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”