Weekly Release #4

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 15 -- at NCAA Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.), 12:55 p.m. EST/CDT
Friday, Oct. 21 -- at EMU Classic (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 4 p.m.

This Week: NCAA Pre-Nationals ...
The second ranked Michigan Wolverines will travel to Indiana for the second time of the season, this time going to Terre Haute, Ind. to run in the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Saturday (Oct. 15) at 12:55 p.m. EST/CDT.

Last Time at the NCAA Pre-Nationals
Last year at the NCAA Pre-Nationals, the Wolverines finished second-place out of 36 teams in the White Division with a total of 109 points. U-M had three harriers in the top 25, and five in the top 50. The top U-M finisher was senior captain Rebecca Walter (Beverly Hills, Mich./Groves), coming in fourth-place with a time of 20:20.1. In the 6K Open Division race, the Wolverines had four runners in the top 50. The top finisher for Michigan was senior/junior Arianne Field (Kalamazoo, Mich./Hackett), with a fourth-place finish crossing the finish line at 21:56.3.

Last Week: Michigan Intercollegiates...
Last week Michigan ran in the Michigan Intercollegiates 4K race (Oct. 7), tying for first-place with Grand Valley State out of 19 teams, with a total of 23 points. Senior Theresa Feldkamp (Lorain, Ohio/Amherst Steele) ran her second race of the season, this time leading the Wolverines across the finish line taking second-place in the with a time of 13:58.2. Michigan placed three runners in the top 10 and a total of five harriers in the top 20.

Weekly Honors
For the second week in a row, Michigan has had a runner earn the Big Ten Runner of the Week award. Last week sophomore Alyson Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick's) took the honors. This week, senior Theresa Feldkamp (Lorain, Ohio/Amherst Steele) earned the honors for leading the Wolverines to its third title of the season at the Michigan Intercollegiates (Oct. 7), where she came in second-place with a time of 13:58.2. In Feldkamp's first race of the season, she took 15th place in the Gold Division at the Notre Dame Invitational. This will be Feldkamp's first time recieving the Big Ten Runner of the Week award, for the season as well as career.

Leaders and Best in Academics ...
The 2005 Michigan women's cross country team earned the 2004-05 Leaders and Best Award, given to the team with the highest grade point average. It was the third time in a row that Coach McGuire's squad received the award, a $20,000 monetary award donated by football letterman Larry Johnson. Women's cross country is only the second team to win the award more than once.

Returning Champions ...
The Wolverines return 18 letterwinners out of 24 total returning runners from last year's roster, including Big Ten individual champion and NCAA All-American Rebecca Walter, and All-Big Ten second teamer Katie Erdman.

Still Going Strong ...
2004 Big Ten individual champion and NCAA All-American Rebecca Walter led the Maize and Blue to the finish line in seven meets last season, including all three postseason races. Walter placed second at the Big Ten Championhsips, first at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, first at the NCAA Regional Championships and 18th at the NCAA Championships. Along with these accomplishments, Walter earned both All-Big Ten first team and NCAA All-American honors, and WICCCA Great Lakes Regional Athlete of the Year. The 2002 Big Ten Freshman of Year, Walter led the Wolverines to the finish line in each of U-M's final three races in 2002, including a 51st-place showing at the NCAA Championships. At the 2002 Big Ten Championships, Walter helped the Wolverines to the conference crown as she crossed the line in fifth place, earning All-Big Ten first team honors.

2005 Team Captains Named ...
Head coach Mike McGuire has named senior/junior Katie Erdman and senior Rebecca Walter team captains for the 2005 season. This is the second year in a row the two runners have been named captains. Erdman earned Academic All-Big Ten Conference honors, All-Big Ten second team honors with an 11th-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, while placing 15th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and 94th at the NCAA Championships.

FinishLynx Poll (10/3/05)

Rank, Team (1st place) Points 1. Duke (13) 390 2. MICHIGAN 371 3. Stanford 363 4. Brigham Young 342 5. Illinois 328 6. Arizona State 327 7. Colorado 319 8. Notre Dame 309 9. North Carolina State 272 10. Minnesota 260 11. Wake Forest 254 12. Arkansas 241 13. Columbia 234 14. Baylor 210 15. Princeton 208 16. Oklahoma State 188 17. Michigan State 163 18. Tennessee 158 19. Georgetown 156 20. Providence 139 21. Butler 138 22. Virginia 105 23. Washington 90 24. Northern Arizona 87 25. Marquette 86 26. Boston College 66 27. Wisconsin 47 28. Georgia 46 29. Maryland 40 30. Oregon 37

There was no Oct. 10 poll. The next poll will be released Oct. 17.

The Mike McGuire File ...
Mike McGuire is in his 14th season as a head coach for the Michigan women's cross country team. In 2004, Michigan won the Big Ten Championship under Coach McGuire, as well as the 2004 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship. For his accomplishments he has received the honors of being named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the sixth time. This will give Coach McGuire his third-straight honor, matching his own three-peat from 1992-94. McGuire led the Wolverines to their fifth Big Ten Conference team title in 2003 while earning his fifth Big Ten Coach of the Year award. In his first four seasons, McGuire won three consecutive Big Ten and NCAA District IV team championships, and the Wolverines finished as high as second (1994) at the NCAA Championships. McGuire's Michigan teams have 11 top-two finishes in 12 seasons at the Big Ten Championships and nine top-two finishes at the regional championships, winning the regional meet in 1993, '94 and '95. His teams have finished among the nation's top 10 six times at the NCAA Championships. McGuire has helped 49 cross country and track athletes earn All-American honors and has coached five Big Ten individual champions and five Big Ten freshmen of the year.

Michigan Cross Country Olympian ...
Former Wolverine cross country standout Courtney Babcock (1992, '94, and 96) represented Canada in the 5,000- and 1,500-meter runs at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Babcock was a seven-time All-American in track and cross country at Michigan and was a member of U-M's 1994 NCAA champion distance medley relay team. She still holds the U-M school record for the indoor mile (4:39.31) set in 1994.

Who's Next ...
The Wolverines will participate in the EMU Classic on Friday (Oct. 21) in Ann Arbor, Mich., at 4 p.m.

Contact: Joseph Conrad (734) 763-4423