Michigan State University
Big Ten Championships
Track and Field Continue Strong at Big Ten Championships
5/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 15, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Michigan State track and field team continued action today (May 15) at the Big Ten Championships hosted by Indiana University at Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex at E.C. "Billy" Hayes Track. Highlighting action on the men's side was Shane Wells who advanced to the finals in every event he competed in - 100m dash, 200m dash, 110m hurdles and 4x100m relay. Charelise Davis and Erica Mann were the top female competitors as they both advanced to the finals in the 100m dash, 200m dash and 4x100m relay.
"These have been the best first two days of competition since the program has been combined," said director of track & field and cross country Walt Drenth. "It is critical now that we finish the job that we have started, as tomorrow will help us reinforce our progress as a program going forward. In the height of competition, we are competing at a level that no one expected us to be at, and I am very proud of everyone has competed."
Sitting atop the men's leader board at the day two of competition is Minnesota with 79 points. Indiana is second with 36 points, while Purdue and Wisconsin are both in third with 35 points. Ohio State (32), Michigan (26) and the Spartans (24) occupy positions five through seven. Penn State (19) in eighth, Illinois (15) in ninth and Iowa (11) in 10th round out the men's standings.
Minnesota also leads in the women's competition with 56 points after two days of action. Wisconsin is close behind in second with 52 points. Sitting in spots third through fifth is Indiana (41), Ohio State (33) and Penn State (24) and Illinois (24). Purdue is seventh (22), while Michigan is eighth (15). The Green and White (5) and Iowa (1) round out the schools in ninth and 10th, respectively.
Wells posted a first-place time in heat three with a time of 10.64 in the 100m dash, finishing third overall in preliminary heats. Yury Ratomski followed suit with a second place showing in heat one to finish fifth overall in the 100m dash with a time of 10.73. Both Wells and Ratomski advanced to the 100m finals on Sunday.
Wells and Ratomski continued their success in the 200m dash as both once again advanced to the finals on Sunday. Wells placed first in heat two with a third-place overall time of 21.27, while Ratomski was second in heat two with a seventh-place overall time of 21.52.
Wells and Ratomski joined forces with Durant Crum and Brandon VanDriel to race in the 4x100m relay. Together, the Spartans placed fifth overall, and third in heat one, with a time of 41.21.
Keenan Michael placed third in heat one of the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.35 to finish seventh overall. Wells capped off a stellar day with a fourth-place showing in heat one of the 110m hurdles, placing ninth overall with a time of 14.39.
"Shane Wells has had an outstanding meet thus far," noted Drenth. "He has advanced in every event that he has competed in, and everyone is noticing that. There have been several coaches that have made notice of Shane in our coaches meetings, and he is beginning to come around as the athlete that we recruited a couple years ago."
Shane Knoll and Josh McAlary placed seventh and eighth respectively in the 1,500m run. Knoll finished with a time of 3:47.37, while McAlary clocked in at 3:48.10. Ian Boyle also advanced to the finals of the 1,500m run when he posted a 12th-place time of 3:46.73.
Spencer Beatty placed third overall in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 8:46.81. Beatty earned six points for the Spartan team point total. Aaron Simoneau posted four points for the men when he placed fifth in the steeplechase with a time of 8:49.20.
Anthony Agrusa continued his success in the throwing events when he placed fifth in the discus throw with a toss of 51.56m to earn four team points. Isaac Marshall was the other point getter for the men in the long jump with a leap of 7.07m to finish seventh overall.
In the 400m hurdles, Michael and Jake Hamilton placed seventh and eighth, respectively. Michael finished with a time of 52.28, while Hamilton clocked in at 52.94. Each finished third in their respective heats - Michael heat three and Hamilton heat one.
"I challenged the men before the championships to disregard the pre-heat sheets as we didn't have very many men in the top of each event," said Drenth. "They certainly accepted that challenge and have taken it to the next level."
Both Charelise Davis and Erica Mann advanced to the finals of the 100m and 200m dashes. Davis placed third overall when she tied for first in heat three with a time of 11.78. Mann recorded a ninth-place overall finish when she finished with a time of 11.94 for third place in heat one.
The 200m dash saw Mann place third overall with a first-place time of 23.95 in heat two. Davis finished with the fifth-best time overall of 23.89 when she was second in heat three.
"Charelise Davis and Erica Mann are both everything as advertised," said Drenth. "From the time they first got off the bus and ran in the first event, to the second to last event of the day, they both have competed very well and have done an exceptional job in every event."
Davis and Mann partnered with Leslie Aririguzo and Alysson Bodenbach to place second in heat one with a fourth-place overall time of 45.16 in the 4x100m relay.
Arirguzo also placed seventh overall and fourth in heat one to advance to the finals of the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.80.
Emily MacLeod placed third in the 1,500m run with a time of 4:25.01 to advanced to the event finals on Sunday.
Leah Elenbaas placed third in heat three, and eighth overall, in the 800m run with a time of 2:10.55, advancing to the finals of the 800m tomorrow.
Ashley Lawrence earned one point for the women's team total when she placed eighth in the shot put with a toss of 14.29m.
"After the first two days I am very comfortable heading into the final day of competition tomorrow to score some points," said Drenth.
The Spartans will close out action at the Big The Championships on Sunday, May 16. Action is scheduled to begin at Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex at E.C. "Billy" Hayes Track at 11 a.m. ET with the women's triple jump.
Players Mentioned
