Wolverines Run to 22nd Place at NCAA Championships

Monday, November 22

Terre Haute, Ind.

12:00 PM

Michigan

NCAA Championships

11/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country

Nov. 22, 2010

Site: Terre Haute, Ind. (LaVern Gibson Championship Course)
Meet: NCAA Championships (6,000 meters)
U-M Finish: 22nd of 31 Teams (476 points)
Top U-M Individual: Jill Smith, 47th (20:57.2)
Next U-M Event: Season Complete

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The University of Michigan women's cross country team claimed 22nd place (476 points) at the NCAA Championships on Monday (Nov. 22) at Indiana State's LaVern Gibson Championship Course. Villanova repeated as team champions with 120 points.

Competing in her first NCAA meet, sophomore Jillian Smith (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional HS) paced the Wolverine squad for the first time in her collegiate career, just missing out on NCAA All-America honors with a 47th-place finish and a time of 20:57.2. It was Smith's fourth sub-21-minute showing of the season and she missed her personal best by 16 seconds. The Wolverine sophomore was just four seconds out of the final All-America spot, marking the first time in seven years that U-M did not boast an individual All-American.

Competing in warm but considerably windy conditions, the 6,000-meter event went out with a slow 5:20 opening mile and the field remained congested up front for nearly the entirety of the race. Smith stayed back among the crowded field, running within striking distance of the leaders in the top 50 with a 10:17 split over the first 3,000 meters. As the field began to string out with about 1,000 meters to go, Smith largely held her position to the finish line.

Michigan's next three scored runners finished in a 12-second split as sophomore Rebecca Addison (Spring Lake, Mich./Grand Haven HS), senior/junior Danielle Tauro (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional HS) and sophomore Kaitlyn Patterson (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac HS) placed 117th, 139th and 143rd, respectively. Sophomore Lindsey Hilton (Rochester Hills, Mich./Adams HS) rounded out the Wolverines' scoring in 177th place.

Top Five Teams

 1. Villanova       120 2. Florida State   154 3. Texas Tech      165 4. Georgetown      167 5. New Mexico      227-----------------------22. MICHIGAN        476

Top 10 Individuals

 1. Sheila Reid, Villanova           20:06.9 2. Emily Infeld, Georgetown         20:09.2 3. Jordan Hasay, Oregon             20:13.0 4. Risper Kimaiyo, UTEP             20:16.1 5. Rose Tanui, Texas Tech           20:17.6 6. Lucy Van Dalen, Stony Brook      20:19.3 7. Holly Van Dalen, Stony Brook     20:19.3 8. Megan Hogan, George Washington   20:19.6 9. Pilar McShine, Florida State     20:24.410. Amanda Marino, Villanova         20:26.1

Michigan Individuals

 47. Jill Smith, U-M              20:57.2117. Rebecca Addison, U-M         21:29.7139. Danielle Tauro, U-M          21:39.9143. Kaitlyn Patterson, U-M       21:41.1177. Lindsey Hilton, U-M          22:02.4202. Mary Grace Pellegrini, U-M   22:16.3203. Kaitlyn Peale, U-M           22:17.0

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Mike McGuire
On Michigan's NCAA performance ... "I thought we had a really good race out of Jill [Smith]. She missed All-American by about four seconds. I thought it was the best race of her career. I thought some of our kids were better than what they did in their NCAA debut last year. But it wasn't where we're at going in. If we could have run what we've been running, we could have held our rank. In that regard, it was a little disappointing. Looking at the season as a whole, I think we were better. We had an opportunity to show it today, and we just didn't do it."

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423