Weekly Release #4
10/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Saturday, Oct. 5 -- at Indiana State Invitational (Terre Haute, Ind.), 10:30 a.m. EST/CDT
Saturday, Oct. 12 -- at Michigan Intercollegiate (Milford, Mich.), 3 p.m.
This Week: Indiana State Invitational ...
The University of Michigan women's cross country team looks for its fourth consecutive team victory this week when the Wolverines travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for the Indiana State Invitational on Saturday (Oct. 5). Michigan will be one of 23 teams to compete on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. The Gibson course will play host to two other high stakes meets later in the season also be the host of the 2002 NCAA Pre-Nationals and NCAA Championship 6,000-meter course.
Last Time on the Path: Sundodger Invitational ...
The Wolverines ran to their third straight team title at the Sundodger Invitational (Sept. 21) in Seattle, Wash., as U-M placed five runners in the top 15. Junior Lindsey Gallo (Freehold, N.J./Howell HS) led the way for the Maize and Blue when she crossed the line in sixth place with a career-best time of 17:20. Junior/sophomore Andrea Parker (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) was eighth overall, finishing with a personal-best time of 17:25. Michigan finished the meet with 45 points, beating host and-second place Washington by 27 points.
U-M in Terre Haute ...
The Wolverines have run in Terre Haute, Ind., on three occasions since the 1998 cross country season with both individual and team success. Running in the 1998 Great Lakes Regional, then senior Katie McGregor crossed the line in first place solidifying an appearance at the NCAA Championships. McGregor eventually went on to win the program's first national championship at the NCAA meet in Lawrence Kan. Michigan and the Great Lakes Regional returned to Terre Haute in 1999 and placed third as a team. Katie Jazwinski was the first Wolverine harrier across the line when she finished fifth. The Maize and Blue made its most recent trip to Terre Haute last season for the Great Lakes Regional and placed seventh as team. Michigan has an opportunity to make two more appearances on the LaVern Gibson Championships Cross Country Course as Terre Haute will host both the NCAA Pre-Nationals (Oct. 19) and the NCAA Championships (Nov. 25).
Gallo Continues to Pace the Pack ...
Junior Lindsey Gallo led the Maize and Blue across the finish line for the second time this season when she took sixth place at the Sundodger Invitational (Sept. 21). Gallo crossed the line in 17:20, setting a new personal-best time. Her previous mark of 17:26.7 was set at the 2001 Big Ten Conference Championships where she earned All-Big Ten first team honors with a seventh-place finish.
Parker Stops Watch in Record Time ...
Junior/sophomore Andrea Parker lowered her personal-best time to 17:25 with an eighth-place finish at the Sundodger Invitational (Sept. 21). It marks the second time this season Parker finished a meet in the top 10. At the Running-Fit Detroit Mercy Invitational, Parker had a career-best third-place finish to lead the Wolverines to their first victory of the season. Parker's previous best time on a 5,000-meter course was 18:09.6 at the 2001 Big Ten Championships.
Michigan in the Polls
The Maize and Blue jumped to No. 25 in the nation last Tuesday (Sept. 24) following the Wolverines' third consecutive team title in 2002. After a week off of competition Michigan moved up three spots to No. 22.
No. Team Region Pts. Prev. 1. Brigham Young (13) MT 390 1 2. Stanford W 372 3 3. Notre Dame GL 352 5 4. Colorado MT 346 4 5. Michigan State GL 333 9 6. Boston College NE 321 10 7. Arizona State W 304 19 8. Providence NE 283 13 9. Columbia NE 276 -- 10. North Carolina State SE 268 6 11. Duke SE 263 8 12. Georgetown MA 259 2 13. North Carolina SE 243 -- 14. Arkansas SC 238 7 15. Virginia SE 187 26 16. UCLA W 174 12 16. Northern Arizona MT 174 11 18. Wisconsin GL 171 18 19. Villanova MA 157 16 20. Missouri MW 134 -- 21. William & Mary SE 131 15 22. MICHIGAN GL 104 25 23. Marquette GL 101 14 24. Colorado State MT 99 17 25. Penn State MA 91 20 26. Wake Forest SE 75 22 27. Indiana GL 48 -- 28. Dartmouth NE 36 -- 29. Southwest Missouri State MW 33 23 30. Toledo GL 23 29Also receiving votes: Yale 18, James Madison 13, Texas A&M 11, Weber State 9, Florida State 7, Cornell 1.
The Mike McGuire File ...
Mike McGuire is in his 11th season as a head coach for the Michigan women's cross country team. McGuire has led the Wolverines to three straight victories in 2002, with wins at the Running Fit Detroit Mercy Invitational (Sept. 7), Mel Brodt Invitational (Sept. 14) and the Sundodger Invitational (Sept. 21). In his first four seasons, McGuire won three consecutive Big Ten Conference and NCAA District IV championships, and finished as high as second at the 1994 NCAA National Championship. All told, McGuire's Michigan teams have nine top-two finishes at the Big Ten Championships and eight top-two finishes at the regional championships, winning the regional meet in 1993, '94 and '95. His teams have finished among the nation's top 10 five times at the NCAA Championships.
Up Next ...
The Wolverines return to their home state for the Michigan Intercollegiate. The meet will be run in Milford, Mich., with start time scheduled for 3 p.m. Michigan last competed in the meet in 1998, when eventual national champion Katie McGregor (1995-98) won the meet with a time of 16:38.27.
Contact: Gene Skidmore, 734-647-4237
Players Mentioned
