2B — January 30, 2017
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
‘M’ thrives at Saginaw Valley
State Jets Pizza Invitational
Through just two scored
meets this season, the No. 11
Michigan women’s track and
field team is already where
Michigan coach James Henry
expected it to be. Amongst the
Wolverines’ five event wins at
the non-scoring Saginaw Valley
State Jets Pizza Invitational
this past weekend, Michigan’s
runners claimed the top seven
spots in the one-mile race and
swept the top four spots in the
weight throw.
“The pressure is on its way,”
Henry said. “So this meet we
just wanted to relax and have
some fun.”
On Friday, competitors in the
field events started on a high
note, as junior Bailey Baker
notched a personal record in the
weight throw, tossing for 18.42
meters.
Freshman
Courtney
Jacobsen, junior Kayla Deering
and freshman Meagan Malloy
followed
suit,
taking
the
second, third and fourth spots
for Michigan, respectively.
“The first month of the
indoor season is where you
work, and the second month is
where you see results,” Baker
said. “Our group is seeing
results pretty early, and I think
that’s a testament to how hard
we’ve been training and all the
work we’ve put in.”
Deering
claimed
second
place in the shot put with a
14.12 meter heave, while Baker
finished in fifth.
In the high jump, senior
Aaron Howell took first after
clearing the bar at 1.68 meters,
while freshman Jada Wimberly
came in second just behind her
with a top height of 1.63 meters.
In the pole vault, senior Sarah
Uhlian
was
the
runner-up,
clearing the bar at 3.70 meters,
trailing only Windsor’s Rachael
Wolfs, who cleared 3.91 meters.
Much of the Wolverines’ early
success this year has come from
strong performances from their
freshmen. The group has been
headlined by Julia Hall, who
has finished first and second
in two 600-meter races at the
Simmons-Harvey
Invitational
and the Notre Dame Invitational,
respectively.
This
weekend,
in her 400-meter debut, Hall
claimed first place once again,
besting the second-place finisher
by more than 0.5 seconds.
“I
was
still
a
little
disappointed with my time, but
it was a learning race,” Hall
said. “I know it’s not possible to
break a record every meet, but
I’m excited to see what I can do
with a little more practice.”
Senior
Courtney
Munley
competed
unattached
for
Michigan and won the mile run
by a large eight-second margin.
The next six spots were also
claimed by Wolverine runners,
five of whom broke five-minute
miles on the day.
Another Michigan victory
came in the 4x400-meter relay
race,
in
which
sophomore
Lauren Rodriguez, freshman
Jade
Harrison
and
seniors
Haley
Meier
and
Gina
McNamara finished in 3:53.42.
McNamara claimed the fifth
victory for the Wolverines, this
time in the 800-meter contest.
While Michigan is heartened
to see success this early in
the year, its sights are set on
remaining healthy and working
to improve for the Big Ten Indoor
Championships in a few weeks.
“We want our kids to have an
outstanding performance later
in the year,” Henry said. “Our
goal here in January is just for
the team to put forth a good
effort and get ready for the
result month (February).”
KEVIN ZHENG/Daily
Senior Courtney Munley competed unattached for the Wolverines this weekend but still won the mile race at the Saginaw Valley State Jets Pizza Invitational.
TOR THORNE
Daily Sports Writer
Wolverines break
records in Boston
For the first time in program
history, the Michigan men’s
track team had three athletes
run a sub-four minute mile in a
single race.
“It
was
outstanding,”
assistant coach Kevin Sullivan
said. “My freshman year when
I competed at Michigan, we had
two guys go under four minutes
and we thought that was a pretty
big deal.”
Graduate students Ned Willig
and Will Sheeran and senior
Connor Mora all broke the
four-minute mark at the Boston
University John
Thomas Terrier
Classic, with all
three
reaching
the milestone for
the first time in
their careers.
“I was just very
excited,”
Willig
said. “It’s been a
goal for a while, so
it’s cool to finally
reach that.”
Both Willig and Sheeran
spent their undergraduate years
at Brown University, with the
former bringing home three Ivy
League Championships during
his time with the Bears.
“We knew coming in that all
three guys had the potential
to run under four minutes,”
Sullivan added. “I was really
hoping that at least one of the
three would.
“It’s such a big barrier in the
athletic world. … It says a lot
about where the program is right
now.”
In addition to the success of
the runners in the mile race,
the Wolverines were able to
showcase some of its younger
athletes at the meet.
After nearly winning the 400-
meter dash, sophomore Taylor
McLaughlin was 0.1 seconds
away from breaking Michigan’s
record in the 200-meter dash,
finishing fourth overall in the
event.
“I think Taylor was a little
disappointed with his 400,”
Sullivan said. “For him to come
back two hours later and run
the
second-fastest
time
in
Michigan history showed a lot of
resilience.”
Since arriving in Ann Arbor,
the New Jersey native has
quickly
established
himself
as
one
of
the
program’s
most
promising
athletes.
McLaughlin
has
already
managed to win a Big Ten
championship, set a school
record
in
the
400-meter
run and finish second in the
Under-20
World
Junior
championships
in
the
400-
meter hurdles.
In
addition
to taking part
in the Terrier
Classic,
the
Wolverines
also
competed
in the Saginaw
Valley State Jets
Pizza Invitational this weekend,
where some of the team’s less
experienced runners had the
opportunity to showcase their
abilities.
Notable
performances
included sophomore Matthew
Plowman’s second-place finish
in the 800-meter run — a career-
best — and sophomore Blake
Washington’s
second-place
finish in the 400-meter run.
Despite that half of the team
was spread out at different
competitions,
both
Sullivan
and Willig stressed that the
dispersed set-up did not impact
the team’s preparation. Willig
mentioned that, though the team
had been split up, he received
a lot of texts congratulating
him on his record-breaking
performance.
“Everyone’s very supportive
even though we’re not competing
in the same place,” Willig said.
MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
Imagining the perfect ‘Signing of the Stars’
A
year ago, Tom Brady, Ric
Flair and Migos made
Hill Auditorium home to
the most star-studded National
Signing Day in
the country.
In case you
dismissed
that event as a
fever dream,
it bears
repeating that
on that day,
Jim Leyland
— longtime
MLB
Manager
and least likely rap fan in the
building — dabbed with the
up-and-coming Atlanta rap trio
Migos. Other than being an
unpredictable collision of worlds,
it was proof that, at ‘Signing of
the Stars’, anything can happen.
That got us at the Michigan
Daily thinking: What would be
the perfect ‘Signing of the Stars?’
Who should introduce whom? Is
the dab too dead to revive? We
took a stab at predicting the ideal
event.
11:00 a.m.: Doors open.
Fans are stunned when they
enter and, in place of last year’s
cardboard cutouts, they find a
wax sculpture of every single
commit. There first appear to
be two sculptures of three-star
running back Kurt Taylor, but
fans eventually realize Taylor
has simply decided to pose next
to his likeness, completely still,
until the event begins. Oddly,
his biceps are even more defined
than the wax sculpture.
11:08 a.m.: Upon arriving at
their seats, guests are delighted
to discover Jordan Brand Signing
of the Stars headbands. It’s not
clear whether fans will ever use
them, but the Jumpman logo is
enough to send them over the
moon.
11:59 a.m.: As lights dim in
Crisler Center, the crowd begins
to applaud as Randy Sklar takes
the stage, ready to host the event
for the second straight year. But
just as he raises the microphone
to his mouth, familiar music
blares over the public address
system, startling him. Sklar
looks over his shoulder to see
John Cena charging toward
him. Cena steals the mic and
challenges Sklar to a title match
for the right to host the event.
Sklar suggests the two share
emcee responsibilities, and, for
some reason, Cena agrees to the
compromise.
12:12 p.m.: Harbaugh takes
the stage for the first time.
He does not seem to be totally
sure whether he invited Cena,
of if he just sort of showed up.
Harbaugh introduces himself
to the wrestling star and asks
if Cena has any eligibility left.
“You’d make a heck of a fullback,”
Harbaugh tells him.
12:17 p.m.: Migos makes
their first appearance to get the
crowd fired up. They perform
“T-Shirt,” and as the crowd goes
wild, Quavo requests that “the
kid in the Brady jersey I always
saw dabbing on TV” come up on
stage. A line of 40-50 students
forms near the stage.
12:28 p.m.: Harbaugh begins
introducing the early enrollees.
The first celebrity presenters,
introducing five-star receiver
Donovan Peoples-Jones, are
the Young Pope and the actual
Pope, both of whom declare
their fondness for Harbaugh.
Harbaugh fist-bumps the Young
Pope and formally asks the actual
Pope to baptize his newborn son,
John, at the Vatican this spring.
The Pope agrees to do so.
12:35 p.m.: Things are
starting to get weird. Cena goes
on a minute-long rant about how
hungry he is and demands that
sophomore offensive lineman
Michael Onwenu, seated in the
front row, share his large bowl
of grapes. Onwenu refuses.
Cena challenges him to wrestle
for the grapes, but when
Onwenu stands up to accept the
challenge, Cena inexplicably
rescinds the offer.
12:46 p.m.: Harbaugh sets up
a live video stream introducing
four-star quarterback Dylan
McCaffrey. But Harbaugh can
also be seen in the background of
the video, climbing a tree behind
McCaffrey’s house. At first, fans
assume this must just be a taped
video, but then the quarterback
starts taking audience questions.
One asks how it is possible
Harbaugh is in the background.
“Oh, that’s just one of his
recruiting clon-” he starts to
respond, before Harbaugh cuts
the feed and abruptly moves on.
12:54 p.m.: The stadium goes
fully dark for just one moment,
and when the lights come back
on, the stage has been turned
into a courtroom set, Judge Judy
presiding. Harbaugh and NCAA
President Mark Emmert emerge
and debate the NCAA’s recent
passage of a measure banning
Spring Break practice trips.
Emmert spends his entire time
allotment trying to explain Judge
Judy doesn’t have jurisdiction
over the NCAA. Judge Judy asks
who does have jurisdiction over
the NCAA. Emmert vanishes into
thin air.
1:22 p.m.: That last part took a
while. Sensing the crowd starting
to get distracted, Harbaugh calls
in the big guns. Tom Brady walks
out onto the stage, with fans
wondering aloud whether it’s a
good idea for him to be in Ann
Arbor during Super Bowl week.
Brady confesses he’s actually in
town to help the Patriots sign
star cornerback Jourdan Lewis
to their Super Bowl roster. “You
can’t do that!” one Falcons fan
shouts from the upper bowl. “You
have to wait for the draft!”
“Who’s going to stop me?”
Brady responds. “Roger
Goodell?” Harbaugh and Brady
look at each other and then burst
into maniacal laughter. Migos is
visibly upset.
1:36 p.m.: Harbaugh
announces that he has a special
surprise for fans. Najee Harris,
the nation’s No. 1 overall player
and an early-enrollee at Alabama,
emerges from the tunnel and
announces he has changed
his mind. He wants to come to
Michigan. Emmert re-appears
out of thin air, ready to scold
Harris, but Cena uses his famous
“Attitude Adjustment” on the
NCAA president. Emmert
decides to allow Harris to
transfer and play immediately.
1:40 p.m. Grateful for the
recruiting help, Harbaugh
convinces Onwenu to share his
grapes with Cena.
1:41 p.m. – 1:59 p.m.: The rest
of the event goes on. It’s basically
the same as last year.
2:02 p.m.: Fans exit the arena
and realize that those weren’t
wax sculptures at all. Those were
the real players. “So how were
there two Kurt Taylors?” one
intrepid student asks.
It’s a great question.
Max Bultman knows this was
super weird. He can be reached
at bultmanm@umich.edu or
on Twitter @m_bultman.
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Jim Leyland and Migos were among the many famous celebrities that traveled to Ann Arbor to participate in the ‘Signing of the Stars’ at Hill Auditorium last year.
MAX
BULTMAN
CHRISTIAN NEUBACHER
Daily Sports Writer
“It’s been a goal
for a while, so
it’s cool to finally
reach that”