Michigan men”s track coach Ron Warhurst wasn”t just happy that Michigan junior Ike Okenwa won the 100- and 200-meter dashes at this weekend”s Len Paddock Invitational. He was pleased with how Okenwa reacted after the races.
- Paul Wong
- Junior sprinter Ike Okenwa (left), won his race during the Len Paddock Invitational track meet on Saturday.<br><br>MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
Warhurst enjoyed seeing his athlete break his season bests in both events, winning the 100 in 10.49 and the 200 in 21.08. But his praise went further.
“The best part about it is after a 200 like that, he”s usually on the ground,” Warhurst said. “But he was on his feet looking around, and pleased with his race.”
With just one week before the Big Ten Championships, the Wolverines racked up five other first-place finishes in addition to Okenwa”s.
Senior co-captains Andy Derr and Josh Sellers each won their respective events putting up season highs. Derr tossed 209-0 in the javelin, while Sellers clocked 51.44 in the 400 hurdles.
Michigan”s Andrew Ochs finished fourth behind Sellers in the 400 hurdles, running 53.31, his best of the season.
Freshmen Ryan Hesselink and David Sage took the first two spots in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, running 9:12.69 and 9:21.14, both season bests. But perhaps the best performance out of a freshman came from Mason Ward, who ran 3:47.07 for third place in the 1,500 meters behind world-class runner Tim Broe and Eastern Michigan”s Neil Kirk.
Also performing well for Michigan were Kevin Rogan and Brian Turner, who finished fourth and fifth in the 800 meters, running 1:52.37 and 1:52.62, respectively.
Off the track, Bob Arnold jumped 6-8 in the high jump and Nick Rogers tossed 166-6 in the discus, each good for fourth-place finishes.