Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Webb Wins Big Ten Title, Leads Wolverines to Second
10/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
SAVOY, Ill. -- Alan Webb (Reston, Va./South Lakes HS) became the fourth freshman since 1973 to win the Big Ten Conference Men's Cross Country Championship, leading the University of Michigan to a second-place team finish Sunday (Oct. 28) at Illinois' Orange and Blue golf courses. By posting his personal-best time of 23:19.9 on the 8,000-meter course, Webb was able to outrun the 87-person field and become the first Wolverine to win the individual title since Kevin Sullivan in 1997.
Senior All-American Mike Wisniewski (Temperance, Mich./Bedford HS) added a fifth-place finish (24:03.2) as the No. 12-ranked Wolverines finished second as a team with 71 points. No. 4 Wisconsin won the team title for the third consecutive year with 28 points, while Michigan State (94), Indiana (114) and Ohio State (126) rounded out the top five teams.
Webb, who has won all three scored meets in which he has run this year, joins an elite list of runners who have won the Big Ten championship in their freshman year. Craig Virgin of Illinois was the first to accomplish the feat in 1973, followed by Bob Kennedy of Indiana in 1988 and Michigan's Sullivan in 1993.
Two other Wolverines -- senior All-American Mark Pilja (Naperville, Ill./North HS) and Tom Greenless (Milford, Mich./Milford HS) -- placed in the top 20 overall. Pilja, who was the top returning competitor from last year's conference championships in which he finished fourth, ran a time of 24:26.3 for a 16th-place finish. Greenless followed right behind Pilja in 17th with a career-best time of 24:28.9.
The Wolverines' other runners to score at the meet were sophomore Nick Stanko (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt HS), freshman Nathan Brennan (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) and Brian Turner (Omaha, Neb./Millard North HS). Stanko posted a time of 24:43.2 to finish 32nd, with Brennan (24:58.1) and Turner (25:00.5) coming in 40th and 43rd, respectively.
Dating back to 1985, Michigan and Wisconsin are the only two teams to win Big Ten championships, with the Wolverines capturing titles in 1993, 1997 and 1998. The Maize and Blue also owns six of the last nine individual champions, with Webb joining Sullivan, who won four titles between 1993 and 1997, and John Mortimer as members of the Michigan team to post first-place finishes in that span.
Michigan's next meet will be on Saturday, Nov. 10, when it competes at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Terre Haute, Ind. The will be hosted by Indiana State University, and the men's race will begin at 11 a.m.
Team Standings
1. Wisconsin 28 2. MICHIGAN 71 3. Michigan State 94 4. Indiana 115 5. Ohio State 126 6. Penn State 131 7. Minnesota 174 8. Iowa 184 9. Purdue 199 10. Illinois 231
Top 10 Individuals
1. ALAN WEBB, U-M 23:19.9 2. Matt Tegenkamp, Wisconsin 23:23.2 3. Josh Spiker, Wisconsin 23:49.8 4. Isaiah Festa, Wisconsin 23:50.9 5. MIKE WISNIEWSKI, U-M 24:03.2 6. Nick Winkel, Wisconsin 24:11.5 7. John Kronforst, Illinois 24:13.2 8. J.J. O'Rielly, Ohio State 24:13.6 9. Chris Toloff, Michigan State 24:15.4 10. Geoff Fleming, Purdue 24:16.3
Other Michigan Finishes
16. Mark Pilja 24:26.3 17. Tom Greenless 24:28.9 32. Nick Stanko 24:43.2 40. Nathan Brannen 24:58.1 43. Brian Turner 25:00.5 63. Ryan Hesselink 25:35.4 77. Tarn Leach 26:06.7
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Ron Warhurst
On the meet ... "Wisconsin was able to go 2, 3, 4 and 6 and we just weren't able to match them. Alan (Webb) did what he had to do and Mike (Wisniewski) was up there, but (Mark) Pilja was sick and couldn't run as well as he has been all year. To go from seventh last year to second this year is a good improvement and we're going to build on that and get ready for the regional in a couple of weeks."
Contact: David Crabtree (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
