Michigan
Eastern Michigan Open
Leichtman, Flannery Post Personal Bests at EMU Classic
10/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- With the Big Ten Conference Championships one week away, University of Michigan women's cross country head coach Mike McGuire ran only two Wolverine harriers today (Friday, Oct. 25) at the non-scoring Eastern Michigan University Classic on the 5,000-meter course at Buhr Park.
Running in her third collegiate race, freshman Jennifer Leichtman (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills HS) led the No. 24-ranked Wolverines across the line in ninth place with a personal-best time of 19:35. In the first race of her Michigan career Leichtman clocked in at 20:07 on the paths of Cass-Benton Park at the Running-Fit Detroit Mercy Invitational in Northville, Mich.
Also setting a personal best was sophomore Erika Flannery (Perry, Mich./Perry HS). In her first race wearing the Maize and Blue, Flannery placed 13th with a time of 20:08.
Michigan had four other harriers in the race as Katie Erdman (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac HS), Laura Brosius (Saline, Mich./Saline HS), Amy Baker (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) and Arianne Field (Kalamazoo, Mich./Hackett HS) ran unattached.
Erdman finished second in the race with a time of 18:40 while Brosius and Baker also in the top 10 at sixth (19:17) and 10th (19:35), respectively. Field rounded out the unattached foursome with a 12th-place finish at 19:49.
The Maize and Blue looks to continue its success at the Big Ten Championships on Sunday (Nov. 3) in West Lafayette, Ind. Under McGuire the Wolverines have nine top-two finishes in 10 years of action at the Big Ten meet, including five consecutive runner-up showings.
Top Five Individuals
1. Sara Vergote, Toledo 17:51 2. Kate Erdman, unattached (U-M) 18:40 3. Kristin Jumer, Toledo 18:55 4. Adrienne DiNapoli, Kent State 19:05 5. Abby Phillips, Toledo 19:11 6. Laura Brosius, unattached (U-M) 19:17 7. Jackie Baumgartner, Toledo 19:23 8. Kelly Green, Kent State 19:33 9. Jennifer Leichtman, U-M 19:35 10. Amy Baker, unattached (U-M) 19:35
Other Michigan Individuals
12. Arianne Field (unattached) 19:49 13. Erika Flannery 20:08
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Mike McGuire
On the race ... "I think the kids that we ran today did a nice job. It's hard for the ones running unattached. Usually this would be their 10th or 11th cross county race of the year, but as it is, this was only their third or fourth and now last of the season. We are going to transition them into the indoor track season now that they wouldn't be running at the Big Tens or regionals. Jennifer Leichtman looked good today. This was her third race for us, which put her in position to earn a letter this year. She is a hard-working kid that is making progress. Our only other runner in uniform today was Erika Flannery, who running on this course set a huge PR. That was definitely her best race of the fall."
On the Big Ten Championships ... "We are ranked fourth coming in relative to the national poll and we have to get our pack packed up together to have a good race. I think that we will come into the race with a better presence about ourselves over the 5,000 meters. It's going to take our best performance to win it, but I think that we are in the hunt for the title. We are better than we were last year, it's just that the rest of the conference has also improved so we have to step up. Last year I thought we weren't really good in the meet leading up the championship so I hope that history repeats itself."
On Katie Erdman ... "Katie is a kid that we could have taken on a few trips with us and had her letter this year, but I feel she is going to be better next year and continue to get better and be a great runner for us in the years to come."
Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
