His meet did not start on a positive note. The first jump of the preliminary round was what sophomore triple jumper Michael Whitehead called “another one of the bad ones.” After a word with assistant coach David Kaiser, Whitehead took his second jump and posted a decent distance of 50-9.

“My marks were on without any foul trouble,” Whitehead said. Since my marks were on, I began carrying more speed into the board.”

The increased speed allowed Whitehead to set a school outdoor record of 51-3 1/2 in the triple jump on Saturday at the nonscoring Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Ariz. Whitehead’s third-place jump bettered his previous school record by two and one-half inches.

Although he had hit the regional qualifying mark of 49-5 3/4 in the first two meets of the season, Whitehead had not been pleased with his performance thus far. But he hopes that Saturday’s performance could be the turning point.

“In the first two meets, I was disappointed,” Whitehead said. “After (Saturday), I am psyched about four big upcoming events.”

Whitehead’s record highlighted a solid team performance. The team earned nine regional qualifying marks — two in the field and seven on the track.

“Everyone performed well in the heat, despite the fact that it is difficult for the athletes to breathe when it is hot and dry,” Warhurst said.

Junior high jumper Brad Miller earned Michigan’s other regional mark in the field events with a jump of 6-10 3/4. Miller’s first career qualifying mark was one-quarter of an inch short of his personal best and earned him a fourth-place finish.

On the track, junior Andrew Ellerton earned two regional qualifying times in his outdoor season debut.

“During indoors, I struggled with minor injuries and wasn’t able to get good training in,” Ellerton said. “This meet helped me get back into racing shape.”

In the 800-meter run, Ellerton finished in second place with a time of 1:50.29, nearly four seconds behind the winner, Auburn All-American Sheridan Kirk.

“I wasn’t happy, and I felt flat in the 800,” Ellerton said. “I was lucky to get the regional time.”

Two hours after his second-place finish in the 800, Ellerton claimed sixth place in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:46.17.

“I was happy about my performance in the 1,500,” Ellerton said. “In the last 100 meters, I caught up to a lot of runners.”

Ellerton was one of four Wolverines to earn regional qualifying times in the 1,500-meter race. Freshman Michael Woods paced the Wolverines with a second-place finish. With 300 meters left he moved into the lead but could not hold on, and Aaron Aguayo of Arizona State passed him. Woods’s time of 3:44.52 was 0.48 seconds behind Aguayo.

Freshman Victor Gras earned the first NCAA regional qualifying time of his career with a ninth-place time of 3:46.75. Junior Rondell Ruff was Michigan’s fourth regional qualifier in the 1,500 with a 10th-place time of 3:47.09.

In the 400-meter hurdles, Seth Waits’s eighth-place time of 52.47 was also good enough for an NCAA regional qualifier.

Sophomore Stann Waithe became the first Wolverine sprinter to earn an NCAA regional qualifying time this season with a ninth-place time of 46.70 in the 400-meter dash.

Despite the conditions at Sun Angel Stadium, Warhurst wanted his athletes to compete in many events. Eleven Wolverines competed in multiple events with senior Nathan Taylor competing in four.

“We try to get a lot of work in (the warm weather),” Warhurst said. It is more than we would do at home.”

As a whole, the coach said that he believes that his athletes are where they need to be with just three meets left until the Big Ten Championships on May 13-15

“We are pleased with the progression,” Warhurst said.