Michigan
Big Ten Indoor Championships
Amene Wins Gold as Michigan Finishes Sixth at Big Ten Indoors
2/25/2023 9:58:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
Site:Â Geneva, Ohio (SPIRE Institute)
Event:Â Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships (Day 2 of 2)
U-M Result:Â 6th of 11 Teams (54 pts)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sat., March 10-11 -- at NCAA Indoor Championships (Albuquerque, N.M.), TBA
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
GENEVA, Ohio -- The University of Michigan men's track and field team closed out the Big Ten Indoor Championships Saturday (Feb. 25) at the SPIRE Institute, clinching an individual Big Ten title along with multiple top-10 finishes across various events.
Dubem Amene earned a Big Ten title in the 400-meter final Saturday (Feb. 25) after a massive comeback in the final straight of the race. In third place entering the final lap and trailing closely behind two Ohio State sprinters, Amene made a strong push approaching the final straightaway to cut around both runners and accelerated late to win the race. It marked the first individual Big Ten title for the 400-meter school record holder. Amene, who earned All-Big Ten first team recognition on Friday (Feb. 24) as part of Michigan's gold-medal winning distance medley relay team, ran his way to another nod as winner of the 400-meters.
In the 800 meters, Henry Johnson claimed third place in the performance of his career, setting a career-best with a time of 1:47.91. The race was an impressive battle, with the top three finishers all ending within a tenth of a second of each other.
The Wolverines claimed two top-eight finishes in the 3,000 meters, led by a fourth-place finish from Tom Brady. Brady finished the race in 7:55.67, earning five points for the team. Arjun Jha also grabbed a point towards the team score, finishing eight in 8:02.32.
After winning a title in the distance medley relay Friday (Feb. 24), Nick Foster took second in a highly competitive mile contest. Finishing in 4:13.58, Foster ran a strategic race, having one of the strongest kicks of any runner in the last two laps. He lost to Wisconsin's Adam Spencer, the No. 15-ranked miler in the country, by just half a second. Foster, also a member of the DMR team, added a second team All-Big Ten citation for his performance in the mile.
In the triple jump, Berachiah Ajala leapt 15.56 meters (51 feet, 0.75 inches) to clinch a fifth-place finish. The effort marked a season-best performance for the jumper with a strong series of jumps – 15.25 meters (50 feet, 0.5 inches), 15.33 meters (50 feet, 3.5 inches), 15.56 meters (51 feet, 0.75 inches), and 15.15 meters (49 feet, 8.5 inches).
The Wolverines (54 points) finished sixth overall in the Big Ten's indoor championship. In a few week's time, Michigan will return to action at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico (March 10-11).
Players Mentioned
