Wolverines Set New Collegiate Record in 4 x 1 Mile
Photo: Nate Brannen (from left), Nick Willis, Stann Waithe, Andrew Ellerton celebrate the Distance Medley Relay title.

The University of Michigan men's track and field team earned the sweep of the distance relay events at the prestigious Penn Relays on Saturday (April 30), capturing the 4xMile and 4x800-meter crowns on the final day of competition at Franklin Field. U-M is only the second team to accomplish the distance relay sweep -- wins in the distance medley, 4xMile and 4x800-meter relays -- over the last 25 years.

Junior/sophomore Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) was named the top college men's athlete for relay events for the second time in his career. He had splits of 3:55.1 (DMR), 3:56.2 (4xMile) and 1:48.6 (4x800m) over two days of competition.

The Wolverines broke the collegiate 4xMile record to put an exclamation point on their two-day performance as the foursome of junior Andrew Ellerton (Sudbury, Ontario/Confederation HS), freshman Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS), Willis and senior/junior Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) blazed a time of 16:04.54, trimming 3.42 seconds from the previous record (16:07.96) set by Arkansas in 1999.

Ellerton was pushed to the front of the 14-man field at the break of the leadoff leg and towed the pack through the first 800 meters at 2:02. The Wolverine was pushed back into third place with 200 meters remaining as Arkansas and Cornell passed him around the first bend. Texas' Ryan Ponsoby also got by Ellerton down the backstretch and Michigan held fourth place at the first exchange with a 4:05.9 opening split.

Woods picked up a couple positions midway through the second leg and battled among the top three through the third lap. With 400 meters remaining, he followed Indiana's Sean Jefferson to the front around the first bend and, cutting to the outside lane, kicked into first place to give U-M a slight advantage at the handoff. The U-M freshman clocked a 4:03.0 split.

Willis put the Wolverine victory in hand with his 3:56.2 split through the third leg -- his second sub-4:00 performance of the weekend. Willis gradually distanced the gap between himself and Arkansas' Josphat Boit -- the only competitor within striking distance -- through each lap. The Wolverine took off with 400 meters to go and put U-M ahead by 100 meters at the exchange.

Running well ahead of the rest of the field, Brannen found himself competing against the clock with the collegiate record as the focus. The Wolverine captain came through the 800-meter mark at 1:59 and closed strong to post a 3:59.4 mile split and finish 15 seconds in front of runner- up Arkansas.

Ellerton, Willis and Brannen joined senior/junior Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS) to dominate the 4x800-meter relay just three hours later. The U-M quartet led the race through all three exchanges to post a time of 7:22.59 and beat runner-up Arkansas to the line by nearly four seconds.

U-M had a brief scare early in the race as Georgetown's Chris Bonner took a spill in front of Ruff coming out of the first bend of the race. Ruff hurdled the fallen runner and nearly lost his own balance but stayed on his feet and stayed in the middle of the pack at the break. Ruff pushed to the front with 300 meters remaining in his opening leg and posted a 1:51.8 split to give the Wolverines the only lead they would need.

Willis kept up the pace 10 meters ahead of the competition as he and Virginia's McGavock Dunbar pulled away from the rest of the 13-team field. Willis lengthened the gap to 30 meters at the handoff with his 800- meter split of 1:48.6. Ellerton allowed the gap to tighten slightly through the first lap of his third leg but pushed the distance back to 30 meters with a strong second lap and a split of 1:52.4.

Anchoring his second race of the afternoon, Brannen also let Michigan's distance on the field close several meters, but with 300 meters to go he took off to register a 1:49.8 split. The Wolverines beat runner-up Arkansas to the line by nearly four seconds.

DMR Sets New School Record
Photo of start: John Jefferson/Indiana (from left), Tommy Manning/ Georgetown, Nate Brannen/Michigan, Adam Perkins/Arkansas,

The University of Michigan men's track and field team captured its second distance medley relay title in three years to highlight the second day of competition at the Penn Relays on Friday (April 29) at Franklin Field.

The Wolverine squad, consisting of senior/junior Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS), sophomore Stann Waithe (Towson, Md./Loch Raven HS), junior Andrew Ellerton (Sudbury, Ontario/ Confederation HS) and junior/sophomore Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) blazed a time of 9:22.57 to dominate the competition and set a new U-M school outdoor record, eclipsing the previous mark -- set in 1995 -- by nearly five seconds. The performance ranks as the eighth-fastest DMR in Penn Relays history -- 2.47 seconds behind Arkansas' record set in 1989.

Opening the 1,200-meter leg along the rail, Brannen was pushed to the back at the start and forced to work his way through the 16-man field. The Wolverine captain moved to the middle of the pack through the opening lap and tucked into the second position behind Georgetown's Tommy Manning after 800 meters. Brannen took the lead with 200 meters to go and pulled away down the stretch, clocking a 2:53.4 split to put the Wolverines into first -- a spot they would not relinquish -- at the handoff.

Waithe maintained U-M's advantage in the 400-meter leg, staying 15 meters ahead of the chase pack with a split of 46.2. Arkansas' James Hatch bridged the gap through the first lap of the 800-meter leg, pulling up on the heels of Ellerton as the pair pulled away from the remainder of the field. With 100 meters before the final handoff, Ellerton kicked away from the Razorback runner, giving the Wolverines a 10-meter lead with a 1:47.9 split.

Willis kept his advantage after taking the baton, but Arkansas' Said Ahmed sprinted to pull up to the Wolverine's heels as they came through the 800-meter mark at 1:55.2. The pair remained constant in their positions -- well ahead of the field -- as Willis slowed the pace through the third lap before taking off with 300 meters to go. Willis blazed a 3:55.1 split -- the eighth fastest 1,600-meter split in Penn Relays history - - to pull 50 meters ahead of Ahmed, crossing the finish line 6.22 seconds before the Razorback runner.