Michigan
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Liskowitz Finishes Fourth at NCAAs to Close Out Decorated Career
6/9/2021 11:59:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
Site: Eugene, Ore. (Hayward Field)
Event: NCAA Outdoor Championships (Day 1)
U-M Result: T15th (5 points) after Day 1
Next U-M Event: Thursday, June 10 -- NCAA Outdoor Championships - Day 2 (Eugene, Ore.), 9:30 a.m. PDT
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EUGENE, Ore. -- In a performance that marked the end of an era for the University of Michigan men's track and field team, shot putter Andrew Liskowitz closed out his collegiate career with his best-ever national finish as the Wolverines opened up competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Wednesday (June 9) at the renovated Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.
Appearing in his seventh straight NCAA Championship meet between indoors and outdoors and his fourth straight outdoor meet, Liskowitz finished fourth overall in his signature event for first team All-America honors. Considering both seasons, this was his sixth All-America honor and his second outdoor championships in a row earning first-team distinctions.
He was joined in the All-American category on Wednesday by shot put teammate John Meyer and 3,000-meter steeplechaser Christian Hubaker, both of whom earned second-team honors. Additionally, decathletes Ayden Owens and Heath Baldwin are poised to join them as All-Americans after strong opening-day efforts that have them second and ninth, respectively, at the halfway point.
Liskowitz was in strong position right from the beginning as he launched what was his best legal throw of 20.07m (65 feet, 10.25 inches) in the first round. That throw held up through the first three rounds of qualifying as the No. 2 throw in the field, though he had a third-round foul out the left side of the sector that looked to be in 21-meter territory that could have put him into the lead.
By the time he took his fourth throw, Liskowitz had slipped in the standings from second to fourth, and could not claw back up in the finals. He posted solid 19.91m (65 feet, 4 inch) and 19.83m (65 feet, 0.25 inch) heaves in rounds four and five before fouling in the last round.
The finish -- the highest for a Michigan athlete in the event indoors or outdoors since Dave Owens won the outdoor crown in 1957 -- marked the end of a storied collegiate career for Liskowitz that includes six All-America honors, three Big Ten titles and two school records. He likely will don the maize and blue at least one more time for the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field on June 18.
Meyer, seeded fourth nationally entering the meet, could not get going on the day. After opening with an 18.37m (60 fet, 3.25 inches) in the first round, he followed with two fouls and did not advance to the nine-thrower final. With a 16th-place effort, he did notch second team All-America honors to go along with his first-team award from the NCAA Indoor Championships this past winter.
Hubaker was the top performer for the Wolverines on the track, finishing 15th overall in a career-best 8:39.09 for second team All-America honors -- the first of his career at Michigan.
Running in the second of two semifinal heats and amid an unforecasted spontaneous rainfall that reduced footing on the track and over the barriers, Hubaker stayed near the front of the pack throughout. On the third-to-last water barrier with just over two laps to go, Hubaker had to dodge a crash that occurred just steps ahead of him to stay on his feet.
When the bell ran for a lap to go, Hubaker was sixth, just one spot outside the top-five that would advance to Friday's final automatically. He fell to seventh with 300 meters to go, and was eighth with half a lap to go. As he was ascending over the last water barrier, two of the leaders ahead of him wiped out after the pit and stumbled to the ground, thrusting Hubaker back up to sixth -- one spot out of auto qualifying -- with just one barrier and 100 meters to go.
He could not close the gap up to the top five, and ultimately missed making the final by just over a second, but the late-race shuffling moved Hubaker up from what would have been a 17th-place finish, just one spot outside of All-America honors.
Also challenging on the final lap was teammate Joost Plaetinck, but he suffered a fall with less than 300 meters to go and did not finish. Plaetinck broke 8:40 earlier in the season, making Hubaker and Plaetinck the first Michigan teammates to both dip under that threshold in the same season.
Plaetinck was among four Wolverine entries whose trips to nationals ended on the ground with "DNF" next to their names in the results.
In the preceding event, Tom Dodd was knocked to the ground midway through the race after being clipped from behind by Nebraska's Dais Malebana -- for the second time in the past month, dating back to a dustup in the final 50 meters of the Big Ten final that prevented Dodd from scoring points. A protest to advance him to the final was unsuccessful.
Two events later in the 110-meter hurdles, it was Josh Zeller who caught misfortune's ire. Challenging for the lead in his heat with only three hurdles remaining, Zeller clipped a hurdle, crashed into the penultimate barrier, and was on the ground before he could reach the final hurdle.
In the final event of the night, the men's 4x400 relay suffered a similar fate as the squad of Roland Amarteifio, Dubem Amene, Austin Lin and Vail Hartman also did not finish. After receiving the baton for the anchor leg, Hartman dropped out of the race with less than 300 meters left in the race.
While the track events did not turn out in the Wolverines' favor -- they will not have any entries in Friday's finals -- the decathlon duo of Owens and Baldwin are in the hunt for All-America honors and career-best finishes after the first of two days and five of 10 events on Wednesday.
Owens kicked off the first of 10 events in the decathlon with a win, running 10.64 seconds (+0.3m/s wind) for the fastest time of anyone in the 24-man field and the early lead with 942 points. Baldwin came within 0.04 seconds of his lifetime best in 11.28 (+0.6m/s) to start his two-day effort off on a high note with 799 points.
Though he put down three solid marks in the long jump, Owens did not approach his best in the event as he settled for a 7.17m (23 feet, 6.75 inches) leap on his third and final attempt for 854 points -- an improvement of about 20 points over his earlier efforts. Baldwin landed just one legal attempt, but he made it count with a 6.87m (22 feet, 6.5 inch) jump that was just six centimeters short of his best.
Both men put down strong marks in the shot put, but again both were short of their career bests. Owens launched a 14.13m (46 foot, 4.25 inches) in the second of three rounds for 736 points, while Baldwin led off with a best of 14.34m (47-0.75) for 749 points.
Needing a career-best performance to kickstart his overall effort, Owens got it in the high jump in dramatic fashion. Facing a third and final attempt at a 1.92m (6 feet, 3.5 inch) bar that would have left him with a disappointing best of 1.89m (6-2.25) worth 705 points, Owens cleared that bar on his third try and then went on to get career-best 1.95m (6-4.75) and 1.98m (6-6) heights on second attempts to net an additional 80 points at 785.
Baldwin was among the best jumpers in the field as he was perfect through his first five bars to 2.07m (6 feet, 9.5 inches), but could not get over what would have been a career-best 2.10m (6-10.75). Only overall leader Karel Tilga of Georgia bettered him in the event.
With only the 400 meters to go on the first of two days, Owens was running third at 3,317 points, with Baldwin in strong position at seventh with 3,199 points.
Owens capped the way the same way he began it: with a win in the sprints. This time, it was a 47.30 over 400 meters worth 943 points, but it was half a second off his personal best. It was enough to move him into second place with 4,260 points heading into the final day, 124 behind leader Tilga and 120 ahead of third-place Max Vollmer of host Oregon.
Baldwin came within 0.01 seconds of his lifetime best at 51.25 for 759 points, settling him at ninth place overall with 3,957 points.
Day two of the decathlon continues Thursday (June 10) starting at 9:30 a.m. PDT with the 110-meter hurdles and also will include the discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters. Based on internal projections, Owens is in line for a second-place finish.
Thursday is a women-only session at the East Prelims, with men's action set to resume Friday at 1 p.m.
Full results from the competition can be found below.
Full Michigan Results by Event
Q = automatic qualifier to quarterfinals; q = at-large qualifier to quarterfinals
1500 meter run
Semifinals
--. Tom Dodd / DNF
Steeplechase
Semifinals
15. Christian Hubaker / 8:39.09 [New PR] [second-team All-America]
--. Joost Plaetinck / DNF
110 meter hurdles
Semifinals
--. Josh Zeller / DNF
4x400 relay
Semifinals
--. Roland Amarteifio, Austin Lin, Ayden Owens, Dubem Amene / DNF
Shot Put
Final
4. Andrew Liskowitz / 20.07m (65-10.25) [first team All-America]
16. John Meyer / 18.37m (60-3.25) [second team All-America]
Decathlon
Through 5/10 events
2. Ayden Owens / 4,260 points
100 meter dash / 10.64 (+0.3m/s) (942 pts) / Place: 1
Long Jump / 7.17m (23-6.25) (-0.1m/s) (854 pts) / Place: 6
Shot Put / 14.13m (46-4.25) (736 pts) / Place: 7
High Jump / 1.98m (6-6) (785 pts) [New PR] / Place: 8
400 meter dash / 47.30 (943 pts) / Place: 1
9. Heath Baldwin / 3,957 points
100 meter dash / 11.28 (+0.6m/s) (799 pts) / Place: 21
Long Jump / 6.87m (22-6.5) (+2.3m/s) (783 pts) / Place: 16
Shot Put / 14.34m (47-0.5) (749 pts) / Place: 6
High Jump / 2.07m (6-9.5) (868 pts) / Place: 2
400 meter dash / 51.25 (758 pts) / Place: 18
Players Mentioned
