Michigan Puts Five in Top 11 in Regular-Season Finale

Friday, October 24

Dexter, Mich.

4:30 PM

Michigan

EMU Fall Classic

Michigan Puts Five in Top 11 in Regular-Season Finale

10/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country

Oct. 24, 2014

• Complete Results | Notes & Quotes

Site: Dexter, Mich. (Hudson Mills Metropark)
Meet: Michigan Open (5,000 Meters)
U-M Team Finish: Non-scoring
Top U-M Individual: George Kelly, 2nd (15:03.2)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Nov. 2 -- at Big Ten Championships (Iowa City, Iowa), 10:45 a.m. CST

DEXTER, Mich. -- The 14th-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team closed the 2014 regular season by placing five runners in the field's top 11 today (Friday, Oct. 24) at the EMU Fall Classic. The 5,000-meter, non-scoring event was held at the Hudson Mills Metropark in nearby Dexter, Mich.

Junior/sophomore George Kelly led the charge for the Wolverines, clocking a time of 15:03.2 to claim a runner-up finish. Not far behind him was sophomore/freshman Will Burke, who claimed third with a time of 15:09.5. In a field of 104 competitors, the Maize and Blue paced the pack for much of the race, with about a half-dozen Wolverines bunched up in the front group. Down the final stretch, unattached competitor Bryce Stroede took off to claim the title with Kelly nipping at his heels, leaving a handful of U-M runners to battle for top-10 positioning.

Finishing behind Kelly and Burke, senior/junior Scotty Albaugh claimed seventh place with a time of 15:19.1, while junior/sophomore Nick Renberg cracked the top 10 with a ninth-place showing and a time of 15:22.1.

Outside the top 10, junior/sophomore Jarred Bratley (11th), junior Alex Moran (16th), sophomore/freshman Eddie Cunningham (17th) and senior/junior Jeff Sattler (20th) all claimed top-20 positions for the Maize and Blue.

In addition to the nine competitors representing the team, U-M also featured four unattached competitors, led by a sixth-place showing from freshman Colin Martin, who crossed at 15:18.12. Freshmen Chase Barnett (22nd), Ethan Martin (23rd) and Costa Willets (24th) also garnered top-25 finishes for the Maize and Blue.

The Wolverines will begin the postseason when they return to action next Sunday, Nov. 2, to compete in the Big Ten Championships, hosted by the Hawkeyes of Iowa. The event is slated for a 10:45 a.m. CST start time at the Ashton Cross Country Course in Iowa City, Iowa.

Top 10 Individual Finishers

 1. Bryce Stroede, Unattached        15:01.8 2. GEORGE KELLY, U-M                15:03.2 3. WILL BURKE, U-M                  15:09.5 4. Nathan Burnand, Unattached       15:09.8 5. Brian Kettle, Unattached         15:13.9 6. COLIN MARTIN, Unattached         15:18.2 7. SCOTTY ALBAUGH, U-M              15:19.1 8. Alex Russeau, Unattached         15:20.7 9. NICK RENBERG, U-M                15:22.110. Joey Southgate, Saginaw Valley   15:22.3

Other U-M Finishers

11. Jarred Bratley     15:23.116. Alex Moran         15:33.817. Eddie Cunningham   15:36.820. Jeff Sattler       15:38.041. Cody Snavely       16:06.9

Unattached U-M Finishers

 6. Colin Martin    15:18.222. Chase Barnett   15:40.423. Ethan Martin    15:43.624. Costa Willets   15:45.7

N O T E S

• Michigan's Big Ten Championships squad was not in action this weekend, as it prepared for the upcoming conference meet on Nov. 2 in Iowa City, Iowa. The meet provided an opportunity for many of U-M's younger runners to gain valuable racing experience.

• While the women's team has made participation in the EMU Classic an annual tradition, today's race marked the first time since 2010 that both programs competed together at the nearby event.

• Athletes for this event consisted of university, unattached collegiate and some post-collegiate athletes with unlimited team entries allowed.

• The EMU Fall Classic marked the last regular-season meet of the season, as the Wolverines will begin the championship portion of their season on Nov. 2 with the Big Ten Championships, hosted by Iowa.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Kevin Sullivan
On his overall impressions of the race ... "Our guys were cautiously aggressive, which was good. There's a premium for being able to go out and run harder on this course and I liked the way our guys attacked the race. We look at this as a home course for us and even though it wasn't a home meet, we wanted to get out to a good start and represent the Block 'M' well by having it out front and I thought we really did that well. In particular, George Kelly and Will Burke had really outstanding races and we had good, solid performances behind them. Those two really stood out today, though."

U-M Junior/Sophomore George Kelly
On how he felt in today's race and the importance of recovery before Big Tens ... "Coach wanted us to go out there and be competitive with our own guys and with the rest of the field to make sure we got a solid race in. In college you don't get too many chances to put the spikes on and go at it, so it was good to get out there and be competitive. It was nice that this was a 5K, so it was less than the college race distance but all in all we have a little over a week before Big Tens, so I think we'll be ready to go."

Contact: Chad Shepard