BY ROGER SAUERHAFT
Daily Sports Writer
Published February 1, 2009
Redshirt junior thrower Sean Pruitt might as well just pour White-Out all over the Michigan men's track and field record book.
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On Saturday, the second day of the non-scoring Indiana Relays in Bloomington, Pruitt won the weight throw and set a new school mark for the second time in just two weeks.
Pruitt’s 69.4-foot throw was nearly three feet longer than his NCAA provisional performance at “The Dual" on Jan. 17. Which was nearly three feet longer than his previous school record set in February 2007.
But Pruitt wasn't completely satisfied with any of the throws.
“I’m getting a lot closer to being able to finish it properly,” Pruitt said Saturday. “On that (69.4-foot) throw, I got in a little late. My left leg kind of sunk down, so I definitely sacrificed some distance."
His throw wasn't the only positive experience of the weekend.
The 15th-ranked Wolverines competed against several teams, including Indiana and Notre Dame, and won five total events. Two Michigan runners set NCAA provisional marks Friday night.
Senior Justin Switzer and redshirt junior Sean McNamara both achieved provisional times and personal bests in the one-mile invitational event.
The Wolverines also received a big boost over the weekend with the season debuts of seniors Lex Williams and Andre Barnes, an All-American.
"(Barnes) still isn't 100 percent, as far as his fitness goes," head coach Fred LaPlante said. "He's not hobbling around the track, so he's got four weeks to get as good as he can get and it's really encouraging for us."
The same can be said for Williams. After seeing him run a 4:11 mile Saturday, associate head coach Ron Warhurst expressed hope that his distance runner could get close to four minutes flat.
LaPlante said that Michigan's all-around success, and the experience of running on a banked track for the first time this season will help the Wolverines prepare for the Big Ten Championships later this month.





















