Weekly Release #6
10/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Oct. 22 -- at EMU Classic (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 4 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 31 -- at Big Ten Championships (Iowa City, Iowa), 11 a.m. CST
This Week: EMU Classic
The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team will wrap up the regular-season portion of its schedule on Friday (Oct. 22) at Buhr Park in Ann Arbor. The 8,000-meter race is slated for a 4 p.m. start.
Last Year at the EMU Classic
U-M boasted two top-10 finishers among the 80-man field at last season's EMU Classic. Fifth-year senior Ryan Hesselink earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors after pacing the Wolverines with an eighth-place finish, his second top-10 performance of the season, registering a season-best time of 25:34. Sophomore/freshman Andrew Bauer (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) finished several paces later, collecting 10th place with a time of 25:41. Sophomore/freshman Dan Murray (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice HS), freshman Ethan Brown (Lowell, Mass./Lowell HS) and sophomore/freshman Todd Iacovelli (Kailua, Hawaii/Punahou HS) also placed within the top 20, finishing 13th, 16th and 17th, respectively.
Recapping the NCAA Pre-Nationals
Senior captain Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) and junior Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) finished among the top three individuals in the White race at the NCAA Pre-Nationals to pace the Wolverines to third in the team standings (188 points). Brannen shaved 1.4 seconds from his previous PR to clock a personal-best 23:56.8 in a runner-up showing while Willis finished just a step behind in third place with a season-opening time of 23:58.5. Also scoring for the Wolverines were freshman Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS), graduate/senior Jonathan Kieliszak (Warwick, R.I./Bishop Henricken HS) and junior/sophomore Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS), who placed 42nd, 52nd and 89th, respectively.
Following the Leader
With his second-place performance at the NCAA Pre-Nationals (Oct. 16), senior captain Nate Brannen led the Wolverine contingent across the finish line for the fifth consecutive scored meet in which he participated, dating back to last season's Big Ten Championships. Brannen paced the Wolverines in each of the 2003 postseason meets -- claiming second at the Big Ten Championships, fourth at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and 17th at the NCAA Championships en route to All-America honors -- and has been the top U-M finisher at this season's Great American Cross Country Festival and the NCAA Pre-Nationals, placing fourth and second, respectively.
Knock on Woods
With three collegiate races under his belt, freshman Mike Woods has improved upon his 8,000-meter time with each outing, shaving a total of nine seconds from his personal best during a one-month span.
Mike Woods' Season Progression
| Spartan Invitational (Sept. 17) | 24:56.00 |
| Great American XC Festival (Oct. 1) | 24:55.43 |
| NCAA Pre-Nationals (Oct. 16) | 24:47.70 |
Brannen Nabs Second Big Ten Weekly Honor of the Season
Senior captain Nate Brannen was named Big Ten Conference co-Athlete of the Week for the second time in three weeks in recognition of his runner-up performance at the NCAA Pre-Nationals (Oct. 16). Brannen also claimed the weekly distinction after pacing the Wolverines at the Great Lakes Invitational (Oct. 1). With three career Big Ten weekly honors, Brannen equals Mark Pilja (1998-2001) for the most in U-M men's cross country history.
Willis Named New Zealand's Top Middle Distance Runner
Junior Nick Willis was named Athletics New Zealand Middle Distance Runner of the Year at the organization annual awards banquet last Saturday (Oct. 16) in recognition of his performance in the 1,500-meter run at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Willis just narrowly missed advancing to the final, placing sixth in the slower of the two heats with a time of 3:41.46, just 0.19 seconds out of the final automatic spot. In the first round, Willis outkicked five opponents down the final stretch to register a time of 3:39.80, automatically qualifying for the semifinals with a third-place finish.
In the Polls
After its third-place showing at the NCAA Pre-Nationals, U-M dropped two positions to the No. 7 spot -- which it shares with Georgetown -- in the most recent MONDO Collegiate Cross Country Poll, released Oct. 19. In the Great Lakes region, the Wolverines hold the second spot behind top-ranked Wisconsin.
MONDO Collegiate Cross Country Poll (10/19/04)
Rank, Team (first-place votes) Region Points Prev 1. Wisconsin (12) GL 418 1 2. Stanford (1) W 401 2 3. Colorado M 388 6 4. Arkansas (1) SC 387 3 5. Notre Dame GL 359 9 6. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo W 346 11 7. Georgetown MA 325 7 Michigan GL 325 5 9. Arizona State W 308 15 10. BYU M 300 14 11. Florida State S 274 18 12. Air Force NE 272 13 13. Indiana GL 240 20 14. Butler GL 237 10 15. Iona NE 220 4 16. North Carolina State SE 212 8 17. Colorado State M 186 21 18. Villanova MA 178 12 19. Minnesota MW 173 16 20. Florida S 142 -- 21. Oklahoma State MW 134 19 22. Providence NE 133 16 23. New Mexico M 123 -- 24. Northern Arizona M 102 -- 25. Central Michigan GL 75 29 26. Duke SE 49 -- 27. Michigan State GL 47 -- 28. Oregon W 36 24 29. Texas SC 33 30 30. Iowa MW 23 --
On the Horizon
The Maize and Blue will kick off the postseason on Sunday, Oct. 31, when they head to Iowa City, Iowa, for the 2004 Big Ten Conference Championships. The 8,000-meter event will begin at 11:30 a.m. at UI Cross Country Course.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
