Weekly Release #5

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 12 -- at Michigan Intercollegiate (Milford, Mich.), 3 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 19 -- at NCAA Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.), 11 a.m. EST/CDT

This Week: Michigan Intercollegiate ...
With the NCAA Pre-National meet around the corner, University of Michigan women's cross country head coach Mike McGuire will rest his top harriers this Friday (Oct. 11) at the Michigan Intercollegiate. Six younger Wolverines will look to gain competitive experience with a 3 p.m. scheduled start on the 4,000-meter course at Possum Hollow in Kensington Metro Park in Milford, Mich. Michigan last competed in the meet in 1998, when eventual national champion Katie McGregor (1995-98) won the meet with a time of 16:38.27.

Last Time on the Path: Indiana State Invitational ...
Behind strong performances by junior Lindsey Gallo (Freehold, N.J./Howell HS), senior Jane Martineau (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt Pleasant HS) and freshman Rebecca Walter (Beverly Hills, Mich./Groves HS), Michigan continued its successful season with a second-place showing at the Indiana State Invitational last Saturday (Oct. 5) on the 6,000-meter LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind. The No. 22-ranked Wolverines tallied 74 points, one fewer than third-place No. 19 Villanova. No. 14-ranked Arkansas won the meet with 45 points. Gallo led Michigan across the line with an eighth-place finish in a personal-best 21:42.1. Martineau and Walter were close behind, finishing 11th and 12th, respectively, with times of 21:46.9 and 21:47.3.

Lindsey Gal-lowers Best Time ...
Junior Lindsey Gallo continued her impressive season last weekend with her third consecutive top-10 performance. Last Saturday (Oct. 5) at the Indiana State Invitational Gallo completed the 6,000-meter course in a personal-best 21:42.1 for eighth place in the 174-member field. Her previous career-best finish on a 6,000-meter course came at the 2001 Great Lakes Regional, where she finished with a time of 21:54.4. It marked the third race this season that Gallo has led the Maize and Blue across the line. Gallo finished sixth in 17:28 at the Sundodger Invitational (Sept. 28) and second in 18:29 at the Mel Brodt Invitational (Sept. 14). Both races were run on 5,000-meter courses.

Records Fall on Long Course ...
Nine Wolverines set personal bests on the 6,000-meter course at the Indiana State Invitational last Saturday (Oct. 5). Junior/sophomore Andrea Parker (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) shaved the most time off her career mark, stopping the clock 25.1 seconds faster than her previous best finish, set at the 2001 Great Lakes Regional. Junior Lindsey Gallo clocked in at 21:42.1 knocking 14.4 seconds off her previous best from last year's regional meet. Here is a list of the other personal-best finishes.

Jane Martineau 21:46.9 Rebecca Walter 21:47.3 Stephanie Hirtle 22:06.7 Sarah Pizzo 22:17.8 Chelsea Loomis 22:17.9 Ana Gjesdal 22:35.5 Theresa Feldkamp 22:42.8

Gaining National Recognition ...
Following a second-place showing at the Indiana State Invitational (Oct. 5) in which they defeated then No. 19 Villanova and No. 24 Colorado State, the Wolverines jumped three spots to No. 19 in the weekly FinishLynx NCAA Division I Poll. This marks the third consecutive week Michigan has climbed up the national rankings. U-M entered the nation's top 30 in the Sept. 24 poll at No. 25 and last week the Wolverines were ranked No. 22.

No. Team Region Pts. Prev. 1. Brigham Young (13) MT 390 1 2. Stanford W 376 3 3. Michigan State GL 350 5 4. Colorado MT 337 4 5. Boston College NE 322 6 6. Arizona State W 299 7 7. Georgetown MA 294 12 8. Providence NE 291 8 9. North Carolina State SE 288 10 10. Wisconsin GL 280 18 11. Duke SE 263 11 12. Notre Dame GL 258 3 13. Arkansas SC 250 14 14. Columbia NE 244 9 15. North Carolina SE 231 13 16. Virginia SE 176 15 17. Northern Arizona MT 169 T16 18. UCLA W 163 T16 19. MICHIGAN GL 156 22 20. Missouri MW 142 20 21. Villanova MA 138 19 22. William & Mary SE 118 21 23. Marquette GL 105 23 24. Colorado State MT 79 24 25. Penn State MA 74 25 26. Wake Forest SE 69 26 27. Southwest Missouri State MW 50 29 28. Washington W 41 -- 29. Dartmouth NE 31 28 30. Indiana GL 18 27

Also receiving votes: Florida State 10, Texas A&M 7, James Madison 6, Stoney Brook 6, Toledo 5, Weber State 4, Yale 3, Cornell 2.

The Mike McGuire File ...
Mike McGuire is in his 11th season as a head coach for the Michigan women's cross country team. McGuire has led the Wolverines to three straight victories in 2002, with wins at the Running Fit Detroit Mercy Invitational (Sept. 7), Mel Brodt Invitational (Sept. 14) and the Sundodger Invitational (Sept. 21). In his first four seasons, McGuire won three consecutive Big Ten Conference and NCAA District IV championships, and finished as high as second at the 1994 NCAA National Championship. All told, McGuire's Michigan teams have nine top-two finishes at the Big Ten Championships and eight top-two finishes at the regional championships, winning the regional meet in 1993, '94 and '95. His teams have finished among the nation's top 10 five times at the NCAA Championships.

Up Next ...
The Wolverines return to the 6,000-meter LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA Pre-Nationals next Saturday (Oct. 19). The meet is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. EST/CDT.

Contact: Gene Skidmore, 734-647-4237