The Wolverine

August 2022*

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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AUGUST 2022 THE WOLVERINE 15   INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Coming off a bronze medal at the NCAA outdoor meet in June, U-M se- nior Joshua Zeller clinched a berth in the World Championships with a silver medal run in the 110-meter hurdles at the British Championships on June 27. Zeller, who has two seasons of eligi- bility remaining at Michigan, clocked in with a 13.31 up against a heavy 3.8 meters-per-second tailwind to miss out on a victory by .04 seconds. At the World Championships at Hay- ward Field in Eugene, Ore., on July 17, in his first meet competing on a senior-level national team, Zeller ad- vanced through his heats to qualify for one of the eight lanes in the finals. Remarkably, Zeller went on to finish fifth in the world, turning in a time of 13.33. The event final, however, was marred when Jamaican Hansle Parchment, the reign- ing Olympic gold med- alist, injured himself in warmups and did not compete, and then U.S. favorite Devon Allen was disqualified for a false start. Zeller's best time of the World Championship weekend was a 13.31 in the semifinals. U-M alumna Cindy (Ofili) Sember also clinched a berth in the World Cham- pionships after winning the 100-meter hurdles title at the British Cham- pionships. Sember hit the finish line in 12.56 seconds to take the vic- tory by a quarter of a second. The two-time Olympian, who has three Wo r l d C h a m p i o n s h i p qualifications under her belt and finished fourth in the 2016 Rio Olympics, will represent Great Britain for the fifth time in her career. The women's 100-meter hurdles heats were sched- uled for July 23. — Anthony Broome FIVE YEARS AGO, 2017 — Michi- gan prepared in August for the upcoming football season with Wilton Speight as the team's clear leader at quarterback. Speight led U-M to the brink of the Big Ten Cham- pionship Game in 2016, before Ohio State rallied to beat the Wolverines in Columbus. Still, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh wasn't guaranteeing anything. "Wilton is on our depth chart at No. 1," Harbaugh noted after spring football. "But it's a meritocracy. By your effort and by your talent, you will be known. That's a good thing for our football team." In the heat of August's fall camp, the head coach repeated the message. "There's competition that is healthy, fair and productive," Harbaugh said. "It's been very good. It's been a good camp for our quarterbacks, and we feel confident in our guys. We believe in them." That didn't mean he wanted them feel- ing at ease, Speight underscored. "That's Coach Harbaugh's mission," Speight noted. "To make sure we feel uncomfortable at all times." That sensation will likely be carried on in the coming fall camp, with 2021 starter Cade McNamara, a senior; sopho- more J.J. McCarthy; and all other comers. 10 YEARS AGO, 2012 — Michigan sophomore James Yau became the Wolverines' top finisher in the 5,000 meters at the Michigan Open in Dexter's Hudson Mills Metropark on Aug. 31, 2012. Yau finished second in the event in a time of 16:02, second only behind unattached runner Matt Popielarz. The Wolver- ines featured several other strong finishers in the non-scoring event, with some redshirt freshmen making their debuts behind Yau. Jeff Sattler wound up fourth in 16:26, fol- lowed by Scotty Albaugh and Nick Posada in 16:34 and 16:35, respectively. A fifth redshirt freshman, Scott Dvorak, took 10th in 17:03. 25 YEARS AGO, 1997 — Michigan football head coach Lloyd Carr in August 1997 made the Wolverines aware of the book "Into Thin Air" by mountain climber Jon Krakauer, about an expedition to Mt. Everest. Carr drew parallels between Michigan's upcoming football schedule and ascend- ing the earth's highest peak. An account in The Detroit News recounted the thoughts and motivations heading into that special season. "During the training camp, he introduced us to it," U-M rush linebacker James Hall said of Carr. "The way he was able to bring the book and the messages and the parallels, he was able to draw that to the team with what the guys in the book went through. He was able to divide the season into different bases of climbing." In addition, eventual Heisman Trophy-winning cornerback Charles Woodson and the Wolverines were ready to receive messages about unity and rising up. "We all took it to heart that people were saying the 'M' for Michigan stood for mediocre," Woodson said. "That touched every player on the team. We lost tough games to Northwest- ern and to Purdue the year before, and in our minds we knew we shouldn't have lost those. We took it to heart. "Our foundation for that season was laid very early on with offseason workouts, the way we competed every day, whether it was the stadium steps or weight lifting. Everything we did was a competition. We all had a strong bond." — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY Wilton Speight was atop Michigan's quar- terback depth chart in August 2017, but he knew he wasn't guaranteed a starting nod heading into the season. As Speight explained, coach Jim Harbaugh's aim was to ensure that his quarterbacks "feel uncomfortable at all times." PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN TRACK AND FIELD'S JOSHUA ZELLER FINISHES FIFTH AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS PHOTO COURTESY BRITISH ATHLETICS/ TWITTER

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