Michigan
Auto Owners Spartan Invitational
Young Michigan Crew Takes Second at Michigan State
9/14/2018 1:20:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
Site: East Lansing, Mich. (Forest Akers East Golf Course)
Event: Michigan State Auto Owners Spartan Invitational
Distance: Eight Kilometers (4.97 miles)
U-M Team Finish: 2nd place of 21Â teams (58 points)
Top U-M Individual: John Tatter, 7th (25:21.4)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 28 -- at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational (Madison, Wis.)
• Complete Results
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Making his debut both in a Michigan uniform and at the eight-kilometer (4.97-mile) distance, freshman John Tatter led the way for the No. 29 University of Michigan men's cross country team as it finished runner-up to host No. 24 Michigan State at the Auto Owners Spartan Invitational on Friday (Sept. 14).
Tatter crossed the line in seventh overall, pacing the Wolverines to a runner-up team finish to the Spartans, 55-58.
U-M was originally scheduled to run its full lineup Friday at the N.C. State adidas XC Challenge, but the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Florence preemptively cancelled the competition and forced Michigan into a last-minute change of plans.
Instead, the Wolverines competed at Michigan State and opted to use the race as an opportunity for runners looking to crack the eventual postseason roster to make their cases. Neither the Wolverines nor Spartans ran their full lineups, saving their first proper showdown for Sept. 28 at Wisconsin.
Tatter, who was one of the nation's top high school cross country runners in 2017 over five kilometers (3.11 miles) in a fourth-place Foot Locker Nationals finish, crossed the line in his first-ever 8K in 25:21.4.
Redshirt sophomore Joost Plaetinck was close behind in 10th, covering the nearly five-mile course at Forest Akers East Golf Course in 25:28.2.
Redshirt sophomore Jacob Branch (25:32.6), freshman Gabe Mudel (25:37.4) and redshirt junior Kevin Hall (25:47.9) were 12th, 15th and 22nd, respectively, to round out the top-five scoring lineup.
Both Tatter and Mudel were making their 8K debuts, and both availed themselves well over the longer distance. Over the final three miles of the race, Tatter moved up from 10th to seventh, while Mudel climbed 11 spots from 26th to 15th. Hall made a similarly strong move over that span, going from 31st to 22nd.
Michigan Results
7. John Tatter -- 25:21.4
10. Joost Plaetinck -- 25:28.2
12. Jacob Branch -- 25:32.6
15. Gabe Mudel -- 25:37.4
22. Kevin Hall -- 25:47.9
29. Dominic Dimambro -- 25:56.3
33. Christian Hubaker -- 26:07.4
44. Lewis Tate -- 26:25.8
54. Ryan Wilkie -- 26:43.9
Up Next for Michigan
After a weekend off from competition, the Wolverines will get both their biggest test of the season so far and their first look at the NCAA Championships course in Madison, Wisconsin, with the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational on Friday, Sept. 28. Expected in the field are upwards of 38 of the nation's best teams, including two-time reigning national champion Northern Arizona and 17 others (including Michigan) that qualified for the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships. It will also be the Wolverines' first look at Big Ten opponents Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin.
Players Mentioned
