Weekly Release #6

Upcoming Schedule
Sunday, Oct. 29 -- at Big Ten Championships (Bloomington, Ind.), 11:30 a.m.
Saturday, Nov. 11 -- at NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Bowling Green, Ohio), 11:30 a.m.
Friday, Oct. 20 -- at NCAA Championships (Terre Haute, Ind.), 11 a.m.

This Week: Big Ten Championships
The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team will run at the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Ind., on Sunday (Oct. 29). The conference meet will be held at the Indiana Cross Country Course and is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m.

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 12 conference titles while the Wolverines won three in 1993, '97 and '98. Only four times in the last 14 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., 2002 when U-M finished third, one point shy of second place, and the last two seasons when Michigan captured fifth place, both times within at least 24 points of second place.

Last Time at the Big Ten Championships
Then sophomore Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest), who took 15th overall with a time of 24:52.78, led the Wolverines to a fifth-place team performance (125 points) at last season's Big Ten Championships at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights Minn. Wisconsin captured the team title for the sixth consecutive year with 16 points, while only 24 points separated the Wolverines from second-place Ohio State.

Last Week: EMU Classic
Michigan ran three runners unattached at the 10,000-meter EMU Classic last Friday (Oct. 20) at Hudson Mills Metropark in Dexter, Mich. Freshman Ciaran O'Lionaird (Cork, Ireland/De La Salle) was impressive, crossing the finish line in fifth place with a time of 32:19. Junior/sophomore Mark Pokora (Pickerington, Ohio/Central) came in 10th, clocking 33:01, and sophomore/freshman Mike Luginbill (Troy, Mich,/Troy) finished 45th (35:49).

Big Ten Runner Of The Week
Sophomore/freshman Brandon Fellows (Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island) was named Big Ten Conference Runner of the Week for his winning performance at the Michigan Open (Sept. 1). Competing in his first collegiate race, Fellows finished ahead of the entire Michigan Open pack, completing the 10,000-meter course in 32:14.

Familiar Faces
Michigan returns 11 letterwinners from last season's squad, including junior Mike Woods and fifth-year senior Andrew Bauer (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS). The Wolverines still have a very young team in 2006, as Bauer is the only runner in his final season of eligibility. Also returning to the U-M lineup are junior/sophomore Victor Gras (Belmont, Mass./Belmont HS), junior Seth Thibodeau (Milford, Mich./Milford HS), senior/junior Ethan Brown (Lowell, Mass./Lowell HS) and junior James Reichardt (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS).

USTFCCCA Division I Men's Poll (10/17/06)

Rank, Team Points 1. Wisconsin 448 2. Colorado 427 3. Iona 422 4. UTEP 391 5. Stanford 390 6. Arkansas 387 7. Oregon 364 8. Florida State 339 9. North Carolina State 321 10. Florida 295 11. Portland 270 12. Notre Dame 267 13. UC Santa Barbara 266 14. Minnesota 237 15. Alabama 228 16. Georgetown 225 17. Iowa 217 18. MICHIGAN 181 19. Kansas 180 20. Providence 165 21. BYU 147 22. Oklahoma State 131 23. Louisville 128 24. Cal Poly SLO 125 25. Arizona 111 26. Washington 79 27. Texas 77 28. Butler 46 29. Virginia 44 30. Northern Arizona 27

The Ron Warhurst File
Ron Warhurst is in his 33rd season as the head coach of the Michigan men's cross country team. During his U-M tenure, Warhurst has produced six Big Ten Conference championship teams (1974, '75, '76, '80(tie), '93, '97, '98) and guided 13 squads to top-10 performances at the NCAA Championships. Individually, Warhurst has coached 21 different student-athletes to 39 NCAA All-America honors while at Michigan.

On The Horizon
The Wolverines will continue their postseason run at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships on Saturday, Nov. 11, in Bowling Green, Ohio. The 10,000-meter men's race will start at 11 a.m.

Contact: Tim Trunzo (734) 763-4423