The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/116680
big ten/NCAA championships: Men's track "Cody Riffle finished 12th in his first national championship experience, and that is an intimidating atmosphere," LaPlante said. "I thought he stood pretty tall against those guys. He had three pretty good throws, and although he didn't make it to the final, I think he came away from it enthusiastic and knowing he can compete with those guys. "Ethan and Cody are training together, and that is helping push all of our guys to the national level; it is helpful for our environment." Also integral to U-M's locker room setting is the experienced combination of Aprill and fifth-year senior Dan Lowry. A transfer from Brown, Lowry set the U-M record in the 5,000-meter run (13:42.48) earlier this season, and he closed out his collegiate career with a 10th-place finish in the event (13:54.41). "For Dan, it was literally his last collegiate race, and I think it meant a lot to him," LaPlante said. "His goal was to work to be his best, and to finish 10th at NCAAs, that is a heck of an ending for his career." Aprill rounded out the Wolverine pack with a 14th-place showing in the 5,000-meter race (14:10.96) in his first appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Dexter, Mich., native also qualified for the 3,000-meter run, but opted out in order to focus solely on one race. "That particular race was very fast-paced. When you get in that meet, you don't necessarily run your own race, but you go with the flow and hope it is your day," LaPlante said. "I don't think Bobby was as good as he would have hoped, but he might have been feeling the effects of a very tough Big Ten meet. "At any rate, it was great that both Bobby and Dan competed hard and earned the honors that they did." The strong outing was vital for LaPlante's team, which was stymied at the Big Ten Championships just a month prior. The Maize and Blue scored in eight events, but placed ninth with only 39 total points. Aprill paced the squad with a fourth-place finish in the 5,000-meter run (13:49.18), and Dennis came in sixth in the weight throw (20.73 meters). "As far as number of scorers, we were pretty close to the upper echelon," LaPlante said. "The Big Ten is the deepest conference when talking from first place to the 15th-place guy. We feel like we're pretty much there, we just have to turn those fourth-places finishes into second or third, and those eighth-place finishes have to become fifth-place finishes." "The Big Ten is always a dog fight," Aprill added. "Every point matters, every place matters in every event. "We knew going into it that it was going to be tough. To make it in the top half of the conference, things were going to have to go very well for us, almost as close to perfect as you can expect in any sport. "Things went well for us, but things didn't go perfect." — Kevin Minor