Saturday, October 18
Waterloo, Iowa
11:00 AM CT
Michigan
at
NCAA Pre-Nationals
Willis Leads Wolverines to Third at NCAA Pre-Nationals
10/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
WATERLOO, Iowa -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team boasted a career day at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Saturday (Oct. 18) as each member of the five-man squad collected a personal-best time to lead Michigan to a third-place finish (148 points) in the Purple race.
Sophomore Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) paced the Maize and Blue with his third top-10 finish of the season, capturing seventh place at the 23:37.0 mark, 38 second quicker than his previous career best.
Senior Tom Greenless (Milford, Mich./Milford HS) and junior Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) crossed the line second and third for the Wolverines, also earning top-20 finishes. Greenless shaved 40 second off of his personal-best time, set earlier this season at the Notre Dame Invitational (Oct. 3), to finish 16th at 23:54.9. Brannen sprinted past a dozen runners in the final stretch to take 20th place with a time of 23:58.2, seven seconds quicker than his previous career best. Michigan's top three runners each broke the 24-minute mark for the first time in his career.
Rounding out the Wolverines' five scored runners were senior captain Nick Stanko (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt HS) and fifth-year senior Alex L'Heureux (Weedon, Quebec/Palm Beach Gardens HS), who placed 45th and 60th, respectively. Stanko shaved 21 seconds off his career best, with Stanko crossing the line at the 24:21.4 mark while L'Heureux cut 32 seconds from his fastest time, finishing at 24:32.8.
The NCAA Pre-Nationals was comprised of two separate and evenly-matched events: the Purple race and the Gold race, both featuring 35 of the top collegiate teams in the country. Finishing ahead of the Michigan in the Purple race were No. 1-ranked Stanford (25 points) and No. 10 Iona (95). No. 5 Colorado claimed first place in the Gold race with 109 points.
The Wolverines will run their next race on Friday, Oct. 25, at the EMU Open in Ypsilanti, Mich. The 8,000-meter race, U-M's final event of the regular season, is slated to begin at 4 p.m. at Rolling Hills Park.
Sophomore Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) paced the Maize and Blue with his third top-10 finish of the season, capturing seventh place at the 23:37.0 mark, 38 second quicker than his previous career best.
Senior Tom Greenless (Milford, Mich./Milford HS) and junior Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) crossed the line second and third for the Wolverines, also earning top-20 finishes. Greenless shaved 40 second off of his personal-best time, set earlier this season at the Notre Dame Invitational (Oct. 3), to finish 16th at 23:54.9. Brannen sprinted past a dozen runners in the final stretch to take 20th place with a time of 23:58.2, seven seconds quicker than his previous career best. Michigan's top three runners each broke the 24-minute mark for the first time in his career.
Rounding out the Wolverines' five scored runners were senior captain Nick Stanko (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt HS) and fifth-year senior Alex L'Heureux (Weedon, Quebec/Palm Beach Gardens HS), who placed 45th and 60th, respectively. Stanko shaved 21 seconds off his career best, with Stanko crossing the line at the 24:21.4 mark while L'Heureux cut 32 seconds from his fastest time, finishing at 24:32.8.
The NCAA Pre-Nationals was comprised of two separate and evenly-matched events: the Purple race and the Gold race, both featuring 35 of the top collegiate teams in the country. Finishing ahead of the Michigan in the Purple race were No. 1-ranked Stanford (25 points) and No. 10 Iona (95). No. 5 Colorado claimed first place in the Gold race with 109 points.
The Wolverines will run their next race on Friday, Oct. 25, at the EMU Open in Ypsilanti, Mich. The 8,000-meter race, U-M's final event of the regular season, is slated to begin at 4 p.m. at Rolling Hills Park.
Top 10 Teams
1. Stanford 25 2. Iona 95 3. MICHIGAN 148 4. Air Force 196 5. Villanova 204 6. Brigham Young 223 7. Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo 243 8. Indiana 296 9. Florida State 318 Central Michigan 318
Top Individual Finishers
1. Kipi Kangogo, Bigham Young 23:09.8 2. Ryan Hall, Stanford 23:11.7 3. Richard Kiplagat, Iona 23:16.4 4. Ian Dobson, Stanford 23:19.7 5. Don Sage, Stanford 23:32.2 6. Louis Luchini, Stanford 23:34.3 7. NICK WILLIS, U-M 23:37.0 8. Seth Henjy, Stanford 23:37.4 9. Adam Tenforde, Stanford 23:43.3 10. Steve Sundell, Columbia 23:45.2
Other Michigan Finishes
16. Tom Greenless 23:54.9 20. Nathan Brannen 23:58.2 45. Nick Stanko 24:21.4 60. Alex L'Heureux 24:32.8 83. Tarn Leach 24:44.1 106. David Sage 24:57.8
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Ron Warhurst
On Michigan's performance ... "We ran very well. We needed to run a good race and that's exactly what we did. This was definitely the toughest competition we've faced this year, and I am very pleased with our performance."
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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