Weekly Release #8
11/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Nov. 16 -- at NCAA Great Lakes Regional (West Lafayette, Ind.), 12:30 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 25 -- at NCAA Championships (Terre Haute, Ind.), 1:15 p.m.
This Week
The No. 18 University of Michigan men's cross country team will return to competition Saturday (Nov. 16) at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships, hosted by Purdue on its new Varsity Cross Country Course in West Lafayette, Ind. The men's race will span 10,000 meters and is scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. The top two teams will receive automatic bids to the 2002 NCAA Championships.
Scouting the Field
Michigan can assure itself that it will face some of the best competition in the nation in this week's NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships. The No. 18-ranked Wolverines will compete against 26 other squads, many of whom are ranked among the nation's top 30 squads. Leading the pack is No. 4 Wisconsin, the reigning Big Ten Conference champion after its win Nov. 3. Following the Badgers will be No. 7 Eastern Michigan, No. 9 Central Michigan, No. 17 Ohio State, No. 20 Indiana, No. 21 Butler and No. 28 Michigan State. Three other teams C Iowa, Miami (Ohio) and Notre Dame C received votes in the Nov. 5 Cross Country Coaches' Association of America national poll.
What the Regional Means
Nine different regional meets will be held this weekend around the nation. The top two finishing teams at each regional will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships on Monday, Nov. 25, in West Lafayette, Ind. With 18 teams earning automatic bids, the NCAA will then round out the field of 31 by making 13 at-large selections based on the team's performance over the year. Up to four individuals from each squad not on a qualifying team can earn invitations to Terre Haute, provided they finish in the top 20 at the regional.
NCAA GREAT LAKES REGIONAL LINEUP
Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS)
Tom Greenless (Milford, Mich./Milford HS)
Ryan Hesselink (Freeport, Mich./Thornapple-Kellogg HS)
Tarn Leach (East Jordan, Mich./East Jordan HS)
Sean Moore (Saline, Mich./Saline HS)
David Sage (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS)
Nick Stanko (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt HS)
Brian Turner (Omaha, Neb./Millard North HS)
Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS)
At the 2001 Great Lakes Regional ...
The Wolverines earned an automatic berth to the 2001 NCAA Championships with their second-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional Championship in Terre Haute, Ind. Michigan earned 81 points and was only surpassed by Notre Dame's score of 71. The Maize and Blue received top 10 efforts from Alan Webb (2001) and Mike Wisniewski (1997-2001) to lead its charge through the difficult field. Tom Greenless and Nate Brannen placed 28th and 29th, respectively, to round out Michigan's scoring quintet.
Previous Meet
Michigan earned a third-place finish in its last trip to West Lafayette, Ind., for the 2002 Big Ten Championships. The Wolverines' score of 80 points was narrowly beaten by Ohio State's mark of 79. U-M was led by two first-team All-Big Ten performers in sophomore Nate Brannen and freshman Nick Willis. Brannen placed third at 24:06.1, the fastest 8,000-meter time of his career, while Willis also posted a career-best time (24:15.7) with his seventh-place finish. Tom Greenless, Ryan Hesselink and Sean Moore also were scoring runners for the Maize and Blue.
A New Personal Best, Anyone
Michigan had a strong race in the Big Ten Championships. First-team All-Big Ten finishers Nate Brannen and Nick Willis posted top times, as well as both Tarn Leach and Sean Moore. Brannen decimated his previous fastest time by over 15 seconds, moving from 24:21.6 to 24:06.1. Willis lowered his time of 24:27 by 12 seconds, to 24:15.7. Leach continued his improvement over the course of the season, posting a time of 25:10.9. Moore ran the first sub-25-minute race of his career at 24:55.7.
North/South Connection
Whereas sophomore Nate Brannen has gotten used to seeing his name among the top finishers, freshman phenom Nick Willis has had less time to get used to the collegiate success his Canadian teammate has grown accustomed to. Nevertheless, Brannen and Willis, a native of New Zealand, have combined to become a powerful one-two punch for the Wolverines this season, finishing as Michigan's top two runners in four of the five races in which they have both competed.
An Eye on the Polls
In the most recent MONDO Cross Country Poll (Nov. 11), Michigan is ranked 18th after finishing third at the Big Ten Championships (Nov. 3). Michigan is currently fifth in the MONDO Great Lakes Regional rankings.
MONDO NCAA Division I Poll (11/11/02)
Rank, School Points Prev 1. Stanford (14) 449 1 2. Arkansas (1) 428 2 3. Colorado 423 3 4. Wisconsin 390 11 5. Oregon 376 5 6. Iona 364 6 7. Eastern Michigan 346 7 8. Northern Arizona 345 4 9. Central Michigan 323 8 10. Villanova 318 16 11. Brigham Young 316 10 12. Providence 269 17 13. Weber State 262 9 14. Montana State 255 22 15. Colorado State 229 14 16. Georgetown 226 13 17. Ohio State 214 20 18. MICHIGAN 201 12 19. North Carolina State 182 21 20. Indiana 164 18 21. Butler 143 19 22. Arizona State 126 25 23. Dartmouth 118 24 24. Minnesota 104 15 25. Alabama 98 26 26. Utah State 66 28 27. Texas 46 -- 28. Michigan State 40 23 29. William & Mary 29 -- 30. LaSalle 22 --Also receiving votes: Columbia 20, Iowa 20, Oklahoma State 17, SMU 13, New Mexico 7, Wake Forest 7, Miami (Ohio) 5, Duke 4, Notre Dame 4, Washington 4, Princeton 1
A Look at What's Ahead
The Wolverines will look to qualify for the 2002 NCAA Championship in Terre Haute, Ind. The 10,000-meter race hosted by Indiana State will begin at 1:15 p.m. at the LaVern Gibson Course.
Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423
