Michigan
NCAA Championships
Brannen Runs to 17th as Michigan Places 26th at NCAAs
11/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- For the third time during his career, senior captain Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) claimed NCAA All-America honors as he led the No. 13-ranked University of Michigan mens cross country team across the finish line in 17th place at the NCAA Championships on Monday (Nov. 22) at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course. Battling wet and muddy conditions, the Wolverines placed 26th (535 points) in the team competition while Colorado captured the NCAA title with a score of 90 points.
Matching his placing from last seasons NCAA meet, Brannen registered a time of 31:24.3 in his final collegiate cross country race, finishing 44.6 seconds behind race-winner Simon Bairu of Wisconsin. Brannen completes his U-M career as just the fifth Wolverine cross country runner to earn three All-America citations.
As Arkansas pushed to the front at the gun to take the initial lead through the opening 1,000 meters, Brannen stayed back among the crowded field, running within striking distance of the leaders among the top 25 runners. While the field began to string out at 3,000 meters and a smal lead group of five runners distanced themselves, Brannen maintained his position at the rear of the first chase group.
The leaders continued to pull away from the rest of the 242-man field, creating a 50-meter distance at the halfway point of the race and extending it to 150m at 7,000 meters. Brannen hung in with his chase pack, staying among the top-25 runners and never really gaining or losing any positions. Over the final stretch, Brannen put on a surge to move around a handful of competitors in the last 100 meters and was nearly able to pull within the top-15 placers, finishing just 1.3 seconds behind the 15th-man -- Villanova's Robert Curtis.
The remaining Michigan runners had stayed together early in the race and stood in good position in the middle of the pack through the opening 3,000 meters. However, as the race progressed, the Wolverines continued to fall off the pace and drop further back into the field. Junior/sophomore Andrew Bauer (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser) was U-M's second runner across the line -- the highest team placing of his career -- placing 159th place with a time of 33:11.8 while graduate/senior Matt Mulvaney (South Hadley, Mass./South Hadley) finished just a second later for 160th at 33:12.4.
Freshman Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest) turned in a 174th-place performance with a time of 33:22.0, and junior/sophomore Dan Murray (Rochester, Mich./Brother Rice) clocked 33:26.1 to round out the U-M scoring in 180th place.
Top Five Teams
1. Colorado 90 2. Wisconsin 94 3. Arkansas 202 4. Butler 243 5. Brigham Young 267 ------------------------------ 26. MICHIGAN 535
Top 10 Individuals
1. Simon Bairu, Wisconsin 30:37.7 2. Matt Gonzales, New Mexico 30:40.9 3. Josphat Boit, Arkansas 30:41.8 4. Brent Vaughn, Colorado 30:48.7 5. Bret Schoolmeester, Colorado 30:56.3 6. Simon Ngata, Georgia 30:56.5 7. Benson Chesang, Kansas 30:59.4 8. Hef Araia, Stanford 31:04.5 9. Robert Cheserat, Arizona 31:05.8 10. Rod Koborsi, Georgetown 31:06.4
Michigan Individuals
17. Nate Brannen 31:23.4 (12) 159. Andrew Bauer 33:11.8 (122) 160. Matt Mulvaney 33:12.4 (123) 174. Mike Woods 33:22.0 (136) 180. Dan Murray 33:26.1 (142) 209. Jonathon Kieliszak 33:55.3 (169) 213. Sean Moore 33:59.6 (173)
Q U O T E S
Senior captain Nate Brannen
On the race ... "I got out where I wanted to be at the back of the front pack. Actually, I was a little farther back than I wanted to be around 2k, so I started working up a little; around 3k, I found myself in a great position at the back of a chase group of about 30 guys. At that point, the leaders were about five seconds in front of us, so it was still pretty close. From 3k to 4k, I started to hurt pretty bad. I'm more of a rhythm runner, and the mud and the conditions we had today really favored the strength runners. I basically just held onto the pack I was in the whole way; I wasn't competitive with them, I wasn't racing them; I just held on for 7k. I didn't have a kick at all; that's usually my strong point. I stayed with the group I was in and caught those guys at the end."
On his U-M cross country career ... "Coming in as a freshman, I definitely had higher expectations of what I would do in that particular year. I had a lot of disappointments that season; things didn't really go very well, and I finished 148th at nationals. Entering the following year, I felt that I really wanted to prove something -- that I could run cross -- to myself and everbody else. Overall, I think I'm the most satisfied with my sophomore year. Last year, I improved with 17th place at nationals, but I didn't think my season went that well. I didn't really know what to expect from college cross country; I knew I had the capability to be an All-American. To finish off as a three-time All-American, I'm definitely happy and proud of my performances."
Players Mentioned
