Weekly Release #1

Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Sept. 20 -- at Michigan State Open (East Lansing, Mich.), 2 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 27 -- CCC Championship (Buhr Park, Ann Arbor), 4 p.m.

This Week
The University of Michigan men's cross country team kicks its 2002 season into full gear with the Michigan State Open Friday (Sept. 20) at Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing, Mich. The eight-team, 8,000-meter race is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

Previous Meet
Michigan got a chance to check out its 2002 roster at the Michigan Open, held Sept. 3 at the University of Michigan Golf Course. The Wolverines were led by sophomore Tarn Leach (East Jordan, Mich./East Jordan HS), junior Tom Greenless (Milford, Mich./Milford HS) and freshman Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS), who crossed the finish line together in first place with a time of 26:32. Junior/sophomore Brian Turner (Omaha, Neb./Millard North HS) and Sean Moore (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) rounded out the top five with times of 26:47 and 26:53, respectively.

At Look at Who's Back
Despite losing two All-Americans, Michigan looks to contend for another trip to the NCAA Championships in 2002. The Wolverines return four members with NCAA Championships experience in sophomore Nathan Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS), Tom Greenless, senior/junior Ryan Hesselink (Freeport, Mich./Thornapple-Kellogg HS) and Brian Turner. Michigan gains depth with the efforts of senior/junior captain Nick Stanko (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt HS), Tarn Leach, Terrance Rindler (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS), Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS) and David Sage (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS). "This team will be a lot stronger, a lot closer from runner one through five than it was last season," says head coach Ron Warhurst. "We lost some of the guys who were able to jump out in front, but this year with the experience we have, we will be a stronger team than a year ago."

Introducing
Michigan welcomes four newcomers to its roster. Andrew Bauer (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS), Todd Iacovelli (Kailua, Hawaii/Punahou HS), Daniel Murray (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice HS) and Nick Willis round out coach Warhurst's 2002 recruiting class.

Bauer, a three-time Oakland Athletic Association cross country champion, was runner-up in the 2001 state championship race, while Iacovelli is the reigning Hawaiian high school cross country champion. The cross country champ of Detroit's Catholic School League, Murray was named all-state in his final high school season. Willis is Michigan's most decorated newcomer, having placed fourth in the 1,500-meter run at the World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, last July. Willis also holds New Zealand high school (under-18) records in the 800m and 1,500m.

The Word on Warhurst
Head coach Ron Warhurst is in his 29th season at the helm of the Michigan men's cross country team. Through 28 years guiding the Wolverines, Warhurst has won six Big Ten Conference Championships (1974-75-76-80 (tie)-93-97-98) while also producing 11 teams that have finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships. Overall, Warhurst has developed 20 NCAA All-America runners at Michigan, including eight-time All-American and three-time NCAA track champion John Scherer. He guided Kevin Sullivan to four NCAA track titles and 14 All-America runs in cross country and track, and developed top U-M runners Brian Diemer, the 1984 Olympic bronze medalist, and 1983 Boston Marathon champion Greg Meyer. Last season, U-M harriers Mike Wisniewski and Alan Webb became Warhurst's most recent All-Americans with strong performances at the NCAA Championships.

An Eye on the Polls
Michigan enters the 2002 season ranked 28th according to the preseason MONDO NCAA Cross Country Poll (Aug. 27).

MONDO Preseason NCAA Cross Country Poll (Aug. 27)

 Place In Rank Team (first place votes) Region Points 2001 1 Colorado (14) MT 449 1 2 Stanford (1) W 429 2 3 Arkansas SC 420 3 4 Wisconsin GL 400 5 5 Northern Arizona MT 392 4 6 Villanova MA 354 8 7 North Carolina State SE 342 9 8 Providence NE 337 10 9 Georgetown MA 300 15 Oregon W 300 13 11 BYU MT 291 12 12 Eastern Michigan GL 273 -- 13 Arizona State W 270 20 14 Michigan State GL 265 18 15 Portland W 163 7 16 Colorado State MT 161 22 William & Mary SE 161 16 18 Weber State MT 159 -- 19 Dartmouth NE 156 24 20 Duke SE 146 14 21 Iona NE 136 -- 22 Alabama S 132 29 23 Indiana GL 123 -- 24 Butler GL 120 23 25 Notre Dame GL 100 6 26 Minnesota MW 93 25 27 Washington W 90 -- 28 MICHIGAN GL 50 11 29 Oklahoma State MW 40 31 Texas SC 40 28

Also receiving votes: SMU 35, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 31, Arizona 28, Air Force 27, Tennessee 22, UC-Santa Barbara 21, Nebraska 17, Penn State 12, New Mexico 11, Ohio State 4, Florida State 1.

Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423