Weekly Release #4 (at Big Ten Championships)
10/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Upcoming Schedule
Sunday, Oct. 28 -- at Big Ten Championships (Columbus, Ohio), 11:30 a.m.
Saturday, Nov. 10 -- at NCAA Regional Championships (Bloomington, Ind.), 11 a.m.
This Week: The Big Ten Championships ...
The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team will travel to Columbus, Ohio, for the Big Ten Championships on Sunday (Oct. 28). The meet will be held at the Ohio State Golf Course, and the race is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m.
Running this week for the Wolverines will be fifth-year senior James Reichardt (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS), junior Tony Nalli (Ann Arbor, Mich./Dexter HS), junior Lex Williams (Ann Arbor, Mich./Dexter), senior Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest), senior/junior Victor Gras (Belmont, Mass./Belmont), junior/sophomore Brandon Fellows (Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island), junior Justin Switzer (Waterford, Mich./Kettering), junior/sophomore Sean McNamara (Elmhurst, Ill./York HS) and sophomore/freshman Ciaran O'Lionaird (Cork, Ireland/De La Salle HS).
Last Year at the Big Ten Championships ...
The 18th-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team earned a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, scoring five runners in the top 30 at the Indiana Cross Country Championship Course.
Lex Williams crossed the finish line first for the Wolverines, placing sixth overall with a time of 24:29. Mike Woods followed shortly behind, capturing eighth place (24:41).
Victor Gras, who took 18th with a time of 25:01, Brandon Fellows, who placed 28th with a mark of 25:24, and Justin Switzer, who took 29th with a time of 25:26, also scored for the Wolverines.
Last Week: The EMU Classic ...
Michigan sent seven runners to the the EMU Classic on a cold and rainy Friday afternoon (Oct. 19) at the Hudson Mills Metropark. Four U-M harriers finished in the top seven in the 10,000-meter race.
Sophomore/freshman Peter Christmas (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) led the Wolverines across the finish line, clocking in at 32:18 to finish fourth overall. Following Christmas was sophomore Mike Dobmeier (East Amherst, N.Y./Williams North HS) in fifth (32:27), Tony Nalli in sixth (32:29), and James Reichardt in seventh (32:37).
Recapping NCAA Pre-Nationals ...
Senior captain Mike Woodsclaimed seventh place (23:24.7) to lead the Wolverines to fourth place (208 points) in the White Division at NCAA Pre-Nationals Saturday (Oct. 13) at Indiana State's LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
Woods was not the only Wolverine to step up to the challenge. Sean McNamaraposted a solid run, finishing 28th with a time of 23:48.8.
Big Ten Runner of the Week ...
Peter Christmas was named Big Ten Conference Runner of the Week Tuesday (Oct. 23) for his performance at the EMU Classic Friday (Oct. 19) in Dexter, Mich. Christmas recorded a time of 32:18 on the 10,000-meter course, finishing nine seconds ahead of the next fastest runner, Mike Dobmeier. This is Christmas first career conference award.
Familiar Faces ...
Michigan returns 13 letterwinners from last season's squad, including the top three scorers from last season's NCAA Regional Championships squad: senior Mike Woods and juniors Lex Williams and John Black. Black was named All-Regional after he placed 19th in the Great Lakes Regional Championships.
Also returning to the U-M lineup are Victor Gras and Brandon Fellows, who have both demonstrated great potential in their competitive appearances, as well has senior Seth Thibodeau (Milford, Mich./Milford HS) and 5th-year senior James Reichardt.
Master of the House ...
Head coach Ron Warhurst is in his 34th 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 championships teams (1974-75-76-80 (tie)-93-97-98) and guided 12 squads to top-10 performances at the NCAA Championships. Individually, Warhurst has coached 21 different student-athletes to 39 NCAA All-America citations at Michigan.
USTFCCCA Division I Mens Cross Country Rankings (10/23/07)
Rank, Team (first-place votes) Points 1. Oregon (13) 390 2. Northern Arizona 363 3. UTEP 357 4. Iona 346 5. Colorado 342 6. Wisconsin 325 7. N.C. State 291 8. (tie)Arkansas 284 8. (tie)California 284 10. MICHIGAN 274 11. Virginia 248 12. Alabama 229 13. Notre Dame 224 14. Texas 218 15. Stanford 209 16. Georgetown 202 17. Tulsa 174 18. Oklahoma State 171 19. (tie)Louisville 148 19. (tie)UCLA 148 21. Portland 142 22. Minnesota 139 23. Providence 111 24. Iowa State 98 25. Arizona State 79 26. BYU 75 27. Cal Poly 63 28. William & Mary 46 29. Weber State 18 30. Florida 17
On the Horizon ...
The Maize and Blue will continue its postseason run on Saturday (Nov. 10), when they head to Bloomington, Ind., for the 2007 NCAA Regional Championships. The 10,000-meter men's race will begin around 11 a.m. on the IU Cross Country Championship Course.
Contact: Jeremiah W. Hergott (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
