U-M to Preview National Course at ISU
9/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 8, 2016
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THIS WEEK
Saturday, Sept. 10 -- at ISU Sycamore Invitational (Terre Haute, Ind.), 9:30 a.m.
Meet Information
The ninth-ranked University of Michigan women's cross country team will continue its 2016 season on Saturday (Sept. 10), traveling to Terre Haute, Indiana -- or 'Cross Country Town, U.S.A.' -- for the ISU Sycamore Invitational. The 5,000-meter race will allow U-M's lineup to preview the Lavern Gibson Championship Course, the scene for the NCAA Championships in November, while also providing an early glimpse of stiff competition.
Besides the NCAA Division I meet that is scheduled, competitors from NCAA Divisions II and III will also compete, in addition to NAIA and NJCAA athletes, making the Lavern Gibson Championship Course the nation's busiest hub for cross country this weekend.
The race is a scored event, set for a 9:30 a.m. gun preceding the men's race at 10 a.m. There will also be an open race at 10:45 a.m. featuring men's (8,000 meters) and women's (5,000 meters) athletes.
Results for this meet can be found at timingmd.net.
Top Returning Times at 5,000 meters
• Erin Finn -- 16:43.4
• Gina Sereno -- 17:11.07
• Sophie Linn -- 17:16.79
• Jaimie Phelan -- 17:18.84
• Claire Borchers -- 17:38.6
• Erika Fluehr -- 17:38.6
• Corinne Florie -- 17:41.6
THINGS TO KNOW
• Last weekend, U-M opened the season at Hudson Mills Metropark in nearby Dexter, Michigan, with the Michigan Open. The top two finishers (Erin Finn, Kira Garry) were unattached, but former triathlete Avery Evenson took third place as the top Wolverine finisher in her U-M debut, and just 11 seconds separated places three through seven.
• This will be the first of three trips that U-M takes to Terre Haute in the 2016 season. In October, U-M will run at the adidas Pre-Nationals meet (Oct. 15), and the Wolverines will return to this site for the NCAA Championships (Nov. 19).
• This weekend's meet provides an early look at the nationals course for less experienced Wolverines. For those who have run on the course before, it will be a valuable chance to re-familiarize as the national meet was held last fall in Louisville, Kentucky.
• Under head coach Mike McGuire, U-M has won five of its last six regular-season scored meets dating back to 2014.
• U-M opened this season ranked second in the regional poll and ninth in the coaches' poll. It marks the second time in the last three seasons that the Maize and Blue has garnered top-10 positioning in the preseason rankings.
• The Wolverines return 33 athletes from the 2015 squad, including six women from the Big Ten runner-up team. That number includes the defending conference champion, Erin Finn, who became the fifth woman in Big Ten history to earn multiple individual titles. She seeks her third such championship this fall.
• After graduating seven seniors last fall, the Maize and Blue reloads with a group of true freshmen newcomers. For the third time in the last two seasons, an Ivy League transfer will also join the U-M ranks. This year, it's former Harvard athlete Kieran Gallagher joining 2015 additions Kira Garry (Yale) and Erika Fluehr (Princeton).
A LOOK AHEAD
Saturday, Sept. 24 -- at Roy Griak Invitatoinal (Minneapolis, Minn.), 1:35 p.m. CDT
Saturday, Oct. 1 -- at Greater Louisville Classic (Louisville, Ky.)
TWEET OF THE WEEK
We're building a better campus community, together. @RISEtoWIN #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/WivTyI4z9x
-- Michigan Track&Field (@UMichTrack) September 5, 2016
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard
Players Mentioned
