The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 15 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FIVE YEARS AGO, 2021: Michigan's Ayden Owens earned the silver medal in the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 10, 2021, in what Michigan's athletic communications staff cast as "one of the greatest field event performances in school history." The national runner-up finished the event with 8,114 points, cement- ing the best finish in field events for Michigan since Michael Whitehead became runner-up in the 2006 triple jump competition. No Wolverine decathlete had ever finished higher than fourth in the national meet, so Owens broke new ground by gaining his silver medal status. The finish earned Owens first-team All-America honors, and team- mate Heath Baldwin garnered All-America recognition as well, es- tablishing second-team status with his 7,522 points and 11th-place finish. Michigan became one of only four programs to qualify a pair of decathletes for the meet, but the lone school to see both become All- Americans. Owens secured his finish by winning the 1,500 meters in 4:26.21. That allowed him to reach his final points total, which ranked second- best all time for any Michigan decathlete. 10 YEARS AGO, 2016: Megan Betsa fired seven scoreless innings to lift Michigan softball past LSU, 2-0, in the Wolverines' opener of the Women's College World Series, on June 3, 2016, in Oklahoma City. Michigan's Tera Blanco delivered the big hit, busting up a scoreless tie in the sixth inning by unloading a bases-loaded, two-run double. That marked the only scoring in the contest, with Betsa striking out 8 and scattering just 4 hits by the Tigers. The whitewash represented her ninth complete-game shutout on the year. Blanco nailed a 2-2 pitch over the LSU right fielder's head and to the wall, scoring Sierra Romero and Kelly Christner. Betsa did the rest, in- cluding ending the game with a strikeout followed by a toss to first on a come-backer to the circle. "Michigan's pitcher threw a great game against us and gets a lot of the credit for their victory today," noted LSU head coach Beth Torina. "Our pitching staff and defense did a really good job of keeping a tough offense down for a long time, but we just never got the timely hit." That was the only win for the No. 2-seeded Wolverines, who were eliminated after losses to eventual national champion Oklahoma (7-5) and Florida State (1-0). 25 YEARS AGO, 2001: Michigan's Katie Jazwinski finished in 12th place for the Wolverines in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., on June 2, 2001. Jazwinski was one of three Wolverines competing at the championships, conducted at Oregon's Hayward Field. Her time of 16:13.09 proved more than 10 seconds faster than the 16:24.54 she ran at the NCAA Indoor Championships, when she earned All-America standing by finishing in seventh place. This field proved tougher, and she wasn't able to become Michigan's first All-American in the 5,000-meter run for both the indoor and outdoor seasons since Mindy Rowand in 1989. At that time, the most recent Wolverine to have earned All-America status in the same event in both indoor and outdoor championships was Nicole Forrester, who accomplished the feat in the high jump in 1999. — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY DID YOU KNOW? • Your address will be automatically changed to the mailing address on file with USPS? ALL addresses are cross-referenced with the USPS National Change of Address database. • It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their data - base? To prevent missed issues, please notify them right away. • Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? Most forwarding requests expire in 60 days and DO NOT always include peri - odical mail. Issues are discarded at their discretion. • You should call your local post office to verify your delivery address? Don't assume the post office knows your vacation or moving schedule. Avoid Costly Delays & Replacements! Wolverine Customer Service: 1–800–421–7751 We are happy to assist, but due to privacy laws — postal address changes must be completed by you.