Michigan Women Unseat Ohio State With Balanced Performance 

By David Woods for DyeStat

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Unseasonably hot and humid weather was accompanied by hot sprinting Sunday at the Big Ten Championships. There have been 122 of these meets, and let’s just say the venerable conference rarely features such fast times . . . or such long throws.

Whether it was Nebraska’s Darius Luff running 13.32 in the 110-meter hurdles or Iowa’s Austin Kresley hitting 20.26 in the 200 meters – or meet records of 38.87 by Minnesota’s men and 43.17 by Ohio State’s women in the 4x100 relay – Big Ten sprinters were dreaming big dreams.

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“I mean, I don’t feel like I have much limit,” Luff said. “Anything can happen. I’m looking to go win nationals.”

The Cornhuskers didn’t fight their way to the men’s title by throwing punches. Their throwers’ punch made this a runaway.

They were 1-2 in the shot put, discus and javelin, sending them to 151 points for the highest score in the Big Ten since 2006. Also, Nebraska’s Till Steinforth, in the middle of winning the decathlon, took the long jump Saturday.

Minnesota was second with 122 points. Iowa was third with 120, including 53 in six sprint/hurdle events.

It was Nebraska’s third Big Ten title and first since 2016. Through 11 of 21 events, Nebraska had already reached 100 points.

“There was a lot of motivation and energy from each event that kept elevating the efforts and the commitment each time,” said first-year head coach Justin St. Clair, who had been throws coach at Nebraska and North Dakota State.

On Friday, Denmark’s Arthur Peterson and freshman Dash Sirmon, the former top-ranked high school thrower, went 1-2 in the javelin at 252-8 (77.03m) and a PB of 247-2 (75.35m).

Then Jonah Wilson and Maxwell Otterdahl – transfers from Washington and North Dakota State, respectively – duplicated that 1-2 in the shot put Saturday with PBs of 69-11.50 (21.32m) and 69-7.50 (21.22m). Both exceeded the 41-year-old meet record of 68-8.50 (20.94m) held by Ohio State’s Kevin Akins. Wilson and Otterdahl rank Nos. 1 and 3 in the NCAA.

In Sunday’s discus, Otterdahl and Wilson switched podium places, throwing 192-0 (58.53m) and 185-10 (56.64m).

Nebraska had a fourth 1-2 from high jumpers Mayson Conner and Tyus Wilson, both at 7-2.50 (2.20m).

“Coach St. Clair preached it all year,” Luff said. “We’ve got to work as an army and not as individual soldiers. I think everybody bought into that.”

Steinforth, a 20-year-old German who was fourth in the NCAA indoor heptathlon, scored 8,064 points in the decathlon for No. 4 in the NCAA. (Big Ten meet record from 2021 is 8,238 by Ayden Owens-Delerme, who was at Michigan before transferring to Arkansas.) Steinforth, after eight decathlon events, went over to the long jump pit and won that at 25-7.25 (7.80m).

According to World Athletics scoring tables, Wilson’s shot put was narrowly the men’s mark of the meet, worth 1,200 points. Other scores: 1,193, Luff in the hurdles; 1,179, Kresley in the 200; 1,163, Iowa’s Austin West in the 400 hurdles (49.34); 1,136, Steinforth in the decathlon; 1,124, Minnesota’s Kostas Zaltos in the hammer (245-10/74.93m).

Zaltos, of Greece, was barely off his NCAA-leading throw of 246-11/74.93m from Drake.

Kresley, of Oakley, Calif., said he is attempting to complete paperwork to represent Mexico internationally.

Elsewhere in men’s events:

>> Indiana sophomore Camden Marshall, just days past his 20th birthday, came from behind to win the 800. He cut his long hair Monday and cut his time to 1:46.57, ranking No. 5 in the NCAA. “I could tell as I passed first place, everybody started roaring. Super cool to get a win on the home track,” said Marshall, a former Indiana state 1,600 champion. Wisconsin’s Adam Spencer was second in 1:46.84.

>> Minnesota’s Matthew Wilkinson, after winning Saturday night’s 3,000 steeplechase in 8:38.40, took  Sunday’s 5,000 in 13:51.31. Michigan’s Tom Brady, winner of Friday’s 10,000 in 29:01.25, was third in the 5,000 in 13:56.70.

>> Iowa’s Jenoah McKiver, who had a collegiate indoor 600 record annulled by a lane violation, won the 400 in 45.59.

>> Trinidadian sprinter Kion Benjamin won the 100 in 10.18 and ran a leg on Minnesota’s 4x100.

Balance raises Michigan to women’s title

In an era in which programs rarely try for complete teams, Michigan’s women struck a winning balance.

The Wolverines built a 139-123 margin over Ohio State, which had won the previous three team titles.  Nebraska was third with 112, featuring 29 points from a 1-2-3-4 javelin finish.

It was a record ninth title by Michigan, which had been tied with Wisconsin at eight; completed an indoor/outdoor sweep; was its first outdoors since 2016, and first under coach Kevin Sullivan.

Michigan scored 50 points in sprints/hurdles, 58 in distance events and 31 in the field.

Ziyah Holman was a Wolverine workhorse. She ran on a third-place 4x100 relay, set a meet record of 50.90 in the 400, was second in the 200 in 23.08, and ran a 50.37 anchor for a second-place 4x400 relay.

Holman broke the 400 record of 51.02 set in 2012 by Illinois’ Ashley Spencer, an Olympic bronze medalist in the 400 hurdles.

“I’ve been looking for that 50-point for a very long time,” said Holman, a junior from Hyattsville, Md. “That was unexpected.”

Michigan had four other Big Ten champions: Aasia Laurencin, 12.85 in the 100 hurdles; Savannah Sutherland, 55.75 in the 400 hurdles; Aurora Rynda, 2:05.95 in the 800; Corinne Jemison, discus PB of 190-7 (58.08m).

Rynda, a Canadian, finished her Big Ten career with 10 titles, including relays.

Jemison said groundwork for Michigan’s championship was laid long before this weekend.

“I think it really helped us, just talking about what we’re capable of, way before the season,” she said.

Besides Ohio State’s 43.17 in the 4x100, meet records were set by Trinidadian sprinter Leah Bertrand of Ohio State in Saturday’s 100 trials (11.08) and Swedish shot putter Axelina Johannson of Nebraska (64-1.25/19.51m). Johannson, a 2022 world finalist and 2023 NCAA indoor runner-up, became the NCAA leader. Previous meet record was 62-8.75/19.12m by Ohio State’s Adelaide Aquilla in 2012.

Bertrand won Sunday’s final in 11.15.

Illinois junior Olivia Howell finally lost a Big Ten championship race  . . . but in the process underscored her range.

Howell completed a three-year mile/1,500 sweep, closing in 61.19 to win the 1,500 in 4:20.13. Then, in her first track 5,000, her kick brought her to second in 16:12.40. Heading into the last lap, she was nearly two seconds behind sixth. Penn State sophomore Faith DeMars held on in 16:11.81.

“After mentally preparing, I’m not going to let those girls go,” Howell said. “I just wanted to finish strong in the Big Ten meet, especially after coming off the 1,500.”

Howell won the NCAA indoor mile in a PB of 4:33.75 at Albuquerque’s 5,300-foot altitude and has lowered her 800 PB to 2:02.50.

Nebraska sophomore Jenna Rogers repeated as high jump champion and won the third conference title of her career with a 6-0.50 (1.84m) clearance.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.