The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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12 THE WOLVERINE AUGUST 2017 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Track and field senior Steven Bastien: The gradu- ate of Saline (Mich.) High wrapped up his outstanding Michigan career June 23 at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif. Bastien placed fourth in the decath- lon with 7,836 points, tying his finish at the NCAA Championships in early June. He fell just one spot short of making the three-man roster of decathletes that will represent Team USA at the IAAF World Championships later this summer, but is next in line if another partici- pant withdraws. Rowing recruit Kate Burns: Incoming freshman Kate Burns helped qualify both herself and Texas native Kaitlin Knifton for the 2017 World Row- ing Junior Championships Aug. 2-6 in Lithuania while competing at the Junior World Trials June 29 in New Jersey. Burns has past experience competing inter- nationally, helping the women's eight finish fifth at the World Rowing Junior Championships last summer. The incoming rookie is a graduate of Skyline High in Ann Arbor, and will join the Maize and Blue this fall. Volleyball volunteer assistant coach Emily Lucas: Volleyball head coach Mark Rosen announced June 13 that former University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) standout Emily Lucas has been hired as Michigan's volunteer assis- tant coach. Lucas served as an assistant last season at Northwood University in Midland, Mich., and worked as a gradu- ate assistant at Arkansas Tech University prior to that. She was a first-team All-Summit League selection during her senior season at UMKC in 2012. Hockey associate head coach Bill Muckalt: Michi- gan head coach Mel Pearson announced June 20 that Muckalt has been hired to serve as his associate head coach. Muckalt was a four-year letterwin- ner at Michigan from 1995-98, winning two national championships during that span. The British Columbia native earned first-team All-America honors with the Wolverines during his senior season of 1997-98. Muckalt spent the last two years as the head coach of the Tri-City Storm in the United States Hockey League. Golf junior Kyle Mueller: The Athens, Ga., native collected a PING All-America honorable mention from the Golf Coaches Association of America June 22, be- coming the 10th Wolverine to earn an All-America accolade and the first since 2011. Mueller had record-setting seasons during his first two years in Ann Arbor, and led the Maize and Blue in seven of the 13 events this year as a junior. He has started 37 consecutive events and owns the program record with a 72.07 career scoring average. — Austin Fox MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK MEN'S AND WOMEN'S LACROSSE PROGRAMS FIND NEW COACHES The Michigan men's and women's lacrosse programs have both found new head coaches for the 2017-18 campaign; U-M an- nounced the hires in June. Kevin Conry will lead the men, while Hannah Nielson will take over for the women. Conry is the second head coach in program history and comes to Ann Arbor after five years at Maryland, the last two of which he was the associate head coach. The former Johns Hopkins standout was with the Terps during their run to the 2017 national championship. Nielson is currently a member of the Australian national team and was a four-time national champion at Northwestern. Dur- ing her time with the Wildcats, she was a two-time Tewaaraton Award winner as the nation's best player. Most recently, she was an assistant at her alma mater. FORMER U-M ROWER AMONG 35 MOST POWERFUL WOMEN IN SPORTS In its June 26 issue, AdWeek named Michigan alumna and former rower Kate Johnson one of the 35 most powerful women in sports for her role as the vice president of global sponsorship marketing for Visa. During her time at Visa, Johnson has worked on deals with part- ners such as the NFL, FIFA and the International Olympic Commit- tee. She also worked on similar marketing deals with Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the IOC while working for WME/IMG. Johnson (1998-2001) was a three-time All-American as a member of the U-M rowing team, and was named the Big Ten Rower of the Year in 2000 and 2001. After concluding her time in Ann Arbor, she competed for Team USA and won the 2002 FISA World Championship gold medal. She was also a member of the silver medal-winning U.S. team at the 2004 Athens Olympics. SWIMMERS TAKE PART IN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MEET Eleven members of the Michigan men's swimming and diving team and eight members of the women's squad competed in the 2017 Phillips 66 National Championships June 27-July 1 at Indianapolis. Rising-senior PJ Ransford led the men, earning a spot on the United States National Team with a third-place finish in the 1,500-meter freestyle. Rising-sophomores Jacob Montague, Miles Smachlo and Charlie Swanson all made event finals at the meet. For the women, rising-sophomore Vanessa Krause finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly in a time of 2:09.54, a school long- course record. Incoming freshman Sierra Schmidt took third in the 400-meter freestyle and sixth in the 1,500-meter freestyle. U-M alumna Ali Deloof will be a part of the U.S. National Team after finishing third in the 50-meter freestyle and fourth in the 100-meter backstroke. — Leland Mitchinson KATE JOHNSON PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS