The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, April 10, 2018 — 7

Wolverines improve thanks to return of seniors Finn and Morrissey

Expectations are high in a 

program when coaches compare 
players to all-time great athletes 
like Michael Jordan or LeBron 
James. But those expectations 
were justified when applied to 
fifth-year runners Erin Finn 
and Jamie Morrissey.

“Both of them here and at 

the end, Morrissey, the team’s 
happy that (Finn and Morrissey 
are) 
back,” 
said 
Michigan 

coach James Henry. “Because 
they’re our LeBron James of 
the program. They’re our Kobe 
Bryant of our program. They’re 
our Michael Jordan of track and 
field. 

“I mean, they’re some of the 

best of the best. And when the 
best of the best go down, your 
program, you’re not as good. 
So we’re significantly better by 
having those two, those young 
ladies in the program.”

As game-changing runners 

for the Michigan women’s track 

and field team, the long-awaited 
return of Finn and Morrissey 
could only offer improvement 
— and their impact on the team 
showed at the Battle of the Blues. 
The Wolverines finished second 
in a field of three and, more 
notably, with 25 career bests.

After a three-year absence 

in outdoor track, Finn saw her 
first event since 2015 after 
redshirting her junior year and 
sitting out all of senior year 
due to injury. Normally when a 
player returns from injury, rust 
or decline might make its rounds 
in the first few performances. 

But for Finn, she immediately 

saw the success she and her 
team anticipated. The “little one 
with a big heart” — as Henry 
called her — showed just how 
big her heart was. Through hard 
work and perseverance, she ran 
a career-best time of 9:14.31 in 
the 3,000-meter event in her 
return.

With advice from associate 

head coach Mike McGuire to 
pace herself, Finn concentrated 
on her timing. She ran a 

74-second pace for the first 
two laps before finishing the 
final lap on a 71-second pace 
that allowed her a personal best 
— and third-best in Michigan 
history for the 3,000-meter 
outdoor race.

Henry, 
despite 
grouping 

Finn with some of the greatest 
of all time, was just taken 
aback. Caught off guard by her 
dominant showing, he had in 
every way anticipated that rust 
that plagued many who return 
from injury. 

“She approached the race 

showing 
she 
was 
healthy,” 

Henry said. “She wasn’t going 
after a career best because you 
can’t be an injured-reserve and 
hurt and out and expect to just 
come in right away and do your 
best. But she’s paced herself and 
that’s what we want.”

Morrissey, similarly, had total 

control of her race in her return 
to outdoor action.

Doing her part in the team’s 

mid-distance and long-distance 
sweep, Morrissey posted a time 
of 2:05.11 for the 800 meters — 

.02 seconds from her personal-
best. She and Finn led the way 
for the distance runners to make 
their mark in the event, as they 
— along with seniors Claire 
Borchers and Haley Meier — 
claimed first in their respective 
events.

But 
Michigan’s 

accomplishments to the distance 
events didn’t come as a surprise 
to Henry.

“That’s 
the 
part 
of 
our 

program,” Henry said. “That 
goes the same way with all of 
our kids. We build our program 
around 
long 
distance 
and 

middle distance. They are our 
bread and butter. As they go, so 
does the team. And we just do 
our very best in those areas, but 
we build our program around 
distances. So it’s expected and 
they expect to weigh in terms of 
performances.”

What 
also 
didn’t 
come 

as a surprise to him was 
the 
improvement 
showed 

throughout the roster, and not 
just by the Wolverines’ distance 
runners.

25 career bests were posted 

throughout the meet, which was 
the main focus for the team. It 
was never about winning. It was 
about growth.

“That’s what we want,” Henry 

said. “This was our first scoring 
meet before the conference 
meet. It gave us a chance to 
compete 
against 
different 

competition. It gave us a chance 
to get many of the kids involved 
in scoring in the meet. 

“Our goal was not to win the 

championship or this particular 
meet — the Battle of the Blues. 
Our goal was to improve. So 
to have 25 kids come out and 
do such an improvement, we 
might not have won but we were 
successful.”

Meier, in addition to her twin 

Hannah, helped highlight the 
depth Michigan displayed with 
their 
improvements. 
Going 

first and second respectively 
in the 1,500-meter, the Meier 
twins paved the way for a group 
of seven Wolverines to finish 
within the top ten.

Despite 
the 
second-place 

finish, Michigan came out of 
the meet with the best outcome 
it could have expected. As Finn 
and Morrissey improved toward 
their best forms, the rest of the 
team followed suit and provided 
their best efforts in turn. With 
the pace of growth likely to 
continue, the comparison to 
great athletes might not be 
limited to just Morrissey and 
Finn, but to the rest of the team 
as well.

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Senior Erin Finn returned to the Michigan outdoor track and field team for the first time in three years and set a personal record in the 3,000-meter race.

TIEN LE

Daily Sports Writer

Marody, Calderone sign entry-level contracts

Just 
three 
days 
after 
the 

Michigan hockey team lost, 4-3, 
to Notre Dame in the Frozen Four 
semifinals, junior forward Cooper 
Marody and senior forward Tony 
Calderone signed NHL entry-level 
contracts.

After breakout seasons, Marody 

inked a deal for three years with the 
Edmonton Oilers and Calderone for 
an undisclosed duration with the 
Dallas Stars on Sunday.

Marody and Calderone led the 

offensive attack as two-thirds of 
the lethal “DMC” line alongside 
senior 
forward 
Dexter 
Dancs. 

Together, the trio accounted for 53 
of Michigan’s 136 goals, 34 percent 
of all points and a plus-minus rating 
of plus-48.

Originally 
selected 
by 
the 

Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth 
round and 158th overall in the 2015 

NHL Entry Draft, Marody’s rights 
were traded to the Oilers on Mar. 21 
for a 2019 third-round pick.

“I am so grateful that I had the 

opportunity to play for two of the 
best coaches in college hockey, 
Red Berenson and Mel Pearson,” 
Marody 
said 
in 
a 
statement. 

“Combined with their exceptional 
assistant coaches and support staff, 
they have prepared me for the next 
level. The teammates I have had the 
honor of playing alongside the past 
three seasons have made it the best 
time of my life.

“The Children of Yost, the 

Michigan Hockey Band, alumni 
and fans make playing at Yost 
an 
unforgettable 
experience. 

My lifelong dream of playing at 
Michigan and wearing the block ‘M’ 
was even better in reality.”

In his first full season as a 

Wolverine, the Brighton, Mich. 
native led the team in scoring with 
51 points on 16 goals and 35 assists 

to rank third in the country and 
first in the Big Ten. Marody became 
just the third Michigan player to 
lead the conference in scoring and 
was named to the All-Big Ten first 
team. On Friday, he was selected as 
a CCM/AHCA West Second Team 
All-American.

Down 
the 
stretch, 
Marody 

registered four goals and five assists 
in six postseason games. His two 
tallies, including the game-winner, 
led the Wolverines to a 3-2 win 
over Northeastern in the NCAA 
Regionals and the 25th Frozen Four 
berth in program history.

Calderone led the conference 

with 25 goals to go with 19 assists 
for 44 points, all career highs for 
the captain. He scored seven times 
on the power play and posted four 
game-winners during his senior 
campaign.

An All-Big Ten second team 

honoree, the Trenton, Mich. native 
tallied six goals and three assists in 

the playoffs. His four goals in the 
Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals 
against Wisconsin tied for most 
in a game in Michigan history. In 
134 career games as a Wolverine, 
Calderone notched 54 goals and 37 
assists.

Last April, Pearson spoke with 

Calderone about his potential to 
play professionally after college. 
Always a sharpshooter from the slot, 
Pearson encouraged him to improve 
his skating, speed and overall 
conditioning to compete at the next 
level. Calderone put in the time to 
become more well-rounded, and it 
paid dividends Sunday afternoon.

“Extremely happy to announce I 

have signed my first NHL contract 
with the @dallasstars,” Calderone 
said in an Instagram post. “I want to 
thank @umichhockey for the best 4 
years of my life. I also want to thank 
my family and friends who have 
supported me and helped make this 
dream come true.”

Bock finishes fourth in 
all-around at Big Tens 

After Dmitri Belanovski closed 

out his second rings routine of the 
weekend with a stuck dismount, 
he pointed to the cameras.

The senior — competing for 

a Big Ten title on the still rings 
Saturday night during his final 
competition in Ann Arbor — 
knew he’d executed his routine 
well enough to earn a good score. 
He scored 13.800, good for fifth 
place in the final.

“I stuck to what I’ve been 

doing all year,” Belanovski said. 
“I definitely have the lowest 
start value out of these ten guys 
competing, but I stuck with my 
execution, stuck my dismount 
and just did what I did overall all 
year long.”

Placing 
just 
ahead 
of 

Belanovski 
was 
freshman 

Cameron Bock, who earned a 
fourth-place finish with a score 
of 13.825.

“Cameron has really, really 

come around on that event, has 
really developed a lot this year,” 
said Michigan coach Kurt Golder. 
“Strategy for (Belanovski), was, 
you know, he had a little elbow 
issue, we watered it down a little, 
went clean and conservative, and 
it worked out well for him.”

Bock 
started 
his 
strong 

weekend Friday with a fourth-
place finish in the all-around 
with a score of 82.800.

On the floor, Bock hit a clean 

routine with the only deductions 
coming in hops on the landing of 
his tumbling passes. He followed 
up his floor routine with good 
form and rhythm on pommel 
horse, earning a score of 13.750 
— his third-highest tally of the 
season. Four more clean routines 
earned him the highest finish 
of a freshman in the all-around 
competition.

“I just put on on every event,” 

Bock said. “I hit 6-for-6 and 

just came out with a really good 
score.”

In 
Saturday’s 
high 
bar 

competition, Bock executed three 
challenging releases and took 
just a small step on his dismount 
to score 13.725, just 0.25 below 
his qualifying score and good for 
another fourth-place result.

“He has, I think, a really smart 

routine,” Golder said. “One that 
fits his abilities well, and yeah, 
just real clean.”

On the vault, juniors Emyre 

Cole and Anthony McCallum 
placed 
fourth 
and 
fifth, 

respectively. It was McCallum’s 
third vault of the season, and 
the performance should serve 
him 
well 
with 
the 
NCAA 

Championships looming.

“I think particularly today, 

it’ll help him,” Golder said. “You 
know, he came up a little short 
and he was just pulling to make 
it yesterday, and we were very 
happy about that. But I think he’ll 
probably get a big confidence 
boot by his vault today.”

Though 
each 
gymnast 

performed a perfectly fine routine 
in Saturday’s competition, the 
results did not follow how they 
were expected to perform after 
earning second place in the team 
competition on Friday. None 
of the individual competitors 
improved upon their qualifying 
scores, leading to middle-of-the-
pack finishes.

The NCAA Championships 

are just two weeks away, and 
the Wolverines are hoping to 
capitalize on the momentum 
from the team competition and 
perform better than last year’s 
ninth-place finish.

“We haven’t been in the 

top six, we haven’t been in the 
NCAA finals the last two years,” 
Belanovski said. “We proved a 
lot of people wrong with this top 
two finish yesterday. We’re just 
looking to get back in the top six 
and fight for that NCAA trophy.”

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Junior forward Cooper Marody and senior forward Tony Calderone signed NHL contracts with the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars, respectively.

BENJAMIN KATZ

Daily Sports Writer

BAILEY JOHNSON

Daily Sports Writer

MEN’S GYMNASTICS

