Congratulations to Andrew Ellerton for qualifying fo the NCAA final for the second time in two years!
Ellerton Punches Ticket to Finals on Day Two of NCAAsSACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Junior Andrew
Ellerton (Sudbury, Ontario/Confederation HS) qualified for the 800-meter run final to lead the University of Michigan men's track and field team on the second day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships Thursday (June 9) at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex.
Ellerton clocked in at a season-best 1:47.30 for fourth place in the loaded first heat of the semifinals -- with six All-Americans among the eight-man field -- to advance to the 800-meter final for the second straight year. He earned All-America honors at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships with a fifth-place finish.
Starting the race in the middle of the track, the Wolverine dropped to the rear of the pack at the break and remained in the seventh position as Texas Tech's Johnathon Johnson, the defending NCAA outdoor champion in the event, set the pace at a quick 50.87 opening lap. Cutting to the outside down the backstretch, Ellerton began to move with 200 meters to go, passing several competitors around the turn before kicking into fourth place in the final straightaway. Ellerton shaved 0.58 seconds from his previous season-best mark, which he set during yesterday's preliminary heat.
Q U O T E S
Junior Andrew EllertonOn his 800-meter semifinal ... "I was way out the back the first 200 meters; they got out really hard, and I haven't been in a race that fast yet this year. So, that was good practice for Saturday, and I learned something too. On Saturday, I'll just have to put myself in it a little better, and see what I have left in the last 100. Hopefully, I'll be up there with those guys. I didn't really overextend myself today; I ran hard the last 100, but I didn't go all out. I knew our heat was really fast, and I didn't think the other heat would go that fast. I took the chance today and conserved a little bit of energy.
"On the first heat field ... "I wasn't too nervous going in, not anymore than any other race. I just knew it would be a pretty fast race. Most of those guys in the heat made finals; it was almost a preview of Saturday' minus a couple guys. I knew that going in, and I just wanted to be competitive."
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