The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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12 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2019 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS KARAN HIGDON AND CHASE WINOVICH ACCEPT INVITATIONS TO THE SENIOR BOWL On Nov. 29, senior running back Karan Higdon accepted an invitation to the 2019 Reese's Senior Bowl, and fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Winovich then said yes to his inquiry just six days later on Dec. 5. The annual showcase for professional scouts will be played Jan. 26, 2019, in Mobile, Ala., and will be aired live by NFL Network. Higdon capped off an outstanding 2018 regular season by rushing for 1,178 yards and 10 touchdowns, while averaging 5.3 yards per carry. His 107.1 rushing yards per game were the second most in the Big Ten (behind Wisconsin sopho- more running back Jonathan Taylor's 165.7), while his 10 rushing scores were tied for fourth. The senior also eclipsed the century mark eight times in 2018 and tied Mike Hart's (2004-07) school record of seven straight outings with 100 rushing yards or more, which was set in 2007. Higdon also became the first U-M running back to accu- mulate 1,000 yards in a season since Fitzgerald Toussaint compiled 1,041 in 2011. Winovich, meanwhile, ended the regular season leading the club with 14.5 tackles for loss, while checking in third in both tackles and sacks, with 62 and four, respectively. His 14.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage ranked as the sixth most in the Big Ten, while his 62 tackles were the third most in the conference among defensive linemen. MICHIGAN COMES OUT ON TOP IN INITIAL DIRECTORS' CUP STANDINGS In the first set of the Learfield Directors' Cup standings released Nov. 29, Michigan checked in first nationally with 205.00 points. The only sports taken into account were men's and women's cross country, and women's field hockey, but the Wolverines fared incredibly well in all three. U-M graded out the best in women's cross country with 80 points (out of 100) thanks to its fourth-place NCAA finish Nov. 17 in Madison, Wis. The Maize and Blue's field hockey team narrowly checked in behind the women's cross country squad with a fifth-place finish nationally, good for 70 points. This was due to the Wolverines reaching the NCAA quarterfinals, before falling to top-seeded North Carolina Nov. 11. Michigan's men's cross country team rounded out the scor- ing with a 19th-place showing that accounted for 55 points. The next-closest Big Ten team in the standings was Wis- consin at 10th, with 138.00 points (67 behind Michigan). The next set of rankings will be released Dec. 13. ICE HOCKEY DUO SELECTED TO U.S. NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM PRELIMINARY ROSTER On Dec. 5, USA Hockey announced that Michigan ice hockey sophomore forward Josh Norris and sophomore defenseman Quinn Hughes had been selected to the 2019 U.S. National Junior Team preliminary roster. The club will take part in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in both Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. The first step for the U-M duo will be to participate in a pre-tournament camp in Everett, Wash., Dec. 14-18, before heading to Kamloops, British Columbia, Dec. 18-20. Team USA will then kick off preliminary-round play against Slova- kia Dec. 26, before facing Kazakhstan Dec. 28 and Sweden Dec. 29, and eventually concluding against Finland Dec. 31. If Hughes and Norris are picked for Team USA's final roster, they could miss the Great Lakes Invitational Dec. 30-31 and Michigan's outdoor showdown at Notre Dame Jan. 5, but would return for the Wolverines' home affair against Mer- rimack Jan. 8. Both young icers are off to excellent starts to the 2018-19 campaign. As of Dec. 10, Norris' 10 goals led the club, while his 19 points were second most on the roster and his nine assists ranked fourth. Hughes, meanwhile, led the squad in both assists and points, with 17 and 20, respectively. — Austin Fox MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK This season, senior Karan Higdon became U-M's first 1,000-yard running back since Fitzgerald Toussaint in 2011. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN