Weekly Release #5
10/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 19 -- at NCAA Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.), 11:35 a.m. EST/CDT
Friday, Oct. 25 -- at Eastern Michigan University Open (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 4 p.m.
This Week
The No. 19 University of Michigan men's cross country team returns to action at the Asics/Pacesetter Pre-Nationals Saturday (Oct. 19) on the Lavern Gibson Course at the Wabash Valley Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind., after last week's 4,000-meter test at the Michigan Intercollegiate. The 90-team Pre-Nationals, hosted by Indiana State University, is the largest field the Wolverines have raced against this season. Indiana State is also the host of the 2002 NCAA Championships. Indiana State on the Internet: www.indstate.edu/athletic.
Waiting for Wednesday
Michigan's division of this weekend's Pre-Nationals will be determined on Wednesday. There will be three men's 8,000-meter races, Michigan will run in either the blue or white division. The blue and white sections will have the top-ranked programs evenly divided between them, ensuring top competition in each. There is also an 8,000-meter men's Open division.
Scouting the Field
The Asics/Pacesetter Pre-National is the Wolverines' biggest race of 2002 to date. Among the 90 teams entered, 18 of the nation's top 30 squads will look to test themselves before upcoming conference, regional and NCAA meets. Stanford (No. 1), Colorado (No. 3), Northern Arizona (No. 4), Weber State (No. 9), BYU (No. 10), N.C. State (No. 14), Iona (No. 16), William & Mary (No. 18), Central Michigan (No. 19), Butler (No. 20), Arizona State (No. 22), Duke (No. 23), Notre Dame (No. 24), Montana State (No. 26), Dartmouth (No. 27), New Mexico (No. 28) and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo (No. 29) will join the 21st-ranked Wolverines in Terre Haute, Ind.
Previous Meet
Michigan placed second in the 4,000-meter race at the Michigan Intercollegiate last Friday (Oct. 11) in Milford, Mich. Michigan earned 26 points, falling short of Eastern Michigan's 12-point total, as both teams put five runners in the top 10. Sophomore Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) led the Wolverines in third place (12:17.1), while freshman Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) placed sixth at 12:31.2. The Maize and Blue also took seventh through 10th place in the race.
Keeping it Real
While Michigan's primary team ran in the 4,000-meter race, two Michigan runners ran in the 8,000-meter Open Division race. Junior Tom Greenless (Milford, Mich./Milford HS) took first place with a time of 25:14.8, while sophomore David Sage (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) finished in third place at 25:28.4.
An Eye on the Polls
Michigan dropped two spots to No. 21 in the most recent MONDO Cross Country Poll (Oct. 15). Michigan is sixth in the MONDO Great Lakes Regional rankings.
MONDO NCAA Division I Poll (10/15/02)
Rank, School Points Prev 1. Stanford (10) 445 1 2. Arkansas (5) 435 2 3. Colorado 415 3 4. Northern Arizona 413 4 5. Oregon 384 5 6. Eastern Michigan 361 6 7. Georgetown 352 7 8. Wisconsin 335 10 9. Weber State 324 9 10. Brigham Young 307 11 11. Villanova 306 8 12. Colorado State 284 12 13. Minnesota 259 13 14. North Carolina State 255 15 15. Providence 250 14 16. Iona 207 16 17. Indiana 204 17 18. William & Mary 171 20 19. Central Michigan 160 18 20. Butler 130 22 21. MICHIGAN 129 19 22. Arizona State 127 23 23. Duke 97 25 24. Notre Dame 96 24 25. Oklahoma State 82 26 26. Montana State 74 27 27. Dartmouth 48 21 28. New Mexico 43 28 29. Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo 39 -- 30. Texas 35 29Also receiving votes: Alabama 24, Utah State 24, Princeton 13, Washington 12, Michigan State 6, Iowa 4, Nebraska 3, Ohio State 3, Portland 3, SMU 3, Brown 1, Miami (Ohio) 1
Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
