Weekly Release #6
10/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Oct. 25 -- at Eastern Michigan University Open (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 4 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 2 -- at Big Ten Championship (West Lafayette, Ind.), TBA
This Week
The Wolverines will compete in the non-scoring Eastern Michigan Classic this Friday (Oct. 25) at 4 p.m. in Ann Arbor, Mich. The race will be held Buhr Park and is the second time this season the Wolverines have traveled down Packard Road to race at Buhr, where U-M earned a first-place title at the Central Collegiate Championships (Sept. 27).
Previous Meet
Michigan finished sixth out of 36 teams in the White Division at the Asics/Pacesetter NCAA Pre-Nationals, held last Saturday (Oct. 19) in Terre Haute, Ind. The Maize and Blue was led by sophomore Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) in 10th place overall and freshman Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS), who placed 15th. Both Brannen and Willis set new personal bests in the race. Nineteen of the nation's top 30 teams participated in the Pre-Nationals' two divisions. No. 3 Colorado placed first in the Wolverines' division and No. 1 Stanford won the Blue Division title.
P.B. and Nate
Michigan sophomore Nate Brannen led Michigan's runners across the finish line for the fourth straight race, setting a new personal best by 16.4 seconds in the process. Brannen's time of 24:21.6 was good for a 10th-place finish and eclipsed his time of 24:38 which he accomplished Oct. 4 at the Notre Dame Invitational.
What Are You Talking About
Nick Willis is quickly becoming a topic of conversation for those who follow Michigan running. The freshman turned in another strong performance at last weekend's NCAA Pre-Nationals, earning a 15th-place finish with a personal-best result of 24:27.9. Willis' fastest time prior to last Saturday's race was 24:43 at the Notre Dame Invitational (Oct. 4).
Getting Personal
Senior/junior team captain Nick Stanko (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt HS) was only 0.4 seconds off his career fastest time with his performance of 24:43.6 at the NCAA Pre-Nationals. Stanko's personal best came at last year's Big Ten Championships (Oct. 28) when he finished with a time of 24:43.2.
The Open's for Business
Michigan sophomore/freshman Sean Moore (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) and junior David Sage (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) ran in the Men's Open division of Saturday's Asics/Pacesetter Pre-Nationals. Moore finished seventh overall with a personal-best time of 25:07.5. Sage was 15th at 25:24.5.
An Eye on the Polls
Michigan jumped nine spots in the most recent MONDO Cross Country Poll (Oct. 21) after a successful weekend at the Asics/Pacesetter Pre-Nationals. Michigan is now fourth in the MONDO Great Lakes Regional rankings.
MONDO NCAA Division I Poll (10/21/02)
Rank, School Points Prev 1. Stanford (13) 448 1 2. Arkansas (2) 433 2 3. Colorado 424 3 4. Northern Arizona 405 4 5. Oregon 381 5 6. Iona 365 16 7. Eastern Michigan 358 6 8. Central Michigan 333 19 9. Weber State 305 9 10. Brigham Young 297 10 11. Wisconsin 286 8 12. MICHIGAN 260 21 13. Georgetown 257 7 14. Colorado State 233 12 15. Minnesota 229 13 16. Villanova 216 11 17. Providence 210 15 18. Indiana 189 17 19. Butler 164 20 20. Ohio State 162 -- 21. North Carolina State 146 14 22. Montana State 141 26 23. Michigan State 131 -- 24. Dartmouth 122 27 25. Arizona State 84 22 26. Alabama 76 -- 27. Oklahoma State 82 25 28. Utah State 46 -- 29. Iowa 41 -- 30. LaSalle 38 --Also receiving votes: Texas 15, Princeton 13, William & Mary 8, Notre Dame 6, Washington 4, New Mexico 3, SMU 2, Nebraska 1
A Look at What's Ahead
The Wolverines look to earn their place among the top teams in the Big Ten at the 2002 Big Ten Championship. The race will be hosted by Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., but the start time has not yet been solidified.
Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
