Weekly Release #2
9/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Sept. 24 -- at Roy Griak Invitational (Minneapolis), 11:20 a.m.
Friday, Sept. 30 -- at Notre Dame Invitational (South Bend, Ind.), 5 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 15 -- at NCAA Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.), 11 a.m.
This Week: Roy Griak Invitational
The No. 27-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team will send a strong contingent to the 10th annual Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 24), held at the University of Minnesota's Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn. In a preview of this season's Big Ten Conference Championships, the Men's Gold Division I race slated to begin at 11:20 a.m. CDT. In addition to Michigan and Minnesota, the 8,000-meter scored event will such acclaimed teams as No.1 Wisconsin, No. 4 Brigham Young and No. 11 Arizona State as well as Big Ten opposition from No. 13 Ohio State, No. 16 Iowa and Michigan State. For more information about the Roy Griak Invitational, please visit www.gophersports.com.
Last Time at the Roy Griak Invitational
The Wolverines took seventh place (258 points) among the 36-team field at the 2001 Roy Griak Invitational, Michigan's last appearance at the prestigious early-season meet. Senior All-American Mark Pilja paced the Maize and Blue in fifth place -- his seventh straight top-five individual performance -- with a time of 24:18.2. Senior Mike Wisniewski and sophomore Tom Greenless claimed 19th and 28th, respectively, as Michigan's second and third men across the line. U-M closed out its scoring 21 seconds later as sophomores Brian Turner and Ryan Hesselink took the 91st and 95th spots.
Recapping the Spartan Invitational
Freshman Justin Switzer (Waterford, Mich./Kettering HS) paced a quartet of Wolverines among the top 10 at the Spartan Invitational (Sept. 16), claiming fourth place among the 143-man field with a time of 25:00. Finishing just a step behind Switzer as Michigan's second man, senior/junior Andrew Bauer (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) clocked a personal-best 25:02 to take fifth place. Freshman Lex Williams (Ann Arbor, Mich./Dexter HS) finished seventh (25:06) in his U-M debut, while senior/junior Andrew Ellerton (Sudbury, Ontario/Confederation HS) claimed ninth with a time of 25:12.
U-M Personal Bests Set at the Spartan Invitational
RUNNER NEW PREVIOUS Andrew Bauer 25:02.0 25:06.0 James Reichardt 25:25.0 26:44.0 Ethan Brown 25:50.0 25:58.0
In the Polls
After a successful outing at the Spartan Invitational last Friday (Sept. 16), the Wolverines jumped five spots to No. 22 in the most recent MONDO men's NCAA-I cross country poll, released Tuesday, Sept. 20. In the Great Lakes region, Michigan holds the fourth spot, up one from last week's preseason listing.
MONDO Collegiate Cross Country Poll (9/20/05)
Rank, Team (first-place votes) Region Points Prev 1. Wisconsin (11) GL 473 1 2. Colorado (2) M 463 2 3. Arkansas (3) SC 455 3 4. Stanford W 414 5 5. BYU M 410 4 6. Notre Dame GL 384 7 7. Iona NE 368 6 8. Arizona W 360 10 9. Texas SC 342 9 10. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo W 341 8 11. Arizona State W 311 11 12. Georgetown MA 286 12 13. Iowa MW 241 16 14. UTEP M 238 22 15. Ohio State GL 231 13 16. William & Mary SE 222 19 17. Butler GL 209 15 18. Florida State S 190 20 North Carolina State SE 190 18 20. Air Force M 188 14 21. Indiana GL 171 17 22. MICHIGAN GL 129 27 23. Portland W 122 21 24. American MA 113 23 25. Minnesota MW 106 25 26. Colorado State M 101 26 27. Providence NE 70 24 28. Oregon W 42 28 29. Northern Arizona M 40 30 30. Oklahoma State MW 33 28
On the Horizon
The Wolverines will continue their 2005 campaign on Friday, Oct. 30, at the Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Ind. In the 50th running of the annual event, the men's 8,000-meter race is scheduled for a 5 p.m. EST/CDT start at Burke Memorial Golf Course.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
