The Wolverine

February 2018

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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50 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2018 "That's the biggest thing," he said. "Michigan's academics are an out- standing program, we get great sup- port from our department, we think we're outstanding coaches, but there were always two things that were against us. "One, we get bad weather up this way, and we can't control that. Two, we didn't have a very good facility to host national and international meets. Now we have that. "We've checked off the most impor- tant boxes. Your home is where you can share your abilities to run track and field at a high level. I'm excited about the fact that we're hoping to host a Big Ten championship meet soon, and from there, every other possible meet, especially the high school na- tional meet, the USA Track & Field championship, a world championship. We're going to go after everything pos- sible. "Ann Arbor is a great town. The University of Michigan is a great col- lege, and now we have a great athletic facility." Rademacher noted the track is even designed to address time-conscious fans of the sport. The area is laid such that sprint and distance areas don't overlap, and field events enjoy a safe space. "[Track and field co-head coach] Jerry [Clayton] and those guys can tell you how long track meets are, and one of the challenges with track is people not wanting to stay for a four- or five- hour meet," Rademacher said. "We think we can reduce the time of the meet and make it more fan friendly, by the way we've laid out the track." The twin rowing tanks, allowing for eight rowers per side, highlight the dedicated area for that sport. There are enough other rowing machines to individually train 100 student-athletes — Michigan's biggest squad except for football — at the same time. But it's a sport of teamwork, and the tanks bring it all together, with cameras recording who is pulling smoothly and who needs work. Best of all, Michigan's rowers can hone their skills when the water on local lakes can withstand a car's weight — important The new track will provide a competition and training space for the Wolverines. "There is no other facility like this in the world," co-head track coach James Henry said of the two types of tracks U-M can now utilize indoors, away from the elements. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL

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