Michigan
UCF Black & Gold Invitational
U-M to Head to Orlando for Outdoor-Season Opening UCF Black and Gold Invite
3/19/2026 4:00:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's track and field team will open the outdoor season on Friday and Saturday (March 20-21) at the UCF Black and Gold Invitational at the UCF Soccer and Track Complex in Orlando, Fla. Action on Friday will begin at 10:30 a.m., while Saturday's competition will begin at 11 a.m.
Notes
• This weekend marks the Wolverines' first trip to the Black and Gold Invitational since the 2023 season, when the 4x100-meter relay of BreeAna Bates, Hanna Hearn, Savannah Sutherland and Aasia Laurencin set the school record with a time of 44.70 seconds on the last day of competition.
• Last season, U-M opened the outdoor season at the USF Alumni Invitational, where three top-10 program marks were set on the first day. Abigail Russell's shot put heave of 16.13 meters (52 feet, 11 inches) ranked No. 5 on the program performers list, and Amare Harlan claimed two spots on the program performers list, clearing 6.07m (19-11) in the high jump to rank eighth and running a 23.38-second time in the 200-meter dash to take the No. 3 spot.
• U-M finished ninth at the 2025 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, breaking two records and earning four medals.
• Sutherland (55.37 seconds) and Sidney Green (57.47) finished 1-2 in the 400-meter hurdles, with Sutherland winning the title for the third straight season. The 4x400-meter relay team of Payton Smith, Sutherland, Green and Trinity Henderson won bronze with a time of 3:32.47.
• Elizabeth Tapper took silver in the shot put with a personal-best mark of 17.65 meters (57-11) while Emma Yungeberg finished fourth in the javelin throw with a personal-best mark of 53.08m (174-1). The pair set program records in their respective events.
• Clare McNamara had a breakout performance in the heptathlon at Big Tens, setting six personal-best marks, including coming in at No. 3 on the program performers list (5,698 points) to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She finished 20th at NCAAs.
• Thirteen Wolverines represented Michigan at the NCAA East Preliminary Round, with five individuals and one relay team qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where the team tied for 26th place.
• Sutherland won her second NCAA 400-meter hurdles title (52.46). The time set new collegiate, program, Big Ten, NCAA Championship meet and Canadian national records. She is just the second NCAA athlete to break 53 seconds in the event (Sydney McLaughlin, 52.75) and the third Wolverine to earn multiple individual national titles. Sutherland was named the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and a 2025 finalist for track and field's highest honor, The Bowerman. She is the first finalist in program history and is the first female finalist to represent the Big Ten.
• In the shot put, Tapper placed 14th with a mark of 16.97m while Russell made her NCAA Championships debut and finished 21st (16.38m/53-9). Yungeberg placed 17th in the javelin throw (50.88m).
• Smith, Green, Sutherland and Noelani Phillips set the program 4x400-meter relay record (3:29.22) for the second time during the season at the NCAA East Preliminary Round to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where they finished 19th (3:33.75).
Players Mentioned
