 1:20 PM | Iowa State |
| Anthony Berry | Mile | Final | 1:25 PM | Iowa State |
| Ben Hill | Mile | Final | 1:25 PM | Iowa State |
| Joe McCarthy | 60 meter dash | Prelims | 1:50 PM | Vanderbilt |
| Andrew Liskowitz | Shot Put | Final | 2:45 PM | Vanderbilt |
| John Meyer | Shot Put | Final | 2:45 PM | Vanderbilt |
| * Joe McCarthy | 60 meter dash | Final | 3:15 PM | Vanderbilt |
| Derrick Simmons | 800 meter run | Final | 3:15 PM | Iowa State |
* = Pending advancement from previous round
Players Mentioned
