Weekly Release #5
10/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 18 -- at NCAA Pre-Nationals (Cedar Falls, Iowa), 11 a.m. CDT
Friday, Oct. 24 -- at EMU Open (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 4 p.m. EDT
Michigan Tunes up for NCAA
The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team will head west on Saturday, Oct. 18, for the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The 8,000-meter race will be run at Irv Warren Golf Course, the same venue that will host the NCAA Championships in November. The race is slated to begin at 11 a.m. CDT.
Last Year at the Pre-Nationals
Sophomore Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) and freshman Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) both collected top-15 finishes to lead the Wolverines to sixth place in the NCAA preview meet. Brannen finished 11th, crossing the line at the 24:21.6 mark while Willis finished just few seconds later at 24:27.9 in 15th place.
U-M Dominates at Michigan Intercollegiate
The Wolverines claimed five of the top-six spots in their first-place performance at the Michigan Intercollegiate last Friday (Oct. 10). Michigan's top-five runners crossed the finish line within a 19-second time frame to tally 20 points in the victory, 49 points better than second-place Michigan State. Sophomore/freshman Andrew Ellerton (Windsor, Ontario/Confederatio HS) paced the Wolverines with a second-place finish at the 25:06 mark.
Career-High Day
Several Wolverines posted career-best performances in U-M's rout at the Michigan Intercollegiate. Sophomore/freshman Andrew Ellerton, in his first season with Michigan cross country, set a new personal-best time with his 25:06 as well as a career-high second-place finish. Junior/sophomore Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS) and sophomore/freshman Andrew Bauer (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) both set new personal best after crossing the finish line together at the 25:18 mark. Bauer shaved 15 seconds off his best time while Ruff dropped five seconds.
Big Ten Honors
Sophomore Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) was named Big Ten Conference co-Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career following his second-place performance at the Notre Dame Invitational (Oct. 3). Willis is the second Wolverine runner to garner such honor this season; senior Tom Greenless (Milford, Mich./Milford HS) earned the recognition for the week of Sept. 24 after his first-place finish at the Spartan Invitational (Sept. 19). Since 1999, seven different Michigan runners have earned a combined 10 Big Ten weekly honors.
In the Polls
After holding down the 12th cpot for two consecutive weeks, Michigan dropped one spot, into the 13th position, in the most recent MONDO rankings (Oct. 14).
MONDO Collegiate Cross Country Poll (10/14/03)
Rank, Team (first-place votes) Region Points Prev 1. Stanford (15) W 479 1 2. Wisconsin (1) GL 465 2 3. Northern Arizona M 447 3 4. BYU M 423 4 5. Colorado M 413 5 6. Central Michigan GL 393 6 7. Oregon W 379 7 8. Arkansas SC 355 9 9. Colorado State M 354 8 10. Iona College NE 337 10 11. Ohio State GL 316 11 12. Arizona State W 286 13 13. MICHIGAN GL 280 12 14. Georgetown MA 270 14 15. Notre Dame GL 235 16 16. Virginia SE 234 15 17. Providence NE 207 18 18. Villanova MA 194 16 19. Arizona W 191 20 20. Georgia S 176 17 21. North Carolina State SE 143 22 22. William & Mary SE 140 23 23. Portland W 126 21 24. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo W 111 25 25. Indiana GL 99 24 26. Butler GL 88 26 27. Texas A&M SC 78 27 28. Oklahoma State MW 41 29 29. Washington State W 33 28 30. LaSalle MA 30 --
Also receiving votes: Eastern Michigan 19, Kansas 17, Minnesota 17, Miami
(Ohio) 15, Duke 12, Washington 12, Air Force 9, Weber State 6, Florida
State 5, Princeton 4, Texas 2.
On the Horizon
The Wolverines will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 24 at 4 p.m. for the EMU Open in Ypsilanti, Mich.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
