Moody Captures First at EMU Fall Classic

Saturday, October 23

Dexter, Mich.

10:45 AM

Michigan

EMU Fall Classic

10/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country

Oct. 23, 2010

• Video Report

Site: Dexter, Mich. (Hudson Mills Metropark)
Meet: EMU Fall Classic (5,000 Meters)
U-M Finish: Non-Scoring
Top U-M Individual: Kourtney Moody, 1st (18:14.33)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Oct. 31 -- at Big Ten Championships (Madison, Wis.), 10:45 a.m. CDT

DEXTER, Mich. -- Junior/sophomore Kourtney Moody (Las Vegas, Nev./Spring Valley HS) captured her first collegiate victory to lead the No. 21-ranked University of Michigan women's cross country team at the EMU Fall Classic on Saturday (Oct. 23) in the regular-season finale at Hudson Mills Metropark. With her performance, Moody earns the final spot on the nine-member squad that will represent U-M at next week's Big Ten Championships (Sunday, Oct. 31).

The Wolverines placed four runners among the top 10, including the race's first three across the line as sophomore/freshman Mackenzie Adams (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS) -- in her first collegiate race after joining the Michigan squad last week -- claimed runner-up honors and freshman Taylor Pogue (Goodrich, Mich./Goodrich HS) took third place in an unattached effort.

Michigan dominated the front of the pack for much of the race before it started to string out around the midway point. Nearly all of the Wolverines' competitors ran significant 5,000-meter personal bests, most notably Moody, who shaved 41 seconds from her previous best with her 18:14.33 winning time.

The Maize and Blue will kick off the postseason at the Big Ten Championships next Sunday (Oct. 31) in Madison, Wis. The women's 6,000-meter race is slated for a 10:45 a.m. CDT start at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course.

Top Individual Finishers

 1. Kourtney Moody, U-M                18:14.33 2. Mackenzie Adams, U-M               18:16.75 3. Taylor Pogue, unattached           18:19.78 4. Thereseann Huprikar, uattached     18:24.80 5. Liz Watson, Michigan State         18:26.17 6. Rachel McFarlane, Michigan State   18:26.80 7. Leah O'Connor, unattached          18:34.67 8. Lauren Grunewald, uattached        18:35.98 9. Rebecca Penneau, unattached        18:40.6210. Melinda Palinka, unattached        18:43.02

Other Michigan Finishers

13. Jami Hill, U-M                  18:52.3416. Megan Weschler, unattached      18:54.7727. Chloe Prince, U-M               19:07.7734. Erica Crane, unattached         19:18.1636. Alex Keyser, unattached         19:22.0837. Monica Barnes, U-M              19:27.0845. Courtney Clancy, U-M            19:35.6147. Nicola Hallenborg, unattached   19:38.3053. Megan Pearson, unattached       19:51.3063. Nicole Prince, U-M              20:10.4571. Morgan Bailey, U-M              20:40.71

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Mike McGuire
On today's EMU Fall Classic ... "They did a nice job. I love coming out here, particularly for our younger kids. We were out here on Sept. 4, where they set a benchmark at that point in the season. Today, they had a chance to see what they've done over the course of seven to eight weeks of training. For the most part, we had some pretty good improvements. Kourtney [Moody] had a great race, and she earned her spot to run in our Big Ten top-nine crew, and Mackenzie [Adams], in her first race in uniform, had an outstanding performance. We'll get her merged in next semester on our schedule. She's got a great future with us.

"It's an opportunity, especially for our younger kids, to be up in a race. When you're up near the front of the pack, you're just engaged in what you're doing that much more. I saw that today. That might be Kourtney's first win in a cross country race. You could see the fire in her eyes with 800 meters to go. She put herself in position to finish off the way she did. That's a great feeling."

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423