DETROIT -- The Detroit Titan men's track and field team will travel to Mt. Pleasant today to take part in the Central Michigan Invitational. Field events at the CMU Invite will begin at 4:00 p.m., while runners will make their way to the track at 6:00 p.m.

Men's Track and Field Season Preview

Expectations for the men's track and field program are high coming into this season as head coach Guy Murray anticipates a sound performance from his senior class. “The senior class has accomplished quite a bit during their four years here and we are trying to close on a high note,” Murray explained. “Hopefully that means moving up in the Horizon League standings.”

The men's team finished fourth last year at the Horizon League Championships during the indoor season. They finished the outdoor season placing fifth. “We were just a couple of miscues away from finishing third during the indoor season,” Murray added. “We will look to build on those finishes to improve this year.”

“Due to the number of elite athletes in the senior class, we have Horizon League aspirations,” Murray said. The team had multiple athletes reach All-Horizon League Teams a year ago, so now their last step will be trying to reach the NCAA Preliminary Round.

Murray addressed the senior class as the core of the team, but he also recognizes that the team has an overall good mix of athletes. “I can't say enough about this talented senior class, but we fill in pretty good in other areas,” Murray said. “We are finally getting to the point where we can cover all the bases.”

Sprints

Earnest Cleary (Detroit, MI, Ferndale ) and Lesley Hanna (Exuma, Bahamas, Coakley) return to highlight a talented group of sprinters for Detroit. “Earnest and Lesley are the leaders of this group,” Murray said. “We have quantity and quality in this group.”

Cleary had a great indoor season by setting a UDM and Horizon League record in the 60 meter dash finishing in 6.83. “Earnest really stepped it up a level last year,” Murray added. He carried his success over to the outdoor season by once again becoming the Horizon League Champion in the 100 meter dash clocking in at 10.82. It is important to note that Cleary also ran the anchor leg of the runner-up 4x100 meter relay team that set a school record (41.88).

Hanna got off to a slower start than Cleary due to some nagging injuries. He got back to full strength for the outdoor HL meet where was Horizon League runner-up in the 400 meter dash finishing in 47.37. Hanna's best 400m time of season came at the Georgia Tech Invite. He won his heat with a time of 47.16. That time qualified him for the NCAA Preliminary Round. He also set a UDM record in the 200 meter dash with a time of 21.57. “For Lesley, everything indicates that he will be able to pick up where he left off to have a big senior season,” Murray said. “Those two guys will be a key part to our success this season.”

Vushaun Landrum (Windsor, ON, Sandwich Secondary) is yet another high profile athlete in the sprinter group. Landrum was a Horizon League runner-up in the 60 meter dash finishing right behind Cleary (6.92). He played a major role on the team during the outdoor season as well by being named Co-MVP along with Hanna. “Vushaun had a big season for us last year and we will look for him to do it again,” Murray said. 

Deonte Osayande (Detroit, MI, Winans Academy), Charles Anthony (Northville, MI, Farmington) and Joseph Raffin (Valparaiso, IN, Chesterton) will help round out the group. Osayande only has outdoor eligibility left, but he will still impact the team with his ability to score in the 100m and with the 4x400m team. Anthony is a freshman that will come in and compete in the short sprints, while Raffin is more of a 400m runner.

Hurdles

Coach Murray believes that his hurdle group will be much improved, yet they will face a huge challenge because the Horizon League as a whole has improved. 

Aviram Campbell (Yale, MI, Yale) will return for the Titans after being injured a year ago. “We were thinking big things for Aviram last year and he was on pace, but then he got hurt which derailed his progress,” Murray explained. “Signs so far show that he is picking up where he left off before the injury occurred, which is great because he should have a good year for us.”

Sophomores Vince Lefler (Midland, MI , Midland), Anthony Donald (Waterville, OH, Anthony Wayne) and Derek Baker (Carleton, MI, Airport) all ran well as freshmen for the Titans. Lefler recorded multiple fourth place finishes at the HL meet. He clocked an 8.48 60mH time during indoor season, and followed that with a 15.47 time in the 100mH and a 55.29 time in the 400mH at the outdoor meet. Donald and Baker also have the ability to score at the league meet. Donald finished the 400mH right behind Lefler at the outdoor HL meet finishing in 55.49, while Baker set a PR in the 60mH (8.89) at the indoor meet.

Coach Murray added freshmen Steven Ivanics (Dearborn, MI, Divine Child), Bryan Brooks (Port Huron, MI , Port Huron Northern) and Alex Sexton (Bath, MI, Bath) to the roster to round out the young group.

Multi

Taylor Hennrick (Traverse City, MI, St. Francis) will compete in the heptathlon and decathlon for Detroit this year. Hennrick set a new UDM record in each event with a score of 3,882 in the heptathlon, and 5,054 in the decathlon. “The combined events have been a weakness for us in the past, but we now have a good guy for it in Taylor,” Murray said. “He is a hard worker and I'm excited to see how he does this year.”

Distance

When talking about the distance unit Patrick Liederbach's (Petoskey, MI, Petoskey) name comes to the surface. “Patrick is the leader of this group,” Murray said. “He comes off another tremendous cross country season, and we hope that he carries on for even bigger things. He will lead us in the mile through 5000 area.” Liederbach was a Horizon League runner-up last year in the 5000 meter run. He crossed the line at 14:34.96.

Others runners that make this a solid senior group include Alex Harris (Huntington Woods, MI, Shrine) who recorded a top ten performance in the 10,000 meter race at the HL meet last year. Ryan Ayala (Coopersville, MI, Coopersville), who got his 5000m time down, and Kevin Smalley (Gladwin, MI, Gladwin) who has become the team's steeplechase runner. “Kevin puts in so many miles that hopefully it all pays off for a big senior season,” Murray added.

Additional runners looking to make their mark with the distance group include sophomore Edwin Gay (Grosse Pointe, MI, GP South) and freshmen Sam Felton (St. Joseph, MI, St. Joseph) and Martin Nelkie (West Branch, MI, Ogemaw Heights).

Mid-Distance

This group is not real deep according to Murray, but there are still quality runners with potential that make this a nice unit heading into the season. Seniors Kevin Wozniak (Dearborn, MI, Edsel Ford) and Matt Mahler (Thorold, ON, Denis Morris Catholic) will impact this group. Wozniak only has indoor eligibility left, while Mahler will be able to go for the full year.

Robert Radlich (Cheektowaga, NY, Cleveland Hill), Chris Smalley (Gladwin, MI, Gladwin) and Brian Greenhoe (Sand Lake, MI, Grant) can also help this group. Radlich had a breakthrough performance in the 800m run to reach the HL finals last year. He ran a 1:54.56 to move to seven on the Titan Top 10 list. Greenhoe also placed his name on the Titan Top 10 list last season with a 10:07.46 time in the steeplechase.

Jumps

Detroit returns Vushaun Landrum (Windsor, ON, Sandwich Secondary) and Ja'Quan Patterson (Ypsilanti, MI, Ypsilanti) for the long jump and triple jump events. Landrum placed third last year in the long jump (22-8.50) at the indoor HL Championships, while Patterson's leap put him in fourth place (22-2.25). Patterson stood out as a freshman as he also scored by taking fourth place at the outdoor meet in the long jump (22-8). “Both guys did well for us last year, and impacted the team at the Horizon League level,” Murray added.

The wildcard of this group would be freshman Floyd Hoskin (Gary, IN, Bowman Academy). Although he is a newcomer, Murray believes he could make an immediate impact. “We expect Floyd to help out right away in both the long and triple jumps,” Murray said.

Detroit as a team is thin when talking about the high jump event, but having an elite athlete like Lesley Hanna (Exuma, Bahamas, Coakley) on the roster helps. “Lesley picked up the high jump as a fill in to score some points,” said Murray. “He developed quickly and then he blossomed from that point. The high jump is not his focal point, but he has a gifted ability to perform which will help us as a team. We will take advantage of that opportunity and use him in the high jump.”

Throws

Detroit brought in a couple of young throwers to get that area going in the right direction. “I'm excited to get these guys in action,” Murray said. Eric Lewis (Eastpointe, MI, Fraser) and Jeffrey Sherman (New Hudson, MI, Catholic Central) represent the only two throwers on the team. “We like the potential that these guys bring, and we hope that they can catch on to have good seasons.”