As the Michigan women’s track and field team closed out the indoor season, the Wolverines looked to use the Silverstone Invitational as high-intensity practice for the upcoming indoor championships and the beginning of the outdoor season. In doing so, Michigan let some of its younger, more inexperienced athletes get a chance to compete.
Of the five Wolverines to win an event at last Friday’s non-scoring meet, four of them stood atop the podium for the first time this season. Michigan was one of a large swath of teams from the region to compete. Its opponents included local opponents in Toledo, Michigan State, and Detroit Mercy.
“Some student athletes are preparing and sharpening up for the Big Ten (indoor) meet,” Michigan coach Steven Rajewsky said. “Some athletes are gonna try to put a good performance together and spring into the outdoor season.”
Among those athletes preparing for the upcoming Big Ten indoor championship in Ohio was junior Ziyah Holman. Holman finished first in the 200-meter dash, setting a meet record with a time more than half a second faster than the rest of the field. It was her fifth win on the season, and she will look to bring her 2023 dominance into the scoring meet next week. Finishing behind Holman was fellow Wolverine, freshman Trinity Henderson, who set a personal record in the event. She won her heat and will look to close the gap on Holman as the outdoor season gets going.
Michigan’s field athletes put on an uncharacteristically strong performance last Friday. Freshman Gabi Newman and senior Cate Visscher won the high jump and pole vault, respectively, both recording their highest marks on their second attempts before failing to clear the bar on their third. It was both athletes’ first win of the season. Those wins matter increasingly, as solid field scores will be crucial to the Wolverines’ success in the coming meets.
While strong field performances and another Ziyah Holman win provided Michigan with a good foundation for the coming weeks, it was sophomore BreeAna Bates that stole the show early. The Dearborn native recorded the best 60-meter dash in program history at 7.36 seconds. It was her first win of the season and an impressive tenth of a second improvement on Bates’s first 60-meter attempt of the day.
Rajewsky singled Bates out among a plethora of impressive Michigan performances.
“(As a freshman, she) was very consistent but didn’t hit a big breakthrough,” Rajewsky said. “(She) put it together today to go out and run a lifetime best, break the Michigan school record, and create good momentum for herself.”
Throughout the day, it was evident that the focus was on the upcoming outdoor track season. The Wolverines used these final two days of events to prepare runners for the Big Ten indoor championship and the beginning of the outdoor season in mid-March.
“(The outdoor season) has some different events,” said Rejewsky. “For some people it’s a complete change of what they’re doing and for other people it’s a continued progression of what they’re doing people.”
Given the unscored nature of the meet, Michigan approached it as a quasi-practice and an opportunity for those who hadn’t had as many opportunities to shine. The result made clear that while the Wolverines have the top-end talent to shine in the next couple weeks, the years ahead are just as bright. For the time being, though, Michigan is looking toward the outdoor season.
“I plan to keep taking risks (in the outdoor season),” Bates said. “And just coming to work everyday.”
Michigan will do just that as it looks to the Big Ten indoor championship next week in Ohio and the indoor NCAA Championship beyond that. And as the outdoor season gets underway, there will likely be changes in runners’ events and routines, especially in the early going when there is still overlap between the indoor and outdoor seasons.
But, if they can build on the field performances this week and continue to run as they have all winter, they shouldn’t worry about early turbulence.
Reaching the NCAA championship has been on the minds of many Michigan athletes since the onset of the indoor season. As the indoor season winds down and the chase officially begins, that destination has emerged from the mirage.
All that’s left is to perform.