Michigan
NCAA Championships
Wolverines Claim Ninth Place at NCAA Championships
11/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Site:Â Waterloo, Iowa (Irv Warren Golf Course)
Meet: NCAA Championships (10,000 meters)
U-M Finish: 9th Place of 31 Teams (332 points)
Top U-M Individual: Nate Brannen, 17th (29:54.0)
Next Meet: Season Completed
WATERLOO, Iowa -- The University of Michigan men's cross country team claimed ninth place with a score of 332 at the NCAA Championships on Monday (Nov. 24) as junior Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) and sophomore Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) earned All-America distinction for the second consecutive year.
The pair crossed the finish line together -- Brannen just 0.8 seconds quicker -- in 17th and 18th place. Both turned in personal-best performances, with Brannen shaving 26 seconds off of his previous fastest time to finish at 29:54 and Willis cutting 30 seconds to finish just a step later at 29:54.8.
Coach Ron Warhurst's Wolverines, ranked fifth in the national poll coming into the meet, finished in the national top 10 for the second straight year and place in the top 11 for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. U-M was eighth at the 2002 NCAA Championships.
Michigan also collected strong performances from its other three scored runners. Senior Tom Greenless (Milford, Mich./Milford HS) was the third Wolverine across the finish line, clocking a time of 30:52 to finish 98th. Senior captain Nick Stanko (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt HS) took 138th place with a time of 31:27.6, 11 seconds quicker than his previous best. Fifth-year senior Alex L'Heureux (Weedon, Quebec/Palm Beach Gardens HS), making his first appearance at the NCAA Championships, rounded out Michigan's top-five placers, finishing 153rd with a time of 31:18. L'Heureux cut five seconds from his time at last week's NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
Stanford claimed the team title for the second consecutive year, placing all five of its runners in the top 10 to collect 24 points. Wisconsin, the 2003 Big Ten champion, took second with 174 points and Northern Arizona rounded out the top three with 189 points.
Top 10 Teams
1. Stanford 24 2. Wisconsin 174 3. Northern Arizona 189 4. Iona 207 5. Arkansas 213 6. Colorado 259 7. Georgetown 281 8. Air Force 327 9. MICHIGAN 332 10. North Carolina State 343
Top Individual Finishers
1. Dathan Ritzenhein, Colorado 29:14.1 2. Ryan Hall, Stanford 29:15.4 3. Gavin Thompson, Eastern Michigan 29:17.4 4. Grant Robison, Stanford 29:19.2 5. Ian Dobson, Stanford 29:24.7 6. Louis Luchini, Stanford 29:28.2 7. Westly Keating, Texas-Pan American 29:30.4 8. Alistair Cragg, Arkansas 29:33.1 9. Simon Bairu, Wisconsin 29:33.8 10. Henrik Ahnstrom, Stanford 29:41.6 11. Mindaugas Pukstas, Oklahoma State 29:42.6 12. Adam Tenforde, Stanford 29:44.9 13. Don Sage, Stanford 29:45.8 14. Paul Morrison, Texas 29:46.4 15. Chris Solinsky, Wisconsin 29:48.5 16. Bill Nelson, Colorado 29:53.9 17. Nate Brannen, U-M 29:54.0 18. Nick Willis, U-M 29:54.8 19. Sean Jefferson, Indiana 29:57.7 20. Richard Kiplagat, Iona 29:58.6
Other Michigan Finishes
98. Tom Greenless 30:52.0 138. Nick Stanko 31:07.6 153. Alex L'Heureux 31:18.0 195. Tarn Leach 31:42.1 212. Sean Moore 31:59.6
N O T E S
• Michigan's ninth-place finish is the Wolverines' second consecutive top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships and the 12th since 1974. The highest U-M finish at the NCAA Championships is fourth, a feat which was accomplished in back-to-back seasons in 1997 and 1998.
• Nate Brannen and Nick Willis earned All-America honors for their finishes among the top 30 runners at the NCAA Championships. Both Wolverines were All-Americans last season after placing 22nd and 28th, respectively.
• Five Wolverines recorded personal-best 10,000-meter times at Irv Warren Golf Course, this year's NCAA Championships site. At the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Oct. 18, all seven Wolverine runners notched personal bests in the 8,000-meter race at the same course.
Players Mentioned
