Weekly Release #7: Wolverines Host Big Ten Championships

This Week
Sunday, Nov. 2, 11:30 a.m. -- Big Ten Championships (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team will host the Big Ten Championships on Sunday (Nov. 2). The meet will be held at the University of Michigan Golf Course, and the 8,000-meter race is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. following the women's race which will begin at 10:45 a.m.

Nine runners will compete for each team with the top five contributing to the team score. Running this week for the Wolverines will be junior/sophomore Ciaran O'Lionaird(Cork, Ireland/De La Salle), senior Lex Williams(Ann Arbor, Mich./Dexter), sophomore Craig Forys(Howell, N.J./Colts Neck), junior/sophomore Peter Christmas(Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer), senior/junior Sean McNamara(Elmhurst, Ill./York), senior/junior Brandon Fellows(Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island), fifth-year senior Seth Thibodeau(Milford, Mich./Milford), senior Justin Switzer(Waterford, Mich./Kettering) and senior Tony Nalli(Ann Arbor, Mich./Dexter).

Wolverine to Watch

Ciaran O'Lionaird has been the Wolverines' top runner all season. The sophomore/junior was U-M's top finisher in three of the four races he has run this season, including a win in the Spartan Invitational on Sept. 12 and a 10th-place finish at the NCAA Pre-National Invitational (Oct. 18). The Ireland native's 8,000-meter time of 23:50.6 at the Pre-Nats is the best time for any Maize and Blue runner on an 8,000-meter course this season.

At Last Year's Big Ten Championship
The 2007 Big Ten Championships was a coming-out party for Craig Forys, who in his collegiate debut, crossed the line in 23:56.77 for a seventh-place finish and first team All-Big Ten honors. As a team, U-M had four runners finish in the top 30, but an injury to captain Mike Woods hurt the Wolverines, who finished fifth overall.

Beating the Best
Michigan and Wisconsin will continue a growing rivalry on Sunday as the two teams enter the Big Ten Championships as the top two title contenders. The Maize and Blue will be looking to defeat the Badgers, who have won the championship a Big Ten-record nine straight times. Wisconsin will be looking for a measure of revenge after its streak of four straight triple crowns (cross country, indoor track and outdoor track titles) was broken last spring by the Wolverines, who captured the Big Ten Outdoor Championship last spring.

U-M Hopes for Repeat of 1998
This will be the first time since 1998 that Michigan hosts the Big Ten Championships. In its previous turn as host, U-M captured the ninth team trophy in team history. John Mortimer finished third with a time of 24:24 to lead the Wolverines, who had five runners finish in the top 20 and all seven finish in the top 50.

Individual Big Ten History
Six Wolverines runners will be returning to the Big Ten Championships this season. Forys' seventh-place finish is the best of any returner, while other top finishes include a 16th-place finish by McNamara, a 23rd-place finish by Fellows, a 36th-place finish by O'Lionaird and a 42nd-place finish by Williams in 2007, and a 59th-place finish by Thibodeau and a 61st-place finish by Switzer in 2006. Both Christmas and Nalli will be running in their first-ever Big Ten Championships this season.

Maize and Blue Peaking at the Right Time
Several Wolverine runners posted their best performances of the season their last time out. O'Lionaird, Williams, Forys, McNamara and Fellows all ran their season-best 8,000-meter race at the Pre-Nats two weeks ago (Oct. 18), while Aprill turned in a personal-best 10,000-meter time of 31:32 at the EMU Fall Classic (Oct. 24).

Michigan Among Nation's Elite
In the USTFCCCA's week-five rankings, Michigan is ranked ninth in the nation and second in the Great Lakes Region. U-M is one of four Big Ten schools in the top 30, along with No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 19 Indiana and No. 20 Minnesota.

USTFCCCA Men's Division I Cross Country National Poll

Ranking	Team (first place votes)	Region/Rank	Totals	Previous
1	Oregon - (8)	West-1	352	1
2	Stanford	West-3	332	2
3	Oklahoma State - (4)	Midwest-1	323	3
4	Portland	West-2	318	4
5	Alabama	South-1	316	5
6	Wisconsin	Great Lakes-1	301	6
7	Iona College	Northeast-1	297	7
8	Northern Arizona	Mountain-1	276	8
9	Michigan	Great Lakes-2	261	9
10	Georgetown	Mid-Atlantic-1	248	10
11	BYU	Mountain-2	229	11
	Auburn	South-2	229	11
13	UCLA	West-4	214	13
14	Virginia	Southeast-1	198	14
15	Florida State	South-3	191	15
16	Tulsa	Midwest-3	177	16
17	Colorado	Mountain-3	161	17
18	Texas A&M	South Central-1	150	18
19	Indiana	Great Lakes-3	149	19
20	Minnesota	Midwest-2	148	20
21	William & Mary	Southeast-2	118	21
22	Iowa State	Midwest-4	111	22
23	Cal Poly	West-5	100	23
24	California	West-6	63	24
	Washington	West-7	63	24
26	Arkansas	South Central-2	60	26
27	Providence	Northeast-2	49	27
28	Florida	South-4	48	28
29	North Carolina State	Southeast-3	29	29
30	Texas	South Central-3	21	30

The Ron Warhurst File
This is U-M head coach Ron Warhurst's 35th season at the helm of the men's cross country program. Warhurst has won seven Big Ten Championships and two NCAA Regional Championships. He has 12 NCAA Championship top-10 finishes and 21 NCAA Regional Championship top-three finishes. In his 35 years Warhurst has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year four times and the NCAA Regional Coach of the year three times, including last season. Warhurst has coached 39 NCAA All-Americans and has a record of 2,823-595-7 at Michigan.

Upcoming Schedule
The Maize and Blue will continue its postseason run on Saturday, Nov. 15, when it heads to West Lafayette, Ind., for the 2008 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships. The 10,000-meter men's race will begin around 11 a.m. on the Varsity Cross Country Course.

Contact: Joe Arancio (734) 763-4423