Weekly Release #3

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 7 -- at Murray Keatinge Invitational (Orono, Maine), 11 a.m.
Sunday, Oct. 15 -- Wolverine Interregional (U-M Golf Course), 11 a.m.

This Week
The No. 19-ranked Michigan men's cross country team will head to the Murray Keatinge Invitational this Saturday (Oct. 7) in Orono, Maine. Among the teams competing will be Nebraska, Holy Cross, Vermont and host school Maine. This is the Wolverines' sixth straight year in the Murray Keatinge Invitational.

Last Week
Michigan men's cross country team came in fourth in the Central Collegiate Championship on Friday (Sept. 29). No. 25 Eastern Michigan won the seven-team meet with 28 points, edging out host Central Michigan (56 points).

Michigan was led by freshman David Sage (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS), who finished 14th with a time of 25:35. The Wolverines had three other top-20 finishers, including freshman Tom Greenless (Milford, Mich./Milford HS) (16th, 25:44.00), senior/junior Nate Hoffman (Allegan, Mich./Allegan HS) (18th, 25:52.00) and redshirt freshman Aaron Lindell (Corunna, Mich./Corunna HS), who finished 19th with a time of 25:52.00.

Maine Has Been Kind to Michigan
Michigan has won the Murray Keatinge Invitational the last three season, and has four team titles over its five-year stretch. The Wolverines' lowest finish was second during the 1996 season.

Pilja Looking to Repeat
Junior Mark Pilja (Naperville, Ill./Naperville HS) did not compete last week in the Central Collegiate Championship after being named the Big Ten Athlete of the Week the previous week (Sept. 27) following his victory at the Sundodger Invitational. Pilja will be back in the lineup this weekend and looks to win his second straight individual title. Pilja finished fifth last year at the Murray Keatinge Invitational (24:30.41).

"Fresh" Lineup
With juniors Mark Pilja and David Cook (Portage, Mich./Northern HS) out of action in the Murray Keatinge Invitational, Michigan had eight freshmen among its top 10 runners and three in the top 20 overall for the meet. Freshmen Mason Ward (Cincinnati, Ohio(Colerain) and John Hughes (Traverse City, Mich./Traverse City Central HS) also have posted top-20 finishes so far this year.

Olympic Update: Sullivan's Sydney Results
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, U-M assistant coach Kevin Sullivan came in fifth in the final of the 1,500-meter run (Sept. 29) with a time of 3:35.50. Sullivan had his best time in the final run. He had posted times of 3:40.80 and 3:39.66 in his first round and the semifinals.

Michigan in the Polls
The Wolverines dropped two spots to No. 19 in the nation in the latest MONDO NCAA Division I rankings (Oct. 2). Michigan joins Big Ten Conference schools Wisconsin (No. 5) and Michigan State (No. 15) in the poll.

MONDO Men's Cross Country Rankings (10/2/00)

 Team Pts 1. Arkansas (9) 392 2. Stanford (7) 390 3. Colorado 367 4. Providence 342 5. Wisconsin 322 6. Iona College 316 7. Georgetown 314 8. North Carolina State 283 9. Brigham Young 265 10. Arizona 260 11. Northern Arizona 214 12. Colorado State 210 13. William & Mary 194 14. Arizona State 186 15. Michigan State 180 16. Oklahoma State 170 17. Oregon 159 18. Washington 113 19. MICHIGAN 110 20. Weber State 98 21. South Florida 89 22. Notre Dame 56 23. Duke 60 24. Eastern Michigan 41 25. Princeton 24

Up Next ...
The men and women's cross country teams will be hosting the Wolverine Interregional next Sunday (Oct. 15) on the U-M Golf Course. The men's race begins at 11 a.m. following the finish of the women's meet.

Contact: Steve Grialou (734) 763-4423