Feb. 14, 2010
Site: Allendale, Mich. (Laker Turf Building)
Event: Grand Valley State Big Meet (Day 2 of 2)
U-M Team Result: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 20 -- host Silverston Invitational (U-M Indoor Track Building), noon
ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Numerous top-10 finishes, including a win from junior Frank Shotwell (Medina, Ohio/Medina) in the heptathlon, highlighted the University of Michigan men's track and field team during day two of the Grand Valley State Big Meet on Saturday (Feb. 13) at the Laker Turf Building. Shotwell finished with 5,476 points, the second-best total in school history, and met the NCAA provisional qualifying standard. Sophomore Joe Strizich (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Prep) finished third with 5,051 points, which is fifth-best in school history.
Michigan had a large contingent of distance runners in the 3,000-meter run, including the season debut from junior/sophomore tri-captain Craig Forys (Howell, N.J./Colts Neck). He ran the event in 8:22.12, finishing in 15th place. The Wolverines had six runners in the event, led by senior Sean McNamara (Elmhurst, Ill./York),U-M's highest finisher (8:04.48; fifth). Sophomore Nick Thomas (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) had his best race as a member of the Wolverines, taking fourth in the mile run (4:19.29). Thomas joined Michigan for the start of the indoor season after transferring from Princeton.
The Wolverines' top two hurdlers, juniors Carl Buchanon (South Bend, Ind./Clay) and Nick McCampbell (Detroit, Mich./Cass Technical), once again scored top-10 finishes in the 60-meter hurdles. Buchanon took fifth, while McCampbell finished in sixth. Freshman David Ptacek (Allegan, Mich./Hamilton) had his highest finish of the season come in the 400-meter dash, clocking in at 50.25 (seventh place).
In the only middle distance race of the day, freshman Joe Reynolds (Rochester, Mich./Adams) ran the 800-meter run for the first time in his collegiate career, crossing the finish line in ninth place (1:55.06). Michigan also had two 4x400-meter relay squads participate, with the 'A' team of sophomore Nicholas Neuman (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way East), Buchanon, sophomore Matthew Campbell (Rochester, Mich./Rochester) and junior David St. Amant (Livonia, Mich./Churchill) taking second (3:11.53), an NCAA provisional qualifying time. It was also the fastest time of any U-M 4x400-meter relay time this season.
Over in the field, junior Robert Peddlar (Kingston, Jamaica/Wolmer's Boys) saw his first meet in action in nearly two weeks and looked in top form, finishing third in triple jump (14.33m/47-0 ¼) and fourth in long jump (6.89m/22-7 ¼). One day removed from winning shot put, senior Sean Pruitt (Cato, Wis./Valders) was back in action in the same event, this time taking third (17.30m/56-9 ¼). Freshman John Greenlee (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) set a personal best in the pole vault, taking second (4.80m/15-9).
Michigan returns to Ann Arbor next Saturday (Feb. 20) to host the Silverston Invitational inside the U-M Indoor Track Building. Competition will begin at noon.
Event Winners/U-M Finishers
(Preliminary time in parentheses if faster than finals time)
60-meter Dash
1. Adam Harris, Maize and Blue 6.62
T19. Kyle Terpak, U-M 7.06
36. Erik Braun, U-M 7.15
52. Davis Craw, U-M 7.26
200-meter Dash
1. Yury Ratomsky, Michigan St. 21.87
15. Erik Braun, U-M 22.73
38. Kyle Terpak, U-M 23.13
48. Davis Craw, U-M 23.32
400-meter Dash
1. Terrill McCombs, W. Kentucky 47.92
7. David Ptacek, U-M 50.25
800-meter Run
1. Shane Knoll, Michigan St. 1:52.84
9. Joe Reynolds, U-M 1:55.06
Mile Run
1. Loren Ahonen, Western St. 4:13.56
4. Nick Thomas, U-M 4:19.29
60-meter Hurdles
1. Josh Hembrough, Purdue 8:05
5. Carl Buchanon, U-M 8.22
T6. Nick McCampbell, U-M 8.26 (8.17)
36. Je'Ron Stokes, U-M 8.87
3,000-meter Run
1. Lex Williams, Unattached 7:56.12
5. Sean McNamara, U-M 8:04.48
8. Brendon Blacklaws, U-M 8:08.04
9. Dallas Bowden, U-M 8:09.11
10. Bobby Aprill, U-M 8:09.40
15. Craig Forys, U-M 8:22.12
18. Tony Nalli, U-M 8:25.41
4x400-meter Relay
1. Western Kentucky 3:10.57
(Kendall Gregory, Terrill McCombs,
Tory Womack, Ennis Jones)
2. U-M 'A' 3:11.53#
(Nicholas Neuman, Carl Buchanon,
Matthew Campbell, David St. Amant)
9. U-M 'B' 3:19.32
(David Ptacek, Aaron Taylor,
James Wade, Erik Braun)
Pole Vault
1. Greg Burns, Ferris St. 4.80m (15-9)
2. John Greenlee, U-M 4.80m (15-9)
Long Jump
1. Rashad Cannon, Purdue 7.54m (24-9)
4. Robert Peddlar, U-M 6.89m (22-7 ¼)
Triple Jump
1. Adetayo Adesanya, Purdue 15.04m (49-4 ¼)
3. Robert Peddlar, U-M 14.33m (47-0 ¼)
Shot Put
1. Gerald Gersham, Eastern Mich. 17.74m (58-2 ½)
3. Sean Pruitt, U-M 17.30m (56-9 ¼)
Heptathlon (Events 5-7)
60-meter Hurdles
1. Frank Shotwell, U-M 8.23
3. Joe Strizich, U-M 8.54
5. Kurt Reichenbach, U-M 8.61
Pole Vault
1. Josh Kettlewell, C. Michigan 4.70m (15-5)
2. Frank Shotwell, U-M 4.60m (15-1)
6. Joe Strizich, U-M 4.20m (13-9 ¼)
8. Kurt Reichenbach, U-M 4.00m (13-1 ½)
1,000-meter Run
1. Kurt Reichenbach, U-M 2:46.29
4. Frank Shotwell, U-M 2:47.69
6. Joe Strizich, U-M 2:56.28
Final
1. Frank Shotwell, U-M 5,476#
3. Joe Strizich, U-M 5,051
4. Kurt Reichenbach, U-M 5,005
# NCAA provisional qualifying standard
• Day One Results
N O T E S
• Fifth-year senior Lex Williams won the 3,000 as an unattached competitor. He will officially return to Michigan for the start of the outdoor season.
• Pruitt's throw on Friday in the shot put of 59-8 ¼ was the second-farthest throw in school history. It was also a new career high.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Fred LaPlante
On his team's performance Saturday ... "Our guys did well. We wanted to really pin our ears back and try to make some marks, which I felt we did. Our conference is very strong, but we have some very strong guys, too. For some of our younger guys, we wanted to run them in a couple of events to show us what they can do. They have a large track and great facilities over there. We weren't worried so much about what place you get, but about running good times and getting good marks. Those will determine what sections, what lanes you are in. When you go in with that mindset, you tend to get higher heights on your jumps, faster times in your races."
On Craig Forys' return ... "It was his first race in almost a year. Just getting him back on track was great to see. He is not 100 percent, not ready to make a major impact, but just having him be here was good. He'll be better two weeks from now."
On U-M's heptathlon performances ... "Frank [Shotwell] is another one of those guys who has taken a year off from the heptathlon. That is what he is good at, though. He likes to put all the events together, go out and compete. And lifetime bests for Strizich and Reichenbach. Anytime you can get 5,000 points in the heptathlon, you know you are a pretty good athlete."
On the team's preparation with two weeks remaining until Big Tens ... "A lot of our guys will not compete next Saturday (Silverston Invitational). We'll try to rest up and get some training in. It's really about getting mentally fresh for the week to come. Sometimes a week off is a good thing for a track and field athlete. For some of our guys, next week serves as their last chance to get a spot on the plane to Minneapolis. For others, we might put them in and let them compete, especially if they have missed a meet or two. It's about fine tuning what we have already. We've done the competing that we need to do. Now it's just about keeping the training at a high level, staying mentally fresh and doing what we can do."
Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423
