Michigan
NCAA East Preliminaries
Wolverines in Strong Contention for NCAA Advancement after Day 1 at East Prelims
5/25/2022 9:01:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex)
Event: NCAA East Preliminary Rounds (Day 1 of 2)
U-M Result: No team scoring
Next U-M Event: Friday, May 27 -- at NCAA East Preliminary Rounds - Day 2 (Bloomington, Ind.), 2:30 p.m.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- On the first day of the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds at Indiana on Wednesday (May 25), the University of Michigan men's track and field team put itself in strong position to have significant representation at the national championships with numerous individuals advancing to the next round.
The Wolverines advanced six of their seven first-round entrants to compete for NCAA Championships berths in quarterfinals action on Friday (May 27), led by third-place qualifier Joshua Zeller in the 110-meter hurdles.
The duo of ninth-seeded Tom Dodd and 11th-seeded Nick Foster qualified for the 1,500-meter quarterfinals; the 800-meter pair of 12th-seeded Cole Johnson and 16th-seeded Miles Brown moved on to their quarterfinals; and eighth-seeded Dubem Amene advanced to the 400-meter quarterfinals.
Only 12 individuals or relay teams per event will move on to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, to be held June 8-11 at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.
In his first race since running a Big Ten-record 13.19 seconds -- one of the best performances by a Big Ten athlete in any event, ever -- to win the conference title two weeks ago, Zeller on Wednesday cruised to a quarterfinals berth. The Englishman separated from the field early and crossed the line uncontested in 13.47 (+1.2m/s) for the third-fastest qualifying time of the afternoon.
The performance is both the fourth-fastest time of his career and the fourth-fastest time in school history.
Zeller will run the quarterfinals Friday at 6:15 p.m. with a trip to the NCAA Championships at stake.
Dodd and Foster left no doubt that they would be joining Zeller as part of Friday's program, as the duo closed hard to automatically qualify for the quarterfinals with second- and third-place finishes in their heat of the 1,500 meters.
Dodd (3:45.06) started at the front of a pack that was running at a tactically slow speed, setting the stage for what would be a quick finish, while Foster (3:45.47) settled in mid-pack. Dodd briefly floated back toward Foster with two laps to go, but had surged back to the front by the bell signaling one lap remaining.
The decisive move came with 300 meters to go. Dodd kept pace and Foster pushed up to Dodd's shoulder by the time they hit the final curve with 200 meters to go. As they rounded the turn onto the homestretch with 100 meters left, Dodd and Foster were the clear second- and third-place runners behind national champion Mario Garcia Romo of Ole Miss, with automatic-qualifying top-five finishes all but assured.
They will return to the track for the quarterfinals Friday at 5:15 p.m.
Amene had a quick finishing kick of his own to clinch his spot to the 400-meter quarterfinals with a time of 46.11 seconds. Running behind breakaway leader Elijah Godwin of Georgia, Amene emerged off the final turn with 100 meters to go as part of a cluster of sprinters battling for the two automatic quarterfinal qualifying berths behind Godwin.
Just as he did at Big Tens, he steadily pulled away from the chase group and crossed securely in second by a half-second. He will return to compete for a spot at nationals at 6:50 p.m. Friday evening, looking to go individually for the first time after running as part of the 4x400 relay last season.
Advancement to the 800-meter quarterfinals for both Johnson and Brown was much closer, by comparison, as both men emerged from blanket finishes to secure top-three automatic berths in their respective heats.
In Johnson's heat, he was one of four men who finished within four-tenths of a second for three automatic spots. He ultimately crossed the line in second place in 1:49.09, missing the heat win by just 0.09 seconds.
Brown was on the track next, and his heat played out nearly the same. Brown took the narrow lead with less than 50 meters to go as the field was running three-wide at the front. After looking around to see if his top-three spot was assured in the final steps, he took his foot off the gas and ultimately finished third in 1:49.33.
Had either finished outside of top-three positioning, the margin for non-automatic qualifying was razor thin. The last time qualifier came though in 1:49.63, just three-tenths of a second slower than Brown and just over a half-second behind Johnson's time.
Michigan was unable to advance to the NCAA Championships either of its two entrants with direct opportunities to qualify. Henry Sheldon finished 21st in the pole vault with a best of 5.04m (16 feet, 6.5 inches), and Tom Brady was 30th in the 10,000 meters semifinal at 30:12.63.
Men's competition at the NCAA East Preliminaries continues with its final session Friday. Michigan's first field event of the day is at 2:30 p.m., with a track session to follow starting at 5 p.m.
Michigan Results
Q/q = qualified for the next round
400 meter dash
First Round
8. Dubem Amene / 46.11Q
800 meter run
First Round
12. Cole Johnson / 1:49.09Q
16. Miles Brown / 1:49.33Q
1,500 meter run
First Round
9. Tom Dodd / 3:45.06Q
11. Nick Foster / 3:45.47Q
10,000 meter run
Semifinals
30. Tom Brady / 30:12.63
110 meter hurdles
First Round
3. Joshua Zeller / 13.47Q [+1.2m/s]
32. Job Mayhue / 13.98 [+1.2m/s]
Pole Vault
First Round
21. Henry Sheldon / 5.04m (16-6.5)
Players Mentioned
