Michigan
Greater Louisville Classic
Wolverines Win Decisive Greater Louisville Classic Title
9/29/2018 1:28:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
Site: Louisville, Ky. (E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park)
Event: Greater Louisville Classic
Distance: Five Kilometers (3.11 miles)
U-M Team Finish: 1st place of 26 teams (46 points)
Top U-M Individual: Avery Evenson, 5th (16:45.7)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 13 -- at Pre-National Invitational (Madison, Wis.)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- It was another weekend, another runaway victory for the No. 10 University of Michigan women's cross country team as the Wolverines cruised to the team title at the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday morning (Sept. 29).
With sixth-year senior Avery Evenson taking fifth place to lead three top-10 Wolverines and six inside the top 20, Michigan earned a decisive team title in the top-billed "Gold Race" over Eastern Kentucky, 46-120, for its third win at this meet in the past four years.
Displaying shades of her 2016 All-American self, Evenson emerged as a frontrunner for the Wolverines and covered the five-kilometer (3.11-mile) course in 16:45.7.
Sixth-year senior Hannah Meier and redshirt freshman Camille Davre joined Evenson in the top 10 with seventh- and eighth-place finishes, respectively. Less than three seconds separated the two as Meier crossed in 16:59.1 and Davre in 17:02.0.
Redshirt senior Claire Borchers in 14th (17:12.4) and junior Anna West in 18th (17:15.6) rounded out the scoring lineup, with true freshman Jessi Larson finishing 20th (17:25.1) to make it six Wolverines in the top 20. Redshirt sophomore Kathryn House was 22nd in 17:29.2 to complete Michigan's top seven.
Michigan's depth was fully on display as it put three women through the finish line before any other team could manage two finishers, and Michigan had eight finishers before any other team had three.
The Wolverines had control of the race from the gun, with its hold on the race only tightening with each passing kilometer.
By the first split at the 2.1-kilometer (1.3-mile) marker, Michigan had established a comfortable lead over Eastern Kentucky, 84-113. Only Evenson was running at the front at the time, checking in eighth, with West, Borchers, Meier, Larson, Davre and redshirt freshman Alice Hill all between 17th and 29th.
The Wolverines tightened the screws on the field by the next 3.9-kilometer (2.42-mile) split point, opening up a 62-113 advantage over the EKU Colonels. Evenson gained some ground at the front of the field, moving from eighth to sixth, with Meier and Davre moving up to the front of the main Michigan pack alongside Borchers and West. Meier improved nine spots to 13th, while Davre jumped up 12 to 16th, just ahead of 17th-place Borchers and 18th-place West.
Michigan opened up the jets over the final 1.1 kilometers (0.68 miles) as the Wolverines worked on the finishing kick that will be necessary for success in October's and November's postseason races. The trio of Meier, Evenson and Davre were among the field's fastest runners during that stretch. Only individual winner Dorcas Wasike of Louisville covered the final split more quickly than Meier, who needed just 3:37 to get from final checkpoint to finish as she climbed up six spots in the standings.
Evenson clocked a nearly identical split for the race's third-fastest final 1.1K, while Davre went 3:39 over that same distance for the race's fifth-fastest closing split as she moved up eight spots. Each and every one of Michigan's seven runners who figured into the scoring (five scorers, two displacers) either gained ground or maintained their position over the final 1.1K.
The cohesive move up through the field in the closing stages of the race ensured a relatively small 30-second time spread between top runner Evenson and fifth scorer West. Much of that spread can be accounted for through Evenson's frontrunning, as runner-up Meier was separated from West by just under 17 seconds.
Michigan's depth continued to manifest itself into the mostly non-NCAA Division I "Blue" race later in the morning, as redshirt freshman Raquel Powers picked up her first individual win in a Michigan uniform to lead five Wolverines inside the top 10.
Powers crossed the line in 17:45.1 after leading or sharing the lead with her teammates for much of the race, followed shortly thereafter by redshirt senior Rachel Coleman and redshirt junior Faith Reynolds for a Michigan 1-2-3 sweep. Coleman and Reynolds crossed within a second-and-a-half of one another in 17:50.5 and 17:51.9, respectively.
Redshirt freshman Julia Vanitvelt joined them in the top five with a fifth-place 18:00.3 showing, while redshirt sophomore Micaela DeGenero rounded out Michigan's top five in 10th at 18:12.6.
Combined, those five led Michigan to a team title in the "Blue" race over NCAA Division III Hope, 20-154.
Michigan Results
Gold Race
5. Avery Evenson -- 16:45.7
7. Hannah Meier -- 16:59.1
8. Camille Davre -- 17:02.0
14. Claire Borchers -- 17:12.4
18. Anna West -- 17:15.6
20. Jessi Larson -- 17:25.1
22. Kathryn House -- 17:29.2
29. Alice Hill -- 17:39.3
48. Audrey Belf -- 18:00.4
Blue Race
1. Raquel Powers -- 17:45.1
2. Rachel Coleman -- 17:50.5
3. Faith Reynolds -- 17:51.9
5. Julia Vanitvelt -- 18:00.3
9. Micaela DeGenero -- 18:12.6
21. Jena Metwalli -- 18:40.3
Gold Race Team Standings
1. #10 MICHIGAN - 46 points
2. Eastern Kentucky - 120 points
3. SMU (RV) - 160 points
4. Kentucky - 175 points
5. Mid. Tenn. State - 248 points
6. SE Missouri - 267 points
7. Davidson - 279 points
8. Arkansas State - 308 points
9. Miss State - 316 points
10. Auburn - 334 points
11. Louisville - 337 points
12. Hillsdale - 346 points
13. Morehead State - 351 points
14. SCAD Atlanta - 375 points
15. Lee (TN) - 399 points
16. Belmont - 400 points
17. Marquette - 404 points
18. Chattanooga - 413 points
19. Cincinnati - 415 points
20. Tennessee Tech - 453 points
21. Ball State - 528 points
22. Wofford - 551 points
23. UNC-Greensboro - 570 points
24. Tennessee-Martin - 572 points
25. East Tenn. St. - 592 points
26. Valparaiso - 760 points
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Up Next for Michigan
After a weekend off, the Wolverines will head to Madison, Wisconsin, for one of the biggest regular-season meets in college cross country history at the Pre-National Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 13. This weekend's Nuttycombe Invitational has typically run on the same weekend as the Pre-National meet that serves as a course preview for the NCAA Championships, but NCAAs will be held for the first time in Madison this year.
As a result, 21 of last year's NCAA Championships qualifiers and nearly 90 teams overall will descend on the capital of the Badger State for one last mad dash at head-to-head at-large victories. Not only will the Wolverines get a look at many national-level rivals, they will get their first look at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course. Of all the current Wolverines, only Evenson, Borchers and Maddy Trevisan have ever raced a collegiate race on this course, helping U-M win the 2016 NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
Players Mentioned
