Michigan
Notre Dame Invitational
Michigan Runs to Third at Notre Dame Invite
10/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Meet: Notre Dame Invitational (5,000 Meters)
U-M Finish: 3rd of 23
Top U-M Individual: Nicole Edwards (5th, 16:40)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 18 -- at NCAA Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.), 11 a.m.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Competing against one of the strongest fields in the country, the No. 17-ranked University of Michigan women's cross country team had a strong third-place showing (136 points) in the blue-division race at the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday afternoon (Oct. 3). No. 2-ranked Florida State won the meet with 88 points and No. 7-ranked Princeton took second with 124. U-M finished ahead of a number of ranked teams, including No. 10 Illinois, No. 15 Florida and No. 16 Providence.
Running on a fast, firm course at Notre Dame, the Wolverines were paced by fifth-year senior Nicole Edwards(Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey) who finished fifth in 16:40. Fifth-year senior Alyson Kohlmeier(Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick's), running her first collegiate race since 2006, had a strong performance, taking 11th with a time of 17:00.
Also scoring for the Maize and Blue was sophomore Danielle Tauro(Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional), finishing 30th in 17:15 and senior/juniors Geena Gall(Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) and Kelly Sampson(Detroit, Mich./Renaissance). Gall crossed the line 43rd with a time of 17:23 and Sampson secured 47th with a time of 17:29.
The Michigan harriers will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 18, when it travels to the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
Complete Results
Top 10 Teams
1. Florida State 88 2. Princeton 124 3. Michigan 136 4. Stony Brook 156 5. Florida 179 6. SMU 245 7. Providence 250 8. Rice 251 9. Illinois 257 9. New Mexico 257
Individual Results
1. Brie Felnagle, North Carolina 16:21 2. Susan Kuijken, Florida State 16:26 3. Alex Becker, Tulsa 16:36 4. Lillian Badaru, Texas Tech 16:39 5. Nicole Edwards, U-M 16:40 6. Silje Fjortoft, SMU 16:42 7. Lesley Van Miert, Florida State 16:44 8. Katie Engel, Illinois 16:54 9. Danette Doetzel, Providence 16:56 10. Lennie Waite, Rice 16:59
Other Michigan Individuals
11. Alyson Kohlmeier, U-M 17:00 30. Danielle Tauro, U-M 17:15 43. Geena Gall, U-M 17:23 47. Kelly Sampson, U-M 17:29 55. Jennifer Morgan, U-M 17:35 70. Lisa Montgomery, U-M 17:43 114. Mary Grace Pellegrini, U-M 18:15 173. Lindsey Gakenheimer, U-M 19:08
Q U O T E S
MichiganHead Coach Mike McGuire
On the race overall... "I thought it was our best race of the year; we are definitely going in the right direction. We beat some teams that were ranked ahead of us. It was definitely an improvement over what we have done up to this point."
On the performance of Nicole Edwards... "She ran a real solid race. All of those girls in the top five are very accomplished runners and she was knocking heads with the nation's elite runners."
Players Mentioned
