Clifford Leads U-M Women to Third Place at Regional

Saturday, November 13

Terre Haute, Ind.

11:00 AM

Michigan

NCAA Great Lakes Regional

11/13/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country

Site: Terre Haute, Ind. (LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course)
Meet: NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships (5,000 meters)
U-M Finish: 3rd of 30 teams (112 points)
Top U-M Individual: Katie Clifford, 5th (17:22.00)
Next Meet: TBA

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The University of Michigan women's cross country team finished third, with 112 points, in the NCAA Great Lakes Region this morning (Saturday, Nov. 13) at Indiana State University's LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. Wisconsin ran away from the field to claim the title with 30 points. Michigan ran tightly with Michigan State, but the Spartans scored 110 points to defeat the Wolverines by two points.

Finishing in the top spot for the Wolverines for her first time this season, junior Katie Clifford (Grand Rapids, Mich./West Catholic HS) placed fifth with a time of 17:22.00. Senior Elizabeth Kampfe (Decatur, Ill./MacArthur HS) ran hard to clip Indiana's Amanda Bell for 13th place at 17:40.00. Junior Lisa Ouellet (Sudbury, Ontario/Lasalle SS) finished in 23rd at 17:52.60.

Rounding out the scoring spots were senior Marcy Akard (Carmel, Ind./Cathedral HS), who ran another solid race for Michigan, and Katie Ryan (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS) in 31st (18:03.10) and 43rd (18:13.10), respectively.

The women's team will await word on whether it is invited to the NCAA Championship. The women's NCAA race is slated for Monday, Nov. 22, at 12:15 p.m. in Bloomington, Ind.

Top 10 Teams

 1. Wisconsin         30
 2. Michigan State   110
 3. MICHIGAN         112
 4. Notre Dame       224
 5. Marquette        228
 6. Purdue           242
 7. Kent State       257
 8. Cincinnati       271
 9. Indiana          276
10. Akron            281

Top 10 Individuals

 1. Erica Palmer, Wisconsin       16:52.20*
 2. Domtila Mwei, EMU             17:15.10
 3. Michelle Rizzo, Akron         17:17.90
 4. Erin Aufderheide, Wisconsin   17:18.30
 5. KATIE CLIFFORD, U-M           17:20.00
 6. Alison Klemmer, Notre Dame    17:22.90
 7. Stephanie Pesch, Wisconsin    17:26.70
 8. Liz Reusser, Wisconsin        17:32.90
 9. Cindy Durocher, MSU           17:33.70
10. Laura Martin, Wisconsin       17:34.60

* Course record (old: 17:05, Katie McGregor, Michigan, 1998)

Other Michigan Finishes

13. Elizabeth Kampfe   17:40.00 (13)
23. Lisa Ouellet       17:52.60 (22)
31. Marcy Akard        18:03.10 (30)
43. Katie Ryan         18:13.10 (42)
52. Julie Froud        18:19.90 (51)
68. Jeanne Spink       18:36.50 (66)

Q U O T E S

Head Coach Mike McGuire
"We put in a good effort, despite (Lisa) Ouellet being off her form because she was under the weather. Right now, we're on the bubble (for an NCAA Championship bid), but I think we are going to be okay. It was a close third and we beat Michigan State at Big Tens. We just have to wait for the call (from the NCAA committee) on Monday. We ran six really good races though. We just have to get Ouellet back on her feet."

Contact: Adrienne Gutierrez (734) 763-4423