A cowbell jangles, breaking through the drone of the crowd inside the U-M Indoor Track Building. To the onlookers, it signals the last lap of the men’s mile. But for senior distance runner Henry Johnson, it means it’s time to hit the gas.
Before the mile event took place, none of the three schools in attendance at the Simmons-Harvey invitational had established an overall lead on points scored. Athletes from Purdue, Michigan State and the Michigan men’s track and field team were each coming away with first or second place finishes in their events, ensuring that no one school pulled away from the rest.
If this was on the minds of the Wolverines when they stepped up to the starting line for the mile, it couldn’t be read on their faces. Johnson, as well as distance runners sophomore Nathan Lopez, junior Peter Baracco and junior Ian Hill, went on to take the top-four spots of the race, in that order.
“We’ve always been traditionally pretty strong in the middle distance area,” Michigan coach Kevin Sullivan said. “So that was a good, solid day for us.”
The Wolverines’ depth was evidenced by them showcasing an almost entirely different cohort of Michigan runners from their home opener. And the Wolverines were never far off the front of the pack, even as Purdue distance runner Douglas Buckeridge held onto his lead across the bulk of the race.
“We’ve been more patient than ever, just building a big foundation,” Johnson said.
Building a big foundation happened to be the perfect description of the Michigan runners’ measured racing on Saturday. Johnson held on to second place as the group orbited the indoor track, ensuring that a first-place finish was never entirely out of reach.
As the group bent into the curve for the last time, Johnson eased to the front of the pack and was flanked by a surge of his teammates. Suddenly, the Wolverines were cruising to the finish line. Johnson, Lopez and Baracco each recorded personal bests, finishing at 4:06.21, 4:06.25 and 4:06.64, respectively.
“It’s hard to know how in shape you are this early in the year,” Johnson said. “But when you look around and all the boys around you have been doing the exact same thing as you, it’s kinda nice to take some confidence from that.”
Michigan almost seemed to move in sync, and that unity is no doubt a good thing to have in the back pocket as the Wolverines establish their footing in the new Big Ten. Sullivan also noted Michigan’s ability to depend on its stacked roster when it comes to getting the job done in the longer distances.
As the Wolverines’ season continues to play out, endurance will increasingly be a factor. But, like Johnson leaving a little bit in the tank for that last lap, Michigan will hopefully continue to draw strength from its distance runners as the winter wears on.
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