Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Wolverine Men Take Fourth Place at Big Ten Championships
10/28/2018 5:47:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
Site: Lincoln, Neb. (Mahoney Golf Course)
Event: Big Ten Championships
Distance: Eight Kilometers (4.97 miles)
U-M Team Finish: 4th Place of 12 Teams (109 points)
Top U-M Individual: Jordy Hewitt, 13th (24:03.2)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Nov. 9 -- at NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Terre Haute, Ind.), 12:15 p.m.
• Photo Gallery | Complete Results (PDF)
LINCOLN, Neb. -- The No. 27-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team finished fourth in a tightly contested Big Ten Championship race on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 28).
Led by a career-best race for Jordy Hewitt that saw him finish 13th for second team All-Big Ten honors, the Wolverines scored 109 points; just one behind third-place No. 22 Indiana and two clear of in-state rival Michigan State.
No. 3 Wisconsin claimed the team title from the 2017 champion Wolverines with 38 points, followed by No. 18 Purdue with 88 points.
Hewitt crossed the line on the eight-kilometer (4.97-mile) circuit at the Mahoney Golf Course in 24:03.2, taking over as the lead Wolverine runner just after the halfway point in the race.
Ben Hill led the way for the Wolverines -- and the entire field -- for nearly the entire first half of the race, checking in first at the one-, two- and three-kilometer splits. He ultimately came through the finish chute 21st in a near-tie with 22nd-place Jack Aho, both with identical times of 24:19.5.
Isaac Harding in 25th and John Tatter in 28th rounded out the five-man Michigan scoring lineup. Jacob Lee in 38th and Jacob Branch in 41st were Michigan's displacers, with 51st-place Gabe Mudel and 58th-place Anthony Berry completing the full nine-man roster.
Demonstrating the same depth as in the regular season, the Wolverines were the first team with all nine runners across the line.
With only four runners with previous Big Ten Championships experience, two true freshmen in the lineup in Tatter and Mudel, and no seniors, the Wolverines gained valuable experience they can carry forward with them into the NCAA postseason and to next year's Big Tens.
The Race
Much like in last year's team title, the Wolverines took command of the race early. By the two-kilometer mark, Hill had opened up a five-second lead on the field and the Wolverines were up by 16 over Iowa in the team standings, 55-71. Lee was running fifth, Hewitt 12th and Aho 14th behind him.
While Hill would remain in the individual lead for nearly another kilometer, the Wolverines were bypassed by eventual team champ Wisconsin at three kilometers, 55-80. Hewitt moved forward slightly to 10th, with Harding moving up 13 spots to 14th.
After dropping to fourth in the team standings at the halfway four-kilometer checkpoint, Michigan rallied back to third for the five- and six-kilometer splits.
Surges by Harding (up nine spots to 10th) and Aho (up 10 spots to 22nd) in the fifth kilometer and Hewitt, who rallied up four spots to 12th in the sixth kilometer after dropping back seven spots during the fifth, kept the Wolverines in the hunt for runner-up honors in the team race.
Michigan trailed Purdue by just six points, 91-97, at 5K, and by 14 at 6K, 88-92, with Indiana right behind at 120.
The stage was set for a dramatic finish heading into the final kilometer of the race, with Purdue in second with 91 points and fifth-place Michigan State with 118 points. Michigan had fallen to fourth with 111, right in the middle of that pack.
The Wolverines held their own over the closing stretch, as each of Michigan's nine runners either gained spots, defended their positions, or lost a single spot.
Scorers Hill and Tatter each moved up two spots down the stretch to lead Michigan's late-race effort.
The full Michigan results and final team standings are listed below.
Full Michigan Results
Individual Results
13. Jordy Hewitt -- 24:03.2Â Â Â Â
21. Ben Hill -- 24:19.5
22. Jack Aho -- 24:19.5Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
25. Isaac Harding -- 24:23.5Â Â
28. John Tatter -- 24:25.8Â Â Â Â Â Â
38. Jacob Lee -- 24:40.1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
41. Jacob Branch -- 24:43.3Â Â
51. Gabe Mudel -- 24:56.8Â Â Â Â
58. Anthony Berry -- 25:03.1Â
Team Standings
1. #3 Wisconsin - 38 points
2. #18 Purdue - 88 points
3. #22 Indiana - 108 points
4. #27 MICHIGAN - 109 points
5. Michigan State (RV) - 111 points
6. Iowa - 53 points
7. Minnesota - 164 points
8. Nebraska - 179 points
9. Penn State - 212 points
10. Illinois - 299 points
11. Ohio State - 350 points
12. Rutgers - 365 points
Up Next for Michigan
The Wolverines will see many of these teams again in less than two weeks' time as berths to the NCAA Championships are up for grabs at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Friday, Nov. 9. At 12:15 p.m.
Players Mentioned
