Michigan
NCAA Championships
Brannen, Willis Lead Wolverines to Eighth at NCAA Meet
11/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The University of Michigan men's cross country team took eighth place at the 2002 NCAA Championships this afternoon (Monday, Nov. 25) at Indiana State's LaVern Gibson Championship Course. The Wolverines collected 309 points in the race, behind All-America performances from sophomore Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) and freshman Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS).
| | Brannen |
Stanford was crowned NCAA champion with 47 points and boasted four runners in the top 10 and a total of five All-Americans, while Colorado's Jorge Torres became the men's individual champion with his time of 29:04.7. Great Lakes Region teams Wisconsin (107) and Eastern Michigan (165) placed second and third, followed by Colorado (190) and Oregon (210) to round out the top five.
The Wolverines received career-best performances from junior Tom Greenless (Milford, Mich./Milford HS), senior/junior Nick Stanko (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt HS) and redshirt freshman Sean Moore (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) to help Michigan to its highest team finish and first top-10 result since 1999. Greenless, finishing 103rd (80 team points), capped off a successful season by lowering his fastest mark in a 10,000-meter race by 32.3 seconds to 31:08.6. Stanko earned 92 points in 120th place with a time of 31:18.1. Moore rounded out the Wolverines five scoring runners one spot behind Stanko at 31:18.2.
Senior/junior Ryan Hesselink (Freeport, Mich./Thornapple-Kellogg HS) and redshirt sophomore Brian Turner (Omaha, Neb./Millard North HS) placed 183rd and 234th, respectively, for the Maize and Blue.
Top 10 Teams
1. Stanford 47 2. Wisconsin 107 3. Eastern Michigan 165 4. Colorado 190 5. Oregon 210 6. Arkansas 214 7. Northern Arizona 247 8. MICHIGAN 309 9. Central Michigan 337 10. Iona 376
Top 30 Individuals
Place, Runner Time Score 1. Jorge Torres, Colorado 29:04.7 1 2. Alistair Cragg, Arkansas 29:06.0 2 3. Grant Robinson, Stanford 29:36.7 3 4. Mark Tucker, Butler 29:37.5 4 5. Louis Louchini, Stanford 29:41.0 5 6. Donald Sage, Stanford 29:44.4 6 7. Boaz Cheboiwyo, Eastern Michigan 29:46.1 7 8. Tom McArdle, Dartmouth 29:46.3 9. Ian Dobson, Stanford 29:47.2 8 10. Edwardo Torres, Colorado 29:47.7 9 11. David Kimani, Alabama 29:48.0 10 12. Matt Tegenkamp, Wisconsin 29:49.1 11 13. Gavin Thompson, Eastern Michigan 29:51.4 12 14. Daniel Lincoln, Arkansas 29:59.3 13 15. Richard Kiplagat, Iona 30:00.4 14 16. Anthony Ford, Montana 30:01.0 17. Mindaugus Pukstas, SMU 30:15.5 15 18. Seth Watkins, Northern Arizona 30:16.2 16 19. Lyle Weisse, Montana State 30:16.5 17 20. Jason Hartman, Oregon 30:17.9 18 21. Isaiah Festa, Wisconsin 30:18.9 19 22. NATE BRANNEN, U-M 30:20.4 20 23. Bobby Lockhart, Wisconsin 30:20.7 21 24. Adam Wallace, Wisconsin 30:21.3 22 25. Westly Keating, Texas-Pan American 30:21.5 26. Dusty Lieb, Pennsylvania 30:21.5 27. Adam Sutton, Providence 30:22.6 23 28. NICK WILLIS, U-M 30:24.7 24 29. Adam Tenforde, Stanford 30:25.2 25 30. Ed Moran, William & Mary 30:27.5 26
Other Michigan Individuals
Place, Runner Time Score 103. Tom Greenless 31:08.6 80 120. Nick Stanko 31:18.1 92 121. Sean Moore 31:18.2 93 183. Ryan Hesselink 31:59.1 148 234. Brian Turner 33:07.5 197
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Ron Warhurst
On the race ... "We were 19th going in and we came out eighth, so we're smiling right now. We ran very well. This season we haven't been able to put five together, but today that's what we did here. Our first five guys ran really well for us."
On the team's attitude going into the race ... "Everybody was really relaxed going into the race. Last night you could tell that we were really relaxed. No one was tight or nervous. We just had the right mindset to go out and do well. Running 10,000 meters, 30 minutes, makes it a head game and you can't let your mindset change when you're running. We just had to stay confident and relaxed because we had nothing to prove."
On the pace of the championship course ... "The course had a good rhythm. Our guys were flying; through 8,000 meters most of our guys were going faster than their pace when we ran here at the Pre-Nationals."
On the efforts of Nate Brannen and Nick Willis ... "They ran like they have all year. I thought if we could put two guys in the top 30 and then two more in the first 100 then we could be a top-12 team, but we did better. Nate was 22nd and Willis was 28th and the rest of the guys put together great races. The first 30 are All-Americans and that's what those two guys were all year."
On the strong finishes of Midwestern teams ... "A lot of teams from our region placed well. Wisconsin was second, Eastern Michigan third, Central Michigan right behind us. It shows that when you run against top competition like we have all season, it makes you prepared to do well in races like this one."
N O T E S
Nate Brannen and Nick Willis earned All-America honors for their finishes among the top 30 runners at the NCAA Championships. The two current Wolverines join a well-decorated list of 22 prior All-America award winners.
For the second race in a row, all five of Michigan's scoring runners set personal-best times. Brannen, Willis, Tom Greenless, Nick Stanko and Sean Moore all improved their fastest time in a 10,000-meter race with their performances at the NCAA Championships.
Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
