Michigan
NCAA Pre-Nationals
Wolverines Take Seventh Place at NCAA Pre-Nationals
10/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The 14th-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team earned a seventh-place finish in the 36-team White division at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Saturday (Oct. 14). Michigan placed five of its runners in the top 100 spots out of the 246-person field. Fifth-ranked Iona edged No. 3 Stanford for the team title, 100-106.
Sophomore Lex Williams (Ann Arbor, Mich./Dexter) led the Wolverines across the finish line for the third consecutive time, as he took 23rd overall and set a new personal best for an 8,000-meter race, clocking 24:02.7. Sophomore John Black (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) was next, taking 46th with a time of 24:23.7.
Three other Wolverines were able to set personal bests as well. Sophomore/freshman Brandon Fellows (Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island) came in 59th with a time of 24:31.6, junior/sophomore Victor Gras (Blemont, Mass./Belmont) placed 61st, clocking 24:32.3, and sophomore Justin Switzer (Waterford, Mich./Kettering) took 100th with a time of 24:51.3.
Four Michigan runners also ran in the 8,000-meter open race. Senior/junior James Reichardt (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) took seventh place (24:51.2), sophomore Tony Nalli (Ann Arbor, Mich./Dexter) placed 36th (25:14.9), junior Seth Thibodeau (Milford, Mich./Milford) finished 72nd (25:37.8), and sophomore/freshman Roger Billhardt (Elmhurst, Ill./York) took 188th (27:03.4).
The Wolverines will travel east to Ypsilanti next week to run at the EMU Classic on Friday (Oct. 20). The men's race is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
Top 10 Teams (White Division)
1. Iona 100 2. Stanford 106 3. Florida 217 4. Notre Dame 255 5. Iowa 270 6. Kansas 277 7. MICHIGAN 285 8. Cal Poly-SLO 287 9. Brigham Young 295 10. Washington 300
Top 10 Individuals
1. Josh McDougal, Liberty 23:14.0 2. Joseph Lomong, Northern Arizona 23:18.7 3. Jacob Korir, Eastern Kentucky 23:24.5 4. Neftalem Araia, Stanford 23:29.4 5. Forest Braden, Boise State 23:38.5 6. Micah Vandenend, Iowa 23:39.4 7. Kurt Benninger, Notre Dame 23:40.5 8. Abraham Ng'eitch, Iona 23:41.9 9. Mohamed Khadroui, Iona 23:43.1 10. Jan Foerster, Virginia 23:44.6
Michigan Individual Finishes
23. Lex Williams 24:02.7 46. John Black 24:23.7 59. Brandon Fellows 24:31.6 61. Victor Gras 24:32.3 100. Justin Switzer 24:51.3 206. Sean McNamara 25:57.2 208. Andrew Bauer 25:58.4
Open Division Winner/U-M Finishers
1. David Kemboi, Norfolk State 24:07.6 7. James Reichardt, U-M 24:51.2 36. Tony Nalli, U-M 25:14.9 72. Seth Thibodeau, U-M 25:37.8 188. Roger Billhardt, U-M 27:03.4
Contact: Tim Trunzo (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
