The first victory is always the hardest one to get.

Redshirt junior thrower Paul Sarantos found that out three weeks ago when he earned his first collegiate victory in the shot put at the Shamrock Invitational in Conway, S.C. This weekend, he duplicated the feat, winning the shot put at the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C. with a mark of 54 1/2.

"The biggest thing about a win is that it helps with confidence," Sarantos said. "In track, confidence is huge. Winning lets you go out and make improvements every week."

In addition to his shot put victory, he earned a seventh-place finish in the discus with a mark of 157-3.

"I was happy with my consistency," Sarantos said. "Nonetheless, I still feel I can get better."

In addition to Sarantos, the team was buoyed by the Friday performance of redshirt freshman Dan Harmsen, who ran a personal-best 52.26 in the 400-meter hurdles to claim eighth place. Harmsen's time was good enough to earn him a spot in the NCAA Mideast Regional meet later this season. It was the first qualifying time of Harmsen's collegiate career.

"I was happy that I got a (regional qualifying time) a little earlier," Harmsen said. "This way, I can focus on my form and other things as the season goes on and have that all locked up."

Other notable performances for the Wolverines included a fourth-place showing by Adam Harris in the 100-meter dash. Running the race for the first time in his collegiate career, Harris posted a time of 10.91.

The team also sent three athletes to the Texas Relays last weekend. Junior Jeff Porter earned his second NCAA regional time in as many weeks, posting a 14.23 to win his heat in the 110-meter hurdles. Porter's time, however, was not good enough to earn him a spot in the eight-man final.

Senior Brad Miller and junior Michael Whitehead also earned NCAA regional marks. Whitehead's jump of 51-0 earned him eighth place in the triple jump. Miller jumped a 6-10 3/4 in the high jump to place second. Miller's attempt was less than an inch away from his personal best.

"I was pretty happy with how I jumped this weekend," Miller said. "I had a little bit of a nagging injury, and so my goal was just to get a qualifying mark. I was able to do that, so it was a good weekend."

Next week, the track team travels to Tempe, Arizona for the Sun Angel Classic. With another unscored meet on the horizon, Miller sees the Classic as an opportunity for more individual achievement.

"I think, as a whole, we want to get a couple more qualifiers," Miller said. "In some races, like the 4x400-meter relay and the 400-meter dash in particular, we would like to qualify. Overall, we just need more qualifiers."