Weekly Release #9
11/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Upcoming Schedule
Monday, Nov. 25 -- at NCAA Championships (Terre Haute, Ind.), 1:15 p.m.
This Week
The No. 19 University of Michigan men's cross country team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships next Monday (Nov. 25). Indiana State will host the race for the 31 championship squads on its LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind. The men's race will span 10,000 meters and is scheduled to start at 1:15.m.
Scouting the Field
Thirty-one teams, composed of 18 automatic and 13 at-large bids, will compete for the 2002 NCAA Championship. Joining the Wolverines out of the Great Lakes Region are automatic qualifiers Wisconsin and Eastern Michigan and at-large bids Butler, Central Michigan, Indiana, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Ohio State. Alabama, Arkansas, Brigham Young, Colorado, Colorado State, Georgetown, Iona, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana State, N.C. State, Northern Arizona, Oregon, Providence, SMU, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Villanova, Weber State and William & Mary round out the championship field. Additionally, 38 individuals whose teams did not qualify for the NCAA Championships will have the chance to race after finishing among the top 20 individuals in their respective NCAA regional championships, irrespective of their teams' finishes.
NCAA Championships Information on the Internet:
NCAA site: www.ncaachampionships.com
Indiana State host site: http://web.indstate.edu/athletic/cross/2002ncaa.html
Michigan at the NCAA Championships
The Wolverines are making their 22nd appearance at the NCAA Championships. Last season, the Wolverines were powered to an 11th-place team finish by All-Americans Alan Webb (2001) and Mike Wisniewski (1997-2001). Webb finished 11th overall, while Wisniewski placed 18th to lead the Maize and Blue to 364 team points. Sophomore Nate Brannen and junior Tom Greenless gained valuable NCAA experience, finishing in 148th and 181st places, respectively. Colorado, with 90 points, edged out Stanford by a one-point margin to become the 2001 NCAA champion.
U-M at the NCAA Championships
| | 1974 12th (304 points) 1975 22nd (506 points) 1976 18th (456 points) 1978 21st (467 points) 1979 13th (360 points) 1980 7th (243 points) 1982 6th (177 points) 1983 17th (345 points) 1984 8th (296 points) 1988 16th (321 points) 1990 13th (312 points) | | 1991 6th (244 points) 1992 5th (214 points) 1993 10th (296 points) 1994 7th (222 points) 1995 11th (267 points) 1996 14th (383 points) 1997 4th (116 points) 1998 4th (183 points) 1999 5th (282 points) 2001 11th (364 points) |
Warhurst at the NCAA Championships
Head coach Ron Warhurst will head to the 2002 NCAA Championships with impressive credentials. During his 28 years at the helm of the Wolverines' cross country team, he has guided 11 teams to top-10 finishes and 20 of his runners have to earned NCAA All-America honors.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS 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)
Nick Stanko (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt HS)
Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS)
Runner Profiles
Sophomore Nate Brannen
In 2002 ... First-team All-Big Ten ... Named Big Ten Athlete of the Week (Oct. 8) for his performance at the Notre Dame Invitational ... Competed in five of six races ... Was U-M's top finisher in its last five races ... Had four top 10 finishes ... Saw times go down in every race ... Ran a personal-best time (8,000 meters) of 24:06.1 at the Big Ten Championships (Nov. 3) ... Set 10,000-meter personal best (30:44.2) with his fifth-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Nov. 16) ... Highest finish was second at the Central Collegiate Championships (Sept. 27).
| Date | Event | Place | Time |
| Nov. 16 | Great Lakes Regional | 5th | 30:44.2 |
| Nov. 3. 28 | Big Ten Championships | 3rd | 24:06.1 |
| Oct. 19 | NCAA Pre-Nationals | 11th | 24:21.6 |
| Oct. 4 | Notre Dame Invitational | 7th | 24:38 |
| Sept. 27 | Central Collegiate Championships | 2nd | 25:22 |
| Sept. 20 | Michigan State Open | -- | -- |
Junior Tom Greenless
In 2002 ... Will run in third NCAA Championship ... Ran in five of six races ... Set 8,000-meter personal best of 24:42.1 with a 15th-place finish at the Big Ten Championships (Nov. 3) ... Earned 10,000-meter personal best with result of 31:40.9 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional ... Top finish was 11th at the Michigan State Open (Sept. 20).
| Date | Event | Place | Time |
| Nov. 16 | Great Lakes Regional | 40th | 31:40.9 |
| Nov. 3. 28 | Big Ten Championships | 11th | 24:42.1 |
| Oct. 19 | NCAA Pre-Nationals | 55th | 24:52.7 |
| Oct. 4 | Notre Dame Invitational | 63rd | 25:52 |
| Sept. 27 | Central Collegiate Championships | -- | -- |
| Sept. 20 | Michigan State Open | 11th | 25:32 |
Senior/Junior Ryan Hesselink
In 2002 ... Ran in all six races for the Wolverines ... Set an 8,000-meter personal-best time of 24:52.9 at the Big Ten Championships (Nov. 3) ... Ran 10,000-meter fastest time of 32:15.5 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals (Nov. 16) ... Highest finish was sixth at Central Collegiate Championship (Sept. 26).
| Date | Event | Place | Time |
| Nov. 16 | Great Lakes Regional | 63rd | 32:15.5 |
| Nov. 3. 28 | Big Ten Championships | 26th | 24:52.9 |
| Oct. 19 | NCAA Pre-Nationals | 115th | 25:25.2 |
| Oct. 4 | Notre Dame Invitational | 66th | 25:58 |
| Sept. 27 | Central Collegiate Championships | 6th | 25:34 |
| Sept. 20 | Michigan State Open | 8th | 25:20 |
Sophomore Tarn Leach
In 2002 ... Ran in all six races ... Had personal-best 8,000-meter time of 25:10.9 at the Big Ten Championships (Nov. 3) ... Ran first-ever long-course (10,000-meter) race at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Nov. 16) ... Had career-best third-place finish at the Central Collegiate Championship (Sept. 27).
| Date | Event | Place | Time |
| Nov. 16 | Great Lakes Regional | 65th | 32:21.2 |
| Nov. 3. 28 | Big Ten Championships | 41st | 25:10.9 |
| Oct. 19 | NCAA Pre-Nationals | 98th | 25:14.7 |
| Oct. 4 | Notre Dame Invitational | 21st | 25:10 |
| Sept. 27 | Central Collegiate Championships | 3rd | 25:23 |
| Sept. 20 | Michigan State Open | 15th | 25:44 |
Sophomore/Freshman Sean Moore
In 2002 ... Ran in four of U-M's six races ... Ran first sub-25-minute race at the 8,000-meter Big Ten Championships (Nov. 3) ... Ran first 10,000-meter race of his career in 32:06.4 (59th) at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Nov. 16) ... Best finish was in 20th place at the Michigan State Open (Sept. 20).
| Date | Event | Place | Time |
| Nov. 16 | Great Lakes Regional | 59th | 32:06.4 |
| Nov. 3. 28 | Big Ten Championships | 30th | 24:55.7 |
| Oct. 19 | NCAA Pre-Nationals | -- | -- |
| Oct. 4 | Notre Dame Invitational | 34th | 25:25 |
| Sept. 27 | Central Collegiate Championships | -- | -- |
| Sept. 20 | Michigan State Open | 20th | 25:58 |
Senior/Junior Nick Stanko
In 2002 ... Was named team captain ... Ran in all six of U-M's races ... Set 8,000-meter personal best with time of 24:43.6 at the NCAA Pre-Nationals (Oct. 19) ... Surpassed 10,000-meter career best by over two minutes with result of 31:31.9 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Nov. 16) ... Turned in a season-best fourth-place finish at the Central Collegiate Championships (Sept. 27).
| Date | Event | Place | Time |
| Nov. 16 | Great Lakes Regional | 32nd | 31:31.9 |
| Nov. 3. 28 | Big Ten Championships | 42nd | 25:14.2 |
| Oct. 19 | NCAA Pre-Nationals | 40th | 24:43.6 |
| Oct. 4 | Notre Dame Invitational | 19th | 24:59 |
| Sept. 27 | Central Collegiate Championships | 4th | 25:22 |
| Sept. 20 | Michigan State Open | 9th | 25:26 |
Freshman Nick Willis
In 2002 ...First-team All-Big Ten ... Ran in all six of U-M's races ... Was only true freshman to compete in Michigan's starting seven ... Set 8,000-meter personal best of 24:15.7 with seventh-place finish at the Big Ten Championships (Nov. 3) ... Ran in first career long-course race at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Nov. 16), finishing sixth with a time of 30:45.7 ... Highest finish was third at the Michigan State Open (Sept. 20).
| Date | Event | Place | Time |
| Nov. 16 | Great Lakes Regional | 6th | 30:45.7 |
| Nov. 3. 28 | Big Ten Championships | 7th | 24:15.7 |
| Oct. 19 | NCAA Pre-Nationals | 15th | 24:27.9 |
| Oct. 4 | Notre Dame Invitational | 10th | 24:34 |
| Sept. 27 | Central Collegiate Championships | 7th | 25:36 |
| Sept. 20 | Michigan State Open | 3rd | 24:55 |
Previous Meet
Michigan earned a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Nov. 16) at Purdue University's Varsity Cross Country Course. In a tight race, the No. 19 Wolverines earned 142 points behind career performances from all five of their scoring runners. Nate Brannen and Nick Willis paced the Wolverines with fifth- and sixth-place finishes, while Nick Stanko, Tom Greenless and Sean Moore contributed to Michigan's team score with personal-best times.
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 five of the six races in which they have both competed.
An Eye on the Polls
In the most recent MONDO Cross Country Poll (Nov. 18), Michigan moved to 19th after finishing sixth at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships (Nov. 16). Michigan is currently fifth in the MONDO Great Lakes Regional rankings.
MONDO NCAA Division I Poll (11/18/02)
Rank, School Points Prev. Region 1. Stanford (15) 450 1 W-1Q 2. Arkansas 422 2 SC-1Q 3. Wisconsin 415 4 GL-1Q 4. Northern Arizona 405 8 MT-1Q 5. Colorado 399 3 MT-2Q 6. Oregon 379 5 W-2Q 7. Eastern Michigan 350 7 GL-2Q 8. Iona 344 6 NE-1Q 9. Villanova 326 10 MA-1Q 10. BYU 311 11 MT-3q 11. Central Michigan 293 9 GL-3q 12. Providence 274 12 NE-2Q 13. Georgetown 269 16 MA-2Q 14. Weber State 264 13 MT-4q 15. Indiana 223 20 GL-4q 16. Montana State 213 14 MT-5q 17. Ohio State 193 17 GL-5q 18. North Carolina State 179 19 SE-1Q 19. MICHIGAN 159 18 GL-6q 20. Southern Methodist 156 SC-2Q 21. Colorado State 145 15 MT-6q 22. Butler 114 21 GL-7q 23. Dartmouth 105 23 NE-3 24. Iowa 97 -- MW-1Q 25. William & Mary 85 29 SE-2Q 26. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 83 -- W-3 27. Minnesota 59 24 MW-2Q 28. Michigan State 45 28 GL-8q 29. Alabama 38 25 S-2Q Tennessee 38 -- S-1Q --. Texas -- 27 SC-4q --. Texas A&M -- -- SC-3q --. Notre Dame -- -- GL-9q
Also receiving votes: Portland 33, Arizona State 32, Notre Dame 21, New Mexico 14, Princeton 11, Texas 9, Texas A&M 8, Duke 4, Utah State 4, Illinois 3, Columbia 2, LaSalle 1.
Regions: NE = Northeast, MA = Mid-Atlantic, SE = Southeast, GL = Great Lakes, MW = Midwest, SC = South Central, MT = Mountain, W = West, S = South. Automatic qualifiers indicated by "Q" after Place in Region, "at large" qualifiers by "q".
Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
