The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE / JULY 2022 THE WOLVERINE 15 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FIVE YEARS AGO, 2017: Jaimie Phelan turned on the jets, going from the back of the pack to first place in be- coming the 1,500-meter national cham- pion on June 10, 2017. Phelan stunned the crowd at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the famed Hayward Field track in Eugene, Ore., moving from last to first in the final 400 meters. In doing so, she claimed the first national championship in the 1,500 meters in Michigan history and the school's first individual national title in any event since 2009. With one lap remaining, Phelan found herself 12th place in the 12-woman field. But she owned the last quarter mile to race to victory in 4:13.78, just .02 of a second faster than Nikki Hiltz of Arkansas. The national title victory garnered 10 points for the Wolverines in the team competition, where they wound up tied for 21st nationally. Phelan had used her tactic of lying in wait to spring forward for a strong finish to win the Big Ten in the event, and it worked on the grand stage as well. Phelan found herself besieged with congratulatory messages afterwards, noting: "It's been amazing so far. It took a while for everything to sink in. I'm hum- bled and grateful for all the messages I've received." 10 YEARS AGO, 2012: Michigan fifth-year senior Craig Forys finished as the national runner-up in the 3,000-me- ter steeplechase at Iowa's Drake Sta- dium on June 9, 2012. Forys' effort of 8:40.66 in the event helped Michigan tie for 33rd place at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines. He earned first-team All- America status for his accomplishment, becoming a two-time All-American. Forys bided his time, holding down sixth place after the opening two laps of the steeplechase. He moved up to fourth entering the final lap. He then took advantage of Texas A&M's Henry Lelei falling over the final hurdle, while pushing past Ohio State's Corey Leslie to finish behind only Princ- eton's Donn Cabral (8:35.44). "It felt awesome crossing the line," Fo- rys said. "I was a little bit down and out with a few laps to go, so I felt really lucky to pass a few there and finish [second]." 25 YEARS AGO, 1997: Traci Con- rad raced all the way home from first on a single to score the only run in Michi- gan's 1-0 Women's College World Series victory over South Carolina on May 25, 1997. With two outs in the sixth inning, U-M coach Carol Hutchins wasn't about to put up the stop sign for the fleet- footed Conrad. "I was trying to pull Conrad around the base and sneak it across," Hutchins said, adding she knew she'd green light the play "as soon as she left first base. At that stage of the game, you are just try- ing to get a run on the board." It held up to keep Michigan alive in the WCWS before 3,743 fans at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. Con- rad's bolt also sent home a 63-5 South Carolina squad. "I didn't know where the ball was," Conrad said. "I was just looking at Hutch. She sent me, so I kept going." Michigan hurler Kelly Holmes and South Carolina's Trinity Johnson sent the game into the sixth inning score- less, locking up in a shutout dual that U-M's Cathy Davie eventually broke up with her liner down the right-field line. Holmes fired a three-hitter, with U-M ace Sara Griffin out for the season after suffering a broken arm in April. — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY Jaimie Phelan claimed the first national championship in the 1,500 meters in school history in spectacular fashion at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2017. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Men's tennis sophomore Gavin Young: After not playing in 2020- 21 and transferring in from Minnesota, he was named the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a sec- ond-team all-league selection. During the regular season, Young boasted a 25-6 overall singles record for U-M. He was ranked No. 94 nationally in singles at the conclusion of the reg- ular season and slotted as high as No. 32 earlier in the year. He posted a 14-3 dual record and went 8-1 in league play this spring. Young and junior doubles partner Andrej Sty- ler checked in No. 28 nationally and held an 8-5 dual-match record, with two top-five victories. Men's lacrosse junior Josh Za- wada: With four points during U-M's season-ending 16-10 loss in the Big Ten Tour- nament at Ohio State April 30, the attacker became the Wolverines' all-time leading point scorer. The Raleigh, N.C., native scored three goals and dished out an assist for four points to bring his career tally up to 148 points (83 goals and 65 assists.). The previ- ous record-holder was Ian King (144 points from 2014-17). Zawada also broke the single-season record for goals in a year with 43, passing Brent Noseworthy (41 goals in 2018). Women's tennis sophomore Kari Miller: She became the sixth Wolver- ine in program history to be named Big Ten Athlete of the Year, after anchoring Michigan at the top of the singles lineup for the majority of the sea- son. When the award was announced May 5, she ranked No. 19 in singles by the In- tercollegiate Tennis Association after putting together a 26-9 overall sin- gles record. She is 15-3 in dual-match action, highlighted by a 14-3 record at the No. 1 spot and nine victories against ranked opponents. She's set to represent U-M at the NCAA Indi- vidual Championships May 23-28. — Clayton Sayfie