The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OLYMPIC SPORTS May 16-18 in West Lafayette, Ind., is not where Clayton or his athletes want to be — but they are headed in the right direction. Since finishing second and third at the 2009 Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Championships, respectively, Michi- gan hasn't finished better than eighth at either of the conference champion- ship meets. This year, the Wolverines finished last at the Big Ten Indoor Champion- ships. The ninth-place performance at the outdoor meet is a sign of prog- ress. Michigan scored 48 points in the meet. "The athletes that we had here performed quite well," Clayton said. "When you come into this meet and score double what you had on paper coming in, that's an outstanding job by all the athletes. I thought all our athletes performed quite well, regard- less if they scored or not. I'm very pleased with it. "The big thing that we're trying to accomplish is coming to this meet and performing. That's what we have to instill on the program because this is the start of the championship phase. We're definitely not happy with the team finish, but for where we're at in the program, I think the athletes have to be satisfied with the way they performed." Fifth-year senior Bradley James had the most successful meet of any Wol- verine, winning the Big Ten title in the high jump, with a gutsy performance. He started with two misses at 2.01 meters before clearing the bar on his final attempt. He cleared 2.06 on his first attempt and snuck past the 2.11-meter jump on his third attempt. James jumped over the bar at 2.14 meters on his second attempt, while three other jumpers did so on their third attempt. After everyone failed to clear 2.17 meters, James was crowned champion. "It's awesome," Clayton said of James' win. "That's what this is about — it's about the student-athletes. Brad being able to enjoy that moment was great. What I always tell the athletes is that they can take records, but they can never take championships away from you — that will be his for life — he'll always be a Big Ten champion." James is the 28th Wolverine in pro- gram history to win the Big Ten title in the high jump and the first since Jon Royce accomplished the feat in 1996. "When you come into Big Tens, this is the top goal besides a team title," said James. "To come into my last Big Ten meet and win a title, I couldn't end on a higher note. "It was raining really hard, so I only had about a half hour or so to warm up. I was a little concerned. And that translated to two misses at my first bar, so I was scared that I was going to no height. I got that bar on my third attempt, but after that I found a little bit of rhythm." BASEBALL QUALIFIES FOR BIG TEN TOURNAMENT Every college baseball team in America strives to have the opportu- nity to play postseason ball in Omaha, Neb., the annual site of the College World Series.