The throws corps on the Michigan men’s track and field team displayed its national-caliber athleticism at the Triton Invitational on Saturday, with three invitational-section finals appearances and an additional career-best performance.
“I thought the meet went really excellent,” said Michigan coach Jerry Clayton. “It was a good meet for Joe and Andrew.”
Big Ten champion and All-American fifth-year senior Joe Ellis led the way with a runner-up finish in the hammer throw as he turned in his best-ever season performance, while All-American senior Andrew Liskowitz finished sixth in the most elite section of the shot put.
Kicking off the final outdoor campaign of his decorated career, Ellis put up a 70.59 meters mark on the national leaderboard as he surpassed 70 meters on three different throws. Never before had Ellis gone 70 meters or further more than once.
In addition to his best — which ranks No. 10 nationally — he also posted marks of 70.41 meters and 70.29 meters.
“We’ve been training pretty hard,” Clayton said. “Considering the way we went into this meet, that was a really outstanding performance.”
Junior Manning Plater placed eighth in the same final with a mark of 60.83 meters. Plater also stood out in the discus, in which he finished sixth in the non-invitational section with a career-best throw of 53.39 meters, surpassing his previous best of 50.66 meters. He also achieved a pair of back-to-back 51.95 meters throws. This performance earned him the No. 6 spot in school history and moved him into position to potentially qualify for the NCAA East Preliminaries.
“He’s really in a good place and is able to take advantage of conditions,” Clayton said.
Liskowitz closed the meet with a pair of 19.21 meters marks, which earned him sixth in the invitational shot put. These marks — achieved on his fourth and sixth attempts — rank top-20 nationally and are career best outdoor debut performances for Liskowitz.
“We will keep improving on those marks, Clayton said. “We will come back, train hard, and get ready for the Big Ten Championships.”