Weekly Release #7

Upcoming Schedule
Sunday, Oct. 31 -- at Big Ten Championships (Iowa City, Iowa), 11 a.m. CST
Saturday, Nov. 13 -- at NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 11 a.m.
Monday, Nov. 22 -- at NCAA Championships (Terre Haute, Ind.), 11 a.m.

This Week: Big Ten Championships
The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team kicks off the postseason on Sunday (Oct. 31) at the Big Ten Championships in Iowa City, Iowa. Hosted by the University of Iowa, the 8,000-meter men's race is slated for an 11:30 a.m. CST start at the UI Cross Country Course.

Big Ten Championships Lineup

Andrew Bauer
Nate Brannen
Todd Iacovelli
Jonathan Kieliszak
Matt Mulvaney
Dan Murray
Rondell Ruff
Nick Willis
Mike Woods

Michigan at the Big Ten Championships
The Wolverines have claimed nine conference titles dating back to 1922. Since 1990, Michigan and the University of Wisconsin have dominated the Big Ten Championships. In that time, Wisconsin has captured 10 conference titles while the Wolverines won three in 1993, '97 and '98. Only twice in the last 13 years has the pair of schools not finished one and two at the Big Ten Championships -- 2001, when the Wolverines finished seventh in Madison, Wis., and 2002 when U-M finished third, one point shy of second place.

Last Year at the Big Ten Championships
Paced by junior Nate Brannen's (Cambridge, Ont./Preston HS) season-high second-place finish (24:19.2), the Wolverines claimed second place (57 points) at last season's Big Ten Championships (Nov. 2) in East Lansing, Mich. U-M placed three runners among the top-10 as senior Tom Greenless claimed seventh place with a time of 24:26.9 and sophomore Nick Willis took eighth at 24:30. Wisconsin captured the team title with 40 points while Indiana took third place with a score of 90.

Recapping the EMU Classic
Junior/sophomore Andrew Bauer (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) paced the seven-man Wolverine contingent in the non-scoring EMU Classic last Friday (Oct. 22) at Buhr Park, claiming runner-up honors with a time of 25:25 to earn the final spot on the nine-member squad which will represent U-M at next week's Big Ten Championships. Also placing among the top 10 were senior/junior Sean Moore (Saline, Mich./Saline HS), freshman Seth Thibodeau (Milford, Mich./Milford HS) and sophomore/freshman Brian Les (Elm Grove, Wis./Catholic Memorial) claimed fifth, sixth and eighth, respectively.

Following the Leader
Senior captain Nate Brannen has led the Wolverine contingent across the finish line for the five 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 (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS) 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 Claims Pair of Big Ten Weekly Honors in Three-Week Span
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 Wolverines will continue their postseason run at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships on Saturday, Nov. 13, down the road in Ypsilanti, Mich. Hosted by Eastern Michigan at the Eagle Crest Golf Course, the 10,000-meter men's race will start at 11 a.m. The top-two teams at the regional competition will receive automatic bids to the 2004 NCAA Championships.

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423