Men's Track Wins Big Ten Championship
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
February 21, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's track and field squad won the 1999 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships held Saturday and Sunday in Madison, Wis. The Spartans accumulated 107 team points, while second place Illinois could only manage 89. This was the third Big Ten indoor title for the Spartans who finished first in 1966 and 1972. At last year's Indoor Championships, the Spartans only compiled 46.5 points, finishing ninth.
Michigan State head coach Darroll Gatson was pleased with the total team effort.
"The team ran great, what else can you say," said Gatson. "No one looked at us as a contender but we believed in ourselves. We put together a total team effort. It was just one of those meets when everything went right for us. You have to credit the kids because they are a bunch of warriors. Overall, it was just a great meet, because we did a lot with a little."
Although the victory was a team effort, Michigan State scored the most points in the distance events. In the 3,000 meter run, senior Steve Schell (Dearborn, Mich.) captured first place, running an NCAA provisional time of 8:09.45. He was followed across the finish line by Jim Jurcevich (Defiance, Ohio) who placed second with a time of 8:12.10. Kyle Baker (Anderson, Ind., 8:13.66) and Ryan Taylor (Melbourne, Australia, 8;17.30) placed fourth and fifth respectively.
Schell credits his teammates with his individual title.
"This was a total team effort that took a lot of hard work," explained Schell. "I credit my teammates because they were pushing me around the track. Jim (Jurcevich) and Kyle (Baker) each led the race at different times and I wouldn't have won without their help."
The same Spartan foursome would team up in the 5,000 meters where the first three athletes across the finish line were wearing green and white. Jurcevich placed first with a time of 14:07.23. Schell (14:08.81) and Baker (14:13.26) placed second and third respectively. Taylor finished seventh in 14:27.64. Jurcevich, Schell and Baker each ran fast enough to qualify provisionally for the NCAAs.
As Jurcevich reflected on his win, he explained how a lightly regarded team could capture the conference crown.
"It feels great to be Big Ten champion," said Jurcevich. "I've worked hard for this for five years. It was great to have the whole team cheering me as we ran around the track. About two weeks ago the coaches added up some points and showed us that a team title was a possibility and that's been our goal since then. It took a lot of hard work but we did it. It was a total team effort as everyone did what they had to do."
While Schell and Jurcevich were the only Spartans to win individual events, many other team members contributed to the team title. In the 60m hurdles, E.J. Martin (Orange Village, Ohio) placed fourth with a time of 8:08, while Okoi Giwa-Agbomeirele (Midland, Mich.) placed eighth.
The pole vault was a strong event for the Spartans as they placed three vaulters in the top eight. Paul Terek (Livonia, Mich.) took top Spartan honors, finishing second with a leap of 5.20m (17'-0 3/4"), while Matt Deering (Dowagiac, Mich.) placed third with a height of 5.10m (16'-8 3/4"). Jake Diner (Jerusalem, Israel, 4.90m) finished eighth.
In the mile, Taylor (4:07.09) and Chris Wehrman (Pinckey, Mich., 4:11.12) finished second and third respectively. In the heptathlon, Michigan State placed three athletes in the top eight. Paul Terek placed third with a school record 5,462 points. Matt Ingram (Lyons, Mich.) placed fifth with 5,058 points, while Jeff Kus (Grand Ledge, Mich.) finished eighth with 4,778 points.
Michigan State would also place athletes in the 35# Weight Throw as Eric Mikula (Troy, Mich., 15.98m), Joe Keller (Lansing, Mich., 15.28m) and Justin Selden (Reese, Mich., 15.00m) placed ninth, 12th and 16th respectively.
The Spartans would also perform well in the relays as the distance medley squad finished second with a time of 9:54.94. The 4 X 400 meter relay team finished ninth (3:20.72).
For complete results, visit www.bigtenchampionships.com or www.wisc.edu/ath.
Team Results and Individual Spartan Results
Team Results 1.Michigan State 107 pts 2. Illinois 89 3. Minnesota 83 1/2 4. Indiana 76 5. Purdue 73 6. Wisconsin 69 7. Iowa 68 8. Ohio State 55 9. Michigan 50 1/2 10. Penn State 30Individual results
Event Winners 60 Meter Dash George McDonald-Ashford Illinois :06.74 200 Meter Dash Joshua Ellis Indiana :21.42 400 Meter Dash Andrew Pierce Ohio State :46.66 600 Meter Run Robert True Illinois 1:17.35 800 Meter Run Jason Von Swol Illinois 1:51.81 One Mile Run Jay Cantin Michigan 4:05.83 3000 Meter Run Steve Schell Michigan State 8:09.45 5000 Meter Run Jim Jurcevich Michigan State 14:07.23 60 Meter High Hurdles Sherman Armstrong Illinois :07.91 4 X 400 Meter Relay Illinois 3:11.94 Distance Medley Relay Indiana 9:54.01 High Jump Staffan Strand Minnesota 2.18m (7' 1-3/4") Long Jump Bashir Yamini Iowa 7.78m (25' 6-3/4") Triple Jump Lenton Herring Wisconsin 16.05m (52' 8") Shot Put Kurt Krick Indiana 18.18m (59' 7-3/4") Pole Vault Ben Jensen Minnesota 5.28m (17' 3-3/4") Heptathlon Ben Jensen Minnesota 5,622 pts 35# Weight Throw Chris Brown Purdue 19.84m (65' 1-3/4")Event Results 60 Meter Dash Finals Place No Name Team Performance 1 122 George McDonald-Ashford Sr Illinois :06.74 Camp Randall Record NCAA Provisional Qualifier 2 528 Vinny Sutherland So Purdue :06.79 3 164 Joshua Ellis Indiana :06.80 4 214 Kurt Felix Jr Iowa :06.82 4 355 Steve Burkholder So Minnesota :06.82 6 154 Russell Brooks Jr Indiana :06.84 6 203 Tony Branch So Iowa :06.84 8 419 Leandre Liggins Jr Ohio State :06.98 9 378 Fred Rodgers Jr Minnesota :06.99
60 Meter High Hurdles Finals Place No Name Team Performance 1 101 Sherman Armstrong So Illinois :07.91 2 414 Ryan Grear So Ohio State :07.97 3 107 Randy Gillon Sr Illinois :08.03 4 319 E. J. Martin Jr Michigan State :08.08 5 181 Nick Sears Jr Indiana :08.20 5 258 Jon Cohen So Michigan :08.20 7 411 Reggie Germany So Ohio State :08.30 8 307 Okoi Giwa-Agbomierie Jr Michigan State :08.41
200 Meter Dash Finals Place No Name Team Performance 1 164 Joshua Ellis Indiana :21.42 NCAA Provisional Qualifier 2 423 Andrew Pierce So Ohio State :21.57 3 230 Bashir Yamini Sr Iowa :21.59 4 154 Russell Brooks Jr Indiana :21.78 5 101 Sherman Armstrong So Illinois :21.80 6 125 Babatunde Ridley So Illinois :21.85 7 533 Markus Williams So Purdue :21.97 8 355 Steve Burkholder So Minnesota :21.98
400 Meter Dash Finals
Place No Name Team Performance 1 423 Andrew Pierce So Ohio State :46.66 Camp Randall Record NCAA Provisional Qualifier NCAA Automatic Qualifier 2 577 Matt Rodgers Jr Wisconsin :47.14 NCAA Provisional Qualifier 3 112 Tyrone Jones Jr Illinois :48.47 4 533 Markus Williams So Purdue :48.49 5 508 Tyrelle Collins So Purdue :49.58 6 211 Tim Dodge So Iowa :49.71 7 574 Lance Neely Sr Wisconsin :49.72 8 359 Adam Freed Jr Minnesota :49.73
600 Meter Run Finals Place No Name Team Performance 1 130 Robert True Sr Illinois 1:17.35 Big Ten Meet Record Big Ten Record Collegiate Record Camp Randall Record 2 465 Ben Karcz So Penn State 1:18.84 3 408 Brian Ely Jr Ohio State 1:19.23 4 360 Tom Gerding So Minnesota 1:19.31 5 274 Jeremy Schneider Fr Michigan 1:19.53 6 266 Steve Moffat Jr Michigan 1:19.81 7 554 Mark Clauss Jr Wisconsin 1:20.73 8 134 Matt Yesko Jr Illinois 1:22.27
800 Meter Run Finals Place No Name Team Performance 1 131 Jason Von Swol Fr Illinois 1:51.81 2 163 Chris Ekman Jr Indiana 1:53.10 3 117 Cortney Lamb Sr Illinois 1:53.14 4 212 Jim Donovan Sr Iowa 1:53.14 5 208 Mike Cunningham So Iowa 1:55.69 6 362 Ron Hoffner Jr Minnesota 1:55.72 7 460 Joe Hubbard Sr Penn State 1:56.26 8 216 Michael Layne Jr Iowa 2:00.66
One Mile Run Finals
Place No Name Team Performance 1 257 Jay Cantin Jr Michigan 4:05.83 2 325 Ryan Taylor Jr Michigan State 4:07.09 3 327 Chris Wehrman Sr Michigan State 4:11.12 4 559 Matt Downin Jr Wisconsin 4:12.21 5 105 Ryan Eason So Illinois 4:13.75 6 372 Andy McKessock Fr Minnesota 4:17.76 7 353 Josh Brang Jr Minnesota 4:20.29
3000 Meter Run Finals
Place No Name Team Performance 1 322 Steve Schell Sr Michigan State 8:09.45 NCAA Provisional Qualifier 2 313 Jim Jurcevich Sr Michigan State 8:12.10 3 278 Todd Snyder Jr Michigan 8:13.59 4 302 Kyle Baker Sr Michigan State 8:13.66 5 325 Ryan Taylor Jr Michigan State 8:17.30 6 156 Tom Chorny Sr Indiana 8:21.27 7 365 Chad Johnson Sr Minnesota 8:22.27 8 412 David Gonzalez So Ohio State 8:27.19 9 222 Paul Sarris Jr Iowa 8:30.72 10 509 Donnie Fellows So Purdue 8:33.15 11 218 Sean Moeller So Iowa 8:33.73 12 357 Joey Corr Fr Minnesota 8:37.29 13 453 Josh Brashears Jr Penn State 8:40.91 14 504 Chris Boesch Fr Purdue 8:45.78 15 272 Mark Pilja Fr Michigan 8:49.00 16 454 Gregg Davis So Penn State 8:49.26 17 120 Scott McClennan So Illinois 8:52.21 18 416 Christopher Hudik Fr Ohio State 8:52.40 19 479 Karl Shellenberger Sr Penn State 8:56.62
5000 Meter Run Finals
Place No Name Team Performance 1 313 Jim Jurcevich Sr Michigan State 14:07.23 NCAA Provisional Qualifier 2 322 Steve Schell Sr Michigan State 14:08.81 NCAA Provisional Qualifier 3 302 Kyle Baker Sr Michigan State 14:13.26 NCAA Provisional Qualifier 4 278 Todd Snyder Jr Michigan 14:15.62 NCAA Provisional Qualifier 5 412 David Gonzalez So Ohio State 14:18.04 NCAA Provisional Qualifier 6 224 Stetson Steele Sr Iowa 14:22.06 7 325 Ryan Taylor Jr Michigan State 14:27.64 8 156 Tom Chorny Sr Indiana 14:33.48 9 584 Jason Weppler Jr Wisconsin 14:35.43 10 405 Ian Connor So Ohio State 14:36.71 11 168 Aaron Gillen So Indiana 14:38.19 12 511 Geoff Fleming So Purdue 14:38.66 12 365 Chad Johnson Sr Minnesota 14:38.66 14 223 Chad Schwitters Sr Iowa 14:43.22 15 279 Mike Wisniewski So Michigan 14:44.66
Distance Medley Relay Finals
Place No Name Team Performance 1 1002 Indiana Indiana 9:54.01 Members - Mikko Simos, Trent Davis, Dan Billish, Aaron Gillen 2 1005 Michigan State Michigan State 9:54.94 3 1010 Wisconsin Wisconsin 9:55.46 4 1007 Ohio State Ohio State 9:56.74 5 1001 Illinois Illinois 9:58.38 6 1004 Michigan Michigan 10:00.85 7 1009 Purdue Purdue 10:03.53 8 1008 Penn State Penn State 10:14.40 9 1006 Minnesota Minnesota 10:16.48 10 1003 Iowa Iowa 10:22.06
4 X 400 Meter Relay Finals
Place No Name Team Performance 1 1001 Illinois Illinois 3:11.94 NCAA Provisional Qualifier 2 1010 Wisconsin Wisconsin 3:13.80 3 1003 Iowa Iowa 3:15.23 4 1009 Purdue Purdue 3:15.76 5 1007 Ohio State Ohio State 3:15.96 6 1008 Penn State Penn State 3:17.93 7 1002 Indiana Indiana 3:18.32 8 1004 Michigan Michigan 3:19.25 9 1005 Michigan State Michigan State 3:20.72 10 1006 Minnesota Minnesota 3:22.95
Long Jump Finals
Place No Name Team Performance 1 230 Bashir Yamini Sr Iowa 7.78m (25' 6-1/2") NCAA Provisional Qualifier 2 451 George Audu Jr Penn State 7.68m (25' 2-1/2") NCAA Provisional Qualifier 3 458 John Gorham Sr Penn State 7.63m (25' 0-1/2") NCAA Provisional Qualifier 4 406 Joe Crallie Sr Ohio State 7.57m (24' 10") NCAA Provisional Qualifier 5 562 Lenton Herring So Wisconsin 7.52m (24' 8-1/4") 6 530 Michael Turner Sr Purdue 7.31m (23' 11-3/4") 7 125 Babatunde Ridley So Illinois 7.29m (23' 11") 8 370 Tyler McCormick Sr Minnesota 7.25m (23' 9-1/2") 9 572 Brad Mohns Jr Wisconsin 7.20m (23' 7-1/2") 10 583 Chris Van Tassel Fr Wisconsin 7.12m (23' 4-1/2") 11 185 Greg Yeldell Fr Indiana 7.09m (23' 3-1/4") 12 104 Charles Burton Fr Illinois 7.04m (23' 1-1/4") 13 307 Okoi Giwa-Agbomierie Jr Michigan State 6.94m (22' 9-1/4") 14 211 Tim Dodge So Iowa 6.85m (22' 5-3/4") 15 382 Marcus Westberry Sr Minnesota 6.81m (22' 4-1/4") 16 254 Martin Bowman Sr Michigan 6.73m (22' 1") 17 482 Leon Woolford So Penn State 6.68m (21' 11")
Triple Jump Finals
Place No Name Team Performance 1 562 Lenton Herring So Wisconsin 16.05m (52' 8") NCAA Provisional Qualifier 2 530 Michael Turner Sr Purdue 15.90m (52' 2") NCAA Provisional Qualifier 3 185 Greg Yeldell Fr Indiana 15.78m (51' 9-1/4") NCAA Provisional Qualifier 4 271 Oded Padan Fr Michigan 15.58m (51' 1-1/2") 5 525 Ike Olekaibe Jr Purdue 15.43m (50' 7-1/2") 6 104 Charles Burton Fr Illinois 14.82m (48' 7-1/2") 7 382 Marcus Westberry Sr Minnesota 14.54m (47' 8-1/2") 8 406 Joe Crallie Sr Ohio State 14.35m (47' 1") 9 458 John Gorham Sr Penn State 14.26m (46' 9-1/2") 10 161 Frank DiSilvestro Jr Indiana 14.18m (46' 6-1/4") 11 467 Elu Lawrence Fr Penn State 14.17m (46' 6") 12 555 Justin Cox So Wisconsin 13.91m (45' 7-3/4") 13 411 Reggie Germany So Ohio State 13.86m (45' 5-3/4") 14 474 Nick Plack So Penn State 13.86m (45' 5-3/4") 15 482 Leon Woolford So Penn State 13.75m (45' 1-1/2")
Pole Vault Finals
Place No Name Team Performance 1 363 Ben Jensen Sr Minnesota 5.28m (17' 3-3/4") NCAA Provisional Qualifier 2 326 Paul Terek So Michigan State 5.20m (17' 0-3/4") 3 304 Matt Deering So Michigan State 5.10m (16' 8-3/4") 4 502 Jeremy Ashcraft Sr Purdue 5.10m (16' 8-3/4") 5 351 Jonathan Anderson Jr Minnesota 5.00m (16' 4-3/4") 6 586 Christian Williams So Wisconsin 5.00m (16' 4-3/4") 7 260 Charles DeWildt So Michigan 5.00m (16' 4-3/4") 8 305 Jake Diner So Michigan State 4.90m (16' 0-3/4") 9 276 Brent Scheffer Fr Michigan 4.90m (16' 0-3/4") 10 162 Dino Efthimiou Fr Indiana 4.90m (16' 0-3/4") 11 512 Jeff Gilbert Jr Purdue 4.90m (16' 0-3/4") 12 587 Gordon Zietlow Jr Wisconsin 4.90m (16' 0-3/4") 13 532 Hence Williams Fr Purdue 4.75m (15' 7") 14 159 Ian Curry Fr Indiana 4.75m (15' 7") 15 519 Scott Koshka Fr Purdue 4.75m (15' 7") 16 367 Glenn Lindqvist Jr Minnesota 4.75m (15' 7") 17 167 Brian Garriotte So Indiana 4.75m (15' 7")
High Jump Finals
Place No Name Team Performance 1 380 Staffan Strand Jr Minnesota 2.18m (7' 1-3/4") NCAA Provisional Qualifier 2 573 Bobby Myers Jr Wisconsin 2.18m (7' 1-3/4") NCAA Provisional Qualifier 3 510 Ryan Fitzpatric Fr Purdue 2.14m (7' 0-1/4") 4 370 Tyler McCormick Sr Minnesota 2.14m (7' 0-1/4") 5 173 Jon Lange Fr Indiana 2.14m (7' 0-1/4") 5 179 Jeremy Rochford Sr Indiana 2.14m (7' 0-1/4") 7 364 Marc Johannsen So Minnesota 2.14m (7' 0-1/4") 8 472 Ryan Olkowski Fr Penn State 2.06m (6' 9") 9 177 Ben Pister Jr Indiana 2.06m (6' 9") 10 366 Wil Kurth Sr Minnesota 2.06m (6' 9") 11 483 Tyler Yeager Fr Penn State 1.98m (6' 6") 12 115 Kyle Kopatz Fr Illinois 1.98m (6' 6") 13 420 Andy Meade Fr Ohio State 1.98m (6' 6") 13 520 Andy Leininger So Purdue 1.98m (6' 6")
Shot Put Finals Place No Name Team Performance 1 172 Kurt Krick Jr Indiana 18.18m (59' 7-3/4") NCAA Provisional Qualifier 2 227 Arno van der Westhuizen So Iowa 17.69m (58' 0-1/2") 3 527 Chris Spurrier Jr Purdue 17.64m (57' 10-1/2") 4 201 Jeremy Allen So Iowa 17.48m (57' 4-1/4") 5 369 Jeff Marsh Sr Minnesota 17.17m (56' 4") 6 580 Bobby Smith Sr Wisconsin 17.13m (56' 2-1/2") 7 377 Adam Reed So Minnesota 16.85m (55' 3-1/2") 8 213 Steve English Sr Iowa 16.75m (54' 11-1/2") 9 273 Nick Rogers So Michigan 16.46m (54' 0") 10 567 Tim Kulinski Sr Wisconsin 15.98m (52' 5-1/4") 11 265 Patrick Johansson Jr Michigan 15.64m (51' 3-3/4") 12 124 Tyson Miller Jr Illinois 15.44m (50' 8") 13 505 Chris Brown So Purdue 15.36m (50' 4-3/4") 14 469 Dave Matson Sr Penn State 15.21m (49' 11") 15 321 Eric Mikula So Michigan State 14.66m (48' 1-1/4") 16 263 Jason Hoyner Fr Michigan 14.53m (47' 8") 17 323 Justin Seldon Jr Michigan State 14.49m (47' 6-1/2")
35# Weight Throw Finals Place No Name Team Performance 1 505 Chris Brown So Purdue 19.84m (65' 1-1/4") NCAA Provisional Qualifier 2 265 Patrick Johansson Jr Michigan 18.69m (61' 4") 3 201 Jeremy Allen So Iowa 18.55m (60' 10-1/2") 4 527 Chris Spurrier Jr Purdue 17.72m (58' 1-3/4") 5 373 Ben Meyer So Minnesota 17.39m (57' 0-3/4") 6 227 Arno van der Westhuizen So Iowa 17.30m (56' 9-1/4") 7 567 Tim Kulinski Sr Wisconsin 17.02m (55' 10-1/4") 8 481 Carl Wolter Sr Penn State 16.33m (53' 7") 9 321 Eric Mikula So Michigan State 15.98m (52' 5-1/4") 10 205 Chris Cassata Jr Iowa 15.49m (50' 10") 11 580 Bobby Smith Sr Wisconsin 15.46m (50' 8-3/4") 12 314 Joe Keller Fr Michigan State 15.28m (50' 1-3/4") 13 456 Dan Diaz Fr Penn State 15.26m (50' 0-3/4") 14 172 Kurt Krick Jr Indiana 15.15m (49' 8-1/2") 15 358 Mark Fahey So Minnesota 15.15m (49' 8-1/2") 16 323 Justin Seldon Jr Michigan State 15.00m (49' 2-3/4") 17 551 James Berger Fr Wisconsin 14.52m (47' 7-3/4")
Heptathlon Finals
Place No Name Team Performance 1 363 Ben Jensen Sr Minnesota 5,622 2 367 Glenn Lindqvist Jr Minnesota 5,582 3 326 Paul Terek So Michigan State 5,462 4 572 Brad Mohns Jr Wisconsin 5,433 5 309 Matt Ingram Jr Michigan State 5,058 6 585 Scott Wick So Wisconsin 4,810 7 152 Brian Bowman Jr Indiana 4,790 8 315 Jeff Kus So Michigan State 4,778 9 466 Jon Kuretich Fr Penn State 4,762 10 476 Dave Romilly So Penn State 4,619 11 281 Blair Yonkoski So Michigan 4,603 12 371 Lyndon McDowell Fr Minnesota 4,586 13 561 Benny Gill Fr Wisconsin 4,558 14 532 Hence Williams Fr Purdue 4,478 15 184 John Watts Fr Indiana 4,382 16 452 Ryan Blood Fr Penn State 4,377 17 581 Scott Synold Sr Wisconsin 4,327 18 160 Trent Davis Sr Indiana 2,719
