Michigan
Buckeye Preview
Big Ten Preview Up Next for Seventh-Ranked Wolverines
9/25/2019 5:14:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
» The No. 7-ranked Wolverine women will take on traditional rivals No. 11 Michigan State and No. 21 Ohio State, among others, at the Ohio State Buckeye Preview on Saturday (Sept. 28) at 9:45 a.m.
» Two-time Big Ten Athlete of the Week Ericka VanderLende will lead a squad of 20 women -- one of the deepest in the nation -- in what will be a preview of the Big Ten Championships in November.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, Sept. 28 -- at Ohio State Buckeye Preview (Columbus, Ohio), 9:45 a.m.
Live Results
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Coming off a strong showing in a top-10 battle at Indiana State last weekend, the No. 7-ranked University of Michigan women's cross country team will face another stiff test as it battles conference and regional foes at the Ohio State Buckeye Preview Meet on Saturday (Sept. 28) in Columbus, Ohio.
In what will be a prelude to the Big Ten Championships -- on the same Ohio State University Golf Club course that will host the conference meet on Nov. 3 -- the Wolverines will take on traditional rivals No. 11 Michigan State and No. 21 Ohio State, among others. Not since 2014 have all three schools raced one another while all were ranked top-30 nationally.
Also in the field are No. 16 Penn State, Illinois, Rutgers and Northwestern from the Big Ten; reigning NCAA Division II champion Grand Valley State; MAC contenders Toledo and Miami (Ohio); West Virginia; Vanderbilt; and Temple.
The strong field will race a six-kilometer (3.73-mile) circuit at 9:45 a.m., following the conclusion of the men's race. This marks the first time the Wolverines have run this distance, which is the standard for the Big Ten and NCAA postseason, during this 2019 campaign.
Michigan has momentum from an impressive fourth-place finish in a stacked John McNichols Invitational field last Saturday (Sept. 21) and is once more ready to showcase depth matched by few other programs in the country.
Ericka VanderLende -- the nation's top-ranked first-year collegian, per FloTrack and The Stride Report -- will lead a roster of 20 Wolverines this Saturday. VanderLende was an impressive fourth at Indiana State in a field of past and potential All-Americans, and she earned her second Big Ten Athlete of the Week honor for her efforts.
Kathryn House will look to build on her breakthrough 12th-place effort at Indiana State, and the corps of All-American Camille Davre, two-time top-100 finisher Maddy Trevisan and track All-American Alice Hill look to continue a trend of strong performances.
Also in the lineup for the Wolverines are Indiana State competitors Micaela DeGenero, Jena Metwalli, Emma Sloan, Kayla Keane, Faith Reynolds, Raquel Powers and Megan Worrel. Joining them are Audrey Belf, Charlotte Cochrane, Meghan Monaghan, Lexi Munley, Hannah Palomino, Aurora Rynda, Samantha Saenz and Julia Vanitvelt.
Fans can follow along with live results provided by Timing First, as well as via live updates on the program's official Twitter account, @UMichTrack.
Things to Know
• Led by reigning Great Lakes Region and Big Ten Coach of the Year Mike McGuire, Michigan checked in at No. 7 in the latest regular-season National Coaches' Poll and remained No. 1 in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Rankings announced Tuesday (Sept. 24) and Monday (Sept. 23), respectively. by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
• The Wolverines have claimed six of the last seven regional titles and are in the midst of the third-longest active NCAA Championships qualifying streak in the nation at 17 years running.
• With a fourth straight NCAA Great Lakes Regional title last fall, Michigan owns the longest win streak in region history. The top two teams in the region automatically will advance to the NCAA Championships.
• This marks the 17th consecutive year Michigan has earned a top-30 national rank to start the season. Of those 17 years, Michigan has gone on to outperform its preseason rank at the NCAA Championships in 10 of those seasons.
• In addition to its No. 7 rank in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll, the Wolverines also checked in at No. 5 in Flotrack's rankings and at No. 8 per The Stride Report.
• Ericka VanderLende continues to emerge as not only one of the best first-year collegians in the country, but one of the best collegians in the country. VanderLende earned her second Big Ten Athlete of the Week nod on Wednesday (Sept. 25) after finishing fourth in a talented field at the John McNichols Invitational last weekend.
• VanderLende ran 16:40.1 for the fastest 5K time by a Michigan woman at Indiana State -- site of numerous NCAA and top-tier regular-season meets -- by more than 20 seconds, and was one of several women who dipped below the previous 16:55 overall course record from 1999.
• At No. 30 nationally, VanderLende is not alone on the FloTrack Top-255 Individuals rankings; 10 Wolverines appear on the list, second-most in the country. Joining VanderLende in the top-100 are No. 45 Davre, No. 51 Anna West, No. 64 Anne Forsyth and No. 71 House.
• House had a breakthrough performance at Indiana State in her 2019 debut, clocking 17:01 to take 12th overall with the second-fastest 5K time ever by a Michigan woman at Indiana State.
• After missing the 2018 campaign with injury, team captain Maddy Trevisan is back and ready to run. Trevisan was third in the opener at 17:23.3, more than five seconds faster than her last run at Hudson Mills in 2017. The two-time NCAA Championships top-100 finisher followed that up with a strong run at Michigan's No. 3 runner at Indiana State in a 14th-place finish.
• Michigan was deeper than any other team at Indiana State with nine runners finishing top-40. The Wolverines ran well as a pack, with only eight seconds separating No. 4 runner Alice Hill from No. 8 runner Emma Sloan.
A Look Ahead
• Saturday, Oct. 19 -- at Pre-National Invitational (Terre Haute, Ind.)
• Sunday, Nov. 3 -- at Big Ten Championships (Columbus, Ohio)
Players Mentioned
