Weekly Release #2
9/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Sept. 26 -- at Great American Cross Country Festival (Cary, N.C.), 3:40 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 3 -- at Notre Dame Invitational (South Bend, Ind.), 4:15 p.m. EST/CDT
Wolverines Travel to the Tar Heel State
The No.6-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team will send 12 runners to the fifth annual Great American Cross Country Festival on Friday (Sept. 26), held at the SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. Thirty-five cross country races are scheduled to take place over the two-day festival, with the University Men race slated to begin at 3:40 p.m. EDT Friday.
Michigan Looks Solid at Spartan Invitational
Senior Tom Greenless (Milford, Mich./Milford HS) led the field across the finish line for the second time this season, placing first with a time of 24:35.1 at the Spartan Invitational on Friday (Sept. 19) at Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing, Mich. The Wolverines placed four runners in the top 10 at the non-scoring event, more than any other competing school. In addition to Greenless, senior captain Nick Stanko (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt HS) finished sixth at 24:56.7, junior Tarn Leach (East Jordan, Mich./East Jordan HS) placed seventh with a time of 24:57.4 and junior Sean Moore (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) took 10th place, crossing the line at the 25:04.9 mark.
A New Mark for Greenless
Crossing the finish line 10 seconds ahead of the runner-up, senior Tom Greenless set a new career-best 8,000m time at the Spartan Invitational. Finishing the race with a time of 24:35.1, the Wolverine runner shaved seven seconds off of his previous best -- a 24:42.1 performance which was good for 15th place at last season's Big Ten Conference Championships (Nov. 3, 2002).
Welcome Back
The Wolverines' returning All-Americans -- Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) and Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) -- will make their season debut in Friday's Great American Cross Country Festival, which will be Michigan's first team-scored event of the season.
In the Polls
Michigan jumped up one spot into the sixth position after its solid performance at the Spartan Inivitational, according to the Sept. 23 MONDO rankings.
MONDO Collegiate Cross Country Poll (9/23/03)
Rank, Team (first-place votes) Region Points Prev 1. Stanford (15) W 479 1 2. Wisconsin (1) GL 463 2 3. Northern Arizona M 437 5 4. Arkansas SC 425 3 5. Oregon W 414 4 6. MICHIGAN GL 401 7 7. Colorado M 391 6 8. Iona NE 342 9 9. Central Michigan GL 327 8 10. Eastern Michigan GL 311 10 Villanova MA 311 10 12. BYU M 295 12 13. Georgetown MA 288 13 14. North Carolina State SE 285 14 15. Providence NE 239 16 16. Indiana GL 230 17 17. Notre Dame GL 190 18 18. William & Mary SE 185 15 19. Portland W 127 28 20. Oklahoma State MW 120 25 Ohio State GL 120 26 22. Butler GL 117 22 23. Colorado State M 108 23 24. Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo W 106 20 25. Minnesota MW 93 19 26. Iowa MW 71 26 27. Duke SE 66 NR 28. Texas SC 41 24 29. Air Force M 33 NR 30. Texas A&M SC 31 NR
On the Horizon
Next up for the Wolverines is the Notre Dame Invitational at 4:15 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 3) at the Notre Dame Golf Course in South Bend, Ind.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
